Chairman's Message: Celebrating Women's History Month & the Sorority Experience

Celebrated during the month of March in the United States, Women’s History Month traces its beginning back to the first International Women’s Day in 1911. As celebrations of International Women’s Day increased throughout the years, both in public school districts and on college campuses, President Jimmy Carter issued a presidential proclamation in February 1980 declaring the week of March 8,1980, as National Women’s History Week.

Women's History Month is celebrated
in March in the United States
and in October in Canada.
(Graphic source: National Women's History Project)

In 1987, due to the growing popularity of Women’s History Week and after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress declared March as National Women’s History Month in perpetuity. Since then, a presidential proclamation is issued every year honoring the achievements of American women. (Note: In Canada, Women’s History Month is celebrated in October to coincide with Persons Day on October 18. It’s also an opportunity to celebrate the achievements of women and girls as trailblazers throughout Canadian history.)

This year’s Women’s History Month theme is “Nevertheless, She Persisted.” Most certainly, I equate this theme with the women of the National Panhellenic Conference. We are persistent as we advocate for the sorority experience and work to preserve the single-sex experience. And we are persistent in ensuring our sorority and fraternity communities stay vibrant and healthy.

Historically, our member organizations have survived two world wars, the Great Depression, drops in enrollment and public criticism of Greek-letter organizations.

In 1961, when negative opinion of social organizations was at its highest, NPC was persistent and adopted a twofold strategy: to reaffirm the constitutional right of fraternities to exist by virtue of freedom of assembly and to make an energetic stance toward re-educating the public about the value of sororities. 

For more than a decade, while many campuses became epicenters of social unrest for reasons that went far beyond the fraternity/sorority system, NPC walked a precise line in asserting the autonomy of its member organizations and maintaining constructive communication with host institutions. One triumph of collective, persistent action was NPC’s lobbying for the continued legality of single-sex status for fraternities and sororities. This status gained partial protection in 1974, when the U.S. Congress passed an exemption to Title IX of the Education Amendment of 1972 to allow colleges and universities to recognize single-sex social organizations.

As new issues continue to arise and our member organizations evolve, new opportunities and challenges are presented that profoundly impact operations and strategy of NPC. We will continue to be persistent by working to protect students’ rights to freely associate with a single-sex organization and preserving the rights of single-sex student organizations—so women can continue to benefit from the sorority experience now and for years to come.

How you can get involved:

• Use hashtag #HearHerHarvard to help support the women who are persistent in preserving their single-sex experience. 
• Stay informed on the latest legislation impacting sororities and single-sex organizations by following your member organization and NPC on social media. 
• When asked by your member organization, reach out to your congressional representatives about legislation designed to protect single-sex organizations at colleges and universities.

Interfraternally,

Carole J. Jones
2017-19 NPC chairman

I Wear a Badge: Sara Blakely, Delta Delta Delta

The theme for Women’s History Month in 2017 is “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Business and Labor.” Throughout March, we’ll be sharing the stories of sorority women who made history in these areas. The efforts of these sorority women advance the cause of all women, and we are grateful for their efforts.

From Sara's Notebook (credit)

Meet the youngest self-made female billionaire in America: Sorority woman Sara Blakely.

Blakely is the founder and sole owner of Spanx, a shapewear company that has taken the world by storm in the past two decades. She is also a member of Delta Delta Delta from Florida State University.

Blakely’s journey is unlike many other entrepreneurs. She credits failure for propelling her to the top of her industry. Every week at dinner growing up, Blakely’s father would ask her and her brother, “What did you fail at this week?” They would rejoice and celebrate her failures. She said in an interview with CNBC that, “The gift he was giving me is that failure is when you are not trying. Failure is not the outcome. It's really allowed me to be much freer in trying things and spreading my wings in life."

Growing up, Blakely had always dreamed of being a lawyer, but failed the entrance exams: not once, but twice. She then worked in sales selling fax machines. Spanx was born when she saw a need for comfortable shapewear that fit the modern woman’s needs.

Blakely had never taken a business class, had no training, no retail experience and was entering a steadily declining market. Regardless, she was driven by a purpose and a cause she believed in; one she knew would help make a difference in the lives of women. And, she was guided by the principle that even if she failed, she had tried and she could learn and grow from it.

Today, Blakely speaks often about her experience and why we should not fear failure; rather we should celebrate it. And, the value of philanthropy instilled through her sorority experience is still near and dear to her heart. She created the Sara Blakely Foundation to donate millions to charities around the world, focusing on those that empower underserved women and girls. Additionally, in 2013, she signed the Giving Pledge to donate at least half her wealth to charity.

Resources:

• Caprino, K. (2012, May 23). 10 lessons I learned from Sara Blakely that you won’t hear in business school. Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2012/05/23/10-lessons-i-learned-from-sara-blakely-that-you-wont-hear-in-business-school/#7277a9831438
• Frank, R. (2013, October 16). Billionaire Sara Blakely says secret to success is failure. CNBC. Retrieved from http://www.cnbc.com/2013/10/16/billionaire-sara-blakely-says-secret-to-success-is-failure.html
• Kimball, D. (2015, July 26). Sara Blakely: The college years. [Web log]. Retrieved from http://www.darrylkimball.net/darrylkimballblog/2015/7/26/sara-blakely-the-college-years
• Turtis, M. (2012, March 15). Sara Blakely: 9 things you don’t know about Spanx founder, and youngest Forbes billionaire. Glamour. Retrieved from http://www.glamour.com/story/sarah-blakely-9-things-you-don

I Wear a Badge: Bessie Margolin, Alpha Epsilon Phi

From U.S. Department of Labor (credit)

The theme for Women’s History Month in 2017 is “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Business and Labor.” Throughout March, we’ll be sharing the stories of sorority women who made history in these areas. The efforts of these sorority women advance the cause of all women, and we are grateful for their efforts.

Labor law trailblazer Bessie Margolin was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1909 to Russian, Jewish immigrants. Change came quickly to Margolin at a young age; at the age of two, her family moved to Tennessee and then her mother died. Shortly after, she and her brother were sent to live at the Jewish Children’s Home in New Orleans.

She received a bachelor’s degree from Newcomb College in 1929, a women’s college and affiliate of Tulane University, where she became a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi. After earning a law degree from Tulane, she went on to get a doctorate in law from Yale University in 1933.

At this time, law firms didn’t hire female attorneys, so Margolin turned to the government. She began working for the Tennessee Valley Authority, a government-owned corporation providing electric utilities to the Tennessee Valley region.

During her time at the TVA, she worked as a research attorney, an associate attorney and eventually was promoted to senior attorney after having organized evidence, researched legal issues and written briefs for two cases that were seen by United States Supreme Court.

Margolin left the TVA for the U.S. Department of Labor in 1939 and after learning the ins and outs of the Fair Labor Standards Act, she was promoted to assistant solicitor in charge of Supreme Court appellate litigation.

Following World War II, Margolin worked for the U.S. Department of War during the Nuremburg Trials, drafting original regulation for the military tribunals.

By the 1960s, Margolin had garnered enough acclaim to be recommended to President Lyndon B. Johnson for appointment to the U.S. Court of Claims. In 1966, Margolin assisted in the founding of the National Organization for Women, nicknamed NOW.

She retired in 1972 having argued 24 cases in front of the Supreme Court and winning 21 of them. Following her retirement, Margolin served as an arbitrator and occasionally taught at George Washington University. She died in Virginia on June 19, 1996.

Margolin was known for her independence and intelligence in a field dominated by men. Marlene Trestman, author of “Fair Labor Lawyer: The Remarkable Life of New Deal Attorney and Supreme Court Advocate Bessie Margolin” said, “[she] played the woman card because it was the only one she was dealt.” Instead of allowing her femininity to be a chip on the shoulder of her career, Margolin used her status as a strong woman to blaze a trail for other women to follow in her footsteps.

Resources: 

• Earnst, D. (2013, May 22). Bessie Margolin (1909-1996). Legal History Blog [Web log]. Retrieved from http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2013/05/bessie-margolin-1909-1996.html.
• Book, B. (2016, August 31). Breaking glass ceilings: Bessie Margolin and “the woman card.” Jewesses with Attitude [Web log]. Retrieved from https://jwa.org/blog/breaking-glass-ceilings-bessie-margolin-and-woman-card.

I Wear a Badge: Mary Wells Lawrence, Kappa Alpha Theta

Photo provided by Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity

The theme for Women’s History Month in 2017 is “Honoring Trailblazing Women in Business and Labor.” Throughout March, we’ll be sharing the stories of sorority women who made history in business and labor. The efforts of these sorority women advance the cause of all women, and we are grateful for their efforts.

Advertising trailblazer Mary Wells Lawrence was born May 25, 1928, in Youngstown, Ohio. Lawrence became a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Penn., where she studied for two years.

The start of Lawrence’s advertising career came in 1951, when she worked as a copywriter for McKelvey’s department store in her hometown. After relocating to New York City the following year, she became Macy’s fashion advertising manager. Lawrence then worked as a copywriter and copy group head at the advertising agency McCann Erickson.

In 1957 she took a job at Doyle Dane Bernbach as a copywriter, and eventually served as the vice president-associate chief copy editor there. The smaller agency was shaking up the advertising world with its creative campaigns. Then, she was enticed to leave DDB with a jump in salary and a leadership role by Jack Tinker & Partners. There she garnered notoriety in the advertising world with her campaign for Braniff International Airways, “The End of the Plain Plane."

When the agency denied promoting her to president in 1966 because she was a woman , she left and became the founder and president of her own advertising agency, Wells Rich Greene, making her the first woman president of an advertising agency. Well-known clients of Wells Rich Greene included: American Motors, IBM, RC Cola and Sheraton Hotels & Resorts. Her agency was responsible for many notable campaigns such as “Plop plop, fizz fizz” for Alka-Seltzer and “I Love New York” to promote tourism in New York City. In 1990 she stepped down as CEO and sold her firm to Boulet Dru Dupuy Petit.

Her accolades in the advertising world include working on campaigns that received Clio awards, being the youngest writer at age 40 to enter the Copywriting Hall of Fame and being inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame by the American Advertising Federation in 1999. In addition, President Ford asked her to serve on the President’s Council on Inflation and to be the business representative at the first international economic summit held in Washington, D.C. A memoir entitled “A Big Life (in Advertising)” commemorating her life and career was published in 2002.

Resources:

• Advertising Hall of Fame. (1999). Mary Wells Lawrence. Retrieved from http://advertisinghall.org/members/member_bio.php?memid=834
• Advertising Age. (2003). Lawrence, Mary Wells. Retrieved from http://adage.com/article/adage-encyclopedia/lawrence-mary-wells-1928/98743/
• Wells Lawrence, M. (2002). The lady was an adman. Vanity Fair. Retrieved from http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2002/05/real-life-peggy-olson-mad-men-advertising

Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alpha Epsilon Phi

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who are “Working to Form a More Perfect Union.” Along with the theme of Women’s History Month, we recognize women from public service and government. The fourth featured Panhellenic woman is Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Alpha Epsilon Phi. 

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. She attended Cornell University and received a bachelor’s degree in government. She later went to law school – balancing roles as a mother, wife and student – at Harvard University and then graduated from Columbia Law School after her husband Martin got a job in Manhattan. She began paving the way for women in law at Harvard by becoming the first female member of the “Harvard Law Review.” She continued taking steps for women when in 1963 Ginsburg began serving as only the second woman faculty member at Rutgers Law School and then became the first female tenured professor at Columbia Law School where she taught from 1972-80.

In 1971 Ginsburg was a major part of the creation of the Women’s Rights Project of the American Civil Liberties Union. She also served the ACLU as its general counsel from 1973-80 and on its national board from 1974-80. In her work for the ACLU she went before the U.S. Supreme Court with six landmark cases on gender discrimination.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ginsburg to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. She served in this position until 1993 when President Bill Clinton appointed her to the U.S. Supreme Court. She is the first Jewish woman to serve as a justice and only the second woman, following Sandra Day O’Connor. She lives by three main rules as a judge: caution, moderation and restraint.

Ginsburg truly has helped shape the history of women, and has been recognized for her efforts. In 1999, she received the American Bar Association’s Thurgood Marshall Award for her contributions to gender equality and civil rights.

"My mother told me two things constantly. One was to be a lady, and the other was to be independent.” - Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Sources:

• http://www.biography.com/people/ruth-bader-ginsburg-9312041
• http://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx
• https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Ginsburg.html

Dr. Condoleezza Rice, Alpha Chi Omega

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who are “Working to Form a More Perfect Union.” Along with the theme of Women’s History Month, we recognize women in public service and government. The third featured Panhellenic woman is former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Alpha Chi Omega.

Dr. Rice was born in Birmingham, Ala., and attended the University of Denver where she

received a bachelor’s degree in political science. She went on to receive a master’s from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. from the University of Denver’s Graduate School of International Studies. She served Stanford University as its first woman provost from 1993-99.

She was appointed national security adviser by President George W. Bush in 2001, becoming the first black woman and the second woman ever to hold the position. She was later the first black woman to serve as the U.S. Secretary of State. Rice dedicated her position to “transformational diplomacy” with the goal of creating and maintaining well-governed states around the world. She sent American diplomats to troubled locations such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Angola and required them to become fluent in two foreign languages.

She has written several books: “Germany Unified and Europe Transformed” (1995) with Philip Zelikow, “The Gorbachev Era” (1986) with Alexander Dallin and “Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army” (1984). She has also received several awards such as the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work with Youth/Teens and the NAACP Image Award – President’s Award.

In 2009, Rice became a founding partner of RiceHadleyGates LLC, which focuses on providing strategic counsel to major corporations. She also sits on the board of Dropbox, the George W. Bush Institute and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, to name just a few.

Rice currently works as a professor of political science at Stanford University. She is also the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy at the Hoover Institution and the Denning Professor in Global Business and the Economy at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.

“Differences can be a strength rather than a handicap.” —Condoleezza Rice

Sources:  

• http://www.biography.com/people/condoleezza-rice-9456857
• http://www.hoover.org/profiles/condoleezza-rice

Barbara Levy Boxer, Delta Phi Epsilon

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who are “Working to Form a More Perfect Union.” Along with the theme of Women’s History Month, we recognize women from public service and government. This week's featured Panhellenic woman is Senator Barbara Levy Boxer a member of Delta Phi Epsilon.

Barbara Levy Boxer was born in Brooklyn, New York, and attended Brooklyn College where she received a bachelor’s degree in economics. Following college, she went to work as a secretary and then as a stockbroker to support her husband Stewart while he attended Fordham Law School. The Boxers moved to California and had two children.

After running for office and losing in 1972, Barbara worked as a journalist and then an aide for Congressman John Burton. She ran for office again and was elected Marin County supervisor where she served for six years and became the first woman president of the Marin County Board of Supervisors.

In 1982, she successfully ran for retiring Congressman John Burton’s seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and won. She served in this role for 10 years. As a member of the House Armed Services Committee she worked to reveal incidents of overspending by the Pentagon. In 1991, during the confirmation hearings of Clarence Thomas for Supreme Court justice, she led a march of women in support of Anita Hill, who had accused Thomas of harassment. 

In 1992, California Senator Alan Cranston retired and Barbara was elected to his seat. In 2004, when she ran for her third term as senator, Barbara received nearly 7 million votes, the most votes for a Senate seat in U.S. history. She is currently serving her fourth term as senator and announced that she will retire at the end of this term. Following the 2004 election, she took a position in the Democratic Party's senate leadership as Chief Deputy Whip.  She currently serves as the chair of the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee.

Barbara has said, “More than anything, I think as our country matures, we recognize that women deserve to be treated with respect and dignity.”

Sources:

• http://www.biography.com/people/barbara-boxer-597336
• https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/Boxer.html
• http://history.house.gov/People/Detail?id=9704

Laura Bush, Kappa Alpha Theta

Laura Bush at Butler University in 2014.

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who are “Working to Form a More Perfect Union.” Along with the theme of Women’s History Month, we recognize women from public service and government. The first featured Panhellenic woman is Former First Lady Laura Bush, a member of Kappa Alpha Theta.

Laura Bush was born in Midland, Texas and attended Southern Methodist University where she received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. Laura attended the University of Texas at Austin for graduate school where she earned a master’s in library science. She married George W. Bush Nov. 7, 1977.

Laura has always focused on education. As First Lady of Texas, she successfully lobbied for state funding of early reading, literacy and early childhood development programs. She also began an annual Texas Book Festival that successfully raises funds for the purchase of books through the state public library system.

In 2001 when she became First Lady of the United States, Laura supported various government efforts to promote reading and education. She served as a spokesperson for three programs: The New Teacher Project, Troops to Teachers and Transition to Teaching. She created a national initiative, "Ready to Read, Ready to Learn," to inform parents and policy makers about early childhood education and the importance of reading aloud to children.

Laura has received many awards and honors in her lifetime. She accepted the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's (UNESCO) honorary ambassadorship for its Decade of Literacy. Congress named a librarian program at the Institute of Museum and Library Services in her honor. Also, funded through the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, the "Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program" became public law.

“The power of a book lies in its power to turn a solitary act into a shared vision. As long as we have books, we are not alone.” – Laura Bush

You can read about more notable members of Kappa Alpha Theta on its Heritage homepage.

Source:
http://www.firstladies.org/biographies/firstladies.aspx?biography=44

Virginia Dill McCarty, Pi Beta Phi

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The third and final featured Panhellenic woman is Virginia Dill McCarty, a member of Pi Beta Phi at Indiana University. McCarty was an innovator for women in law and the first woman to serve as U.S. Attorney General.

McCarty was born in Plainfield, Ind. and attended Indiana University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in law. She graduated first in her class and was elected to serve as Indianapolis Editor of the Indiana Law Journal. In 1965, she served as an Indiana Deputy Attorney General. Following her term, she served as a member of the Indiana Board of Law Examiners from 1971-76.

In 1979, she was appointed U.S. Attorney General by President Jimmy Carter, serving a full, four-year term. After serving as Attorney General, she was Chairman of the Board of the Indiana Department of Correction. She was a practicing attorney until her death in 2006.

Throughout her lifetime, McCarty received many awards and honors. She was the first winner of the Indiana State Bar Association Women Lawyers Committee Women in the Law Achievement Award in 1996. She was also the first to receive the Outstanding Alumna award from the Women’s Division of Indiana University School of Law, Indianapolis in 2000. 

Judith Resnik, Alpha Epsilon Phi

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The second featured Panhellenic woman is Judith Resnik, a member of Alpha Epsilon Phi at Carnegie Mellon. Resnik was an American engineer and a NASA astronaut. She was the second female astronaut in the United States, logging over 140 hours in orbit.  

Resnik was born in Akron, Ohio. While in high school, she achieved a perfect SAT and went on to study electrical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. After graduating in 1970, Resnik earned her Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland.

After graduating, Resnik worked with Xerox Corporation as a systems engineer, was affiliated with the National Institutes of Health as a biomedical engineer, and was employed by RCA as a design engineer. In 1978, she was recruited to the astronaut program. Her first space flight was in 1984 as a mission specialist on the maiden voyage of Discovery. She was the first American Jewish astronaut in space and the first Jewish woman in the world in space. During her first flight, she caused notoriety for her acrobatics and sense of humor, as many viewers were accustomed to seeing only men in space.

In 1986, she boarded her the Space Shuttle Challenger for her second mission. She tragically died in the launch disaster. Resnik received multiple awards after her death, including landmarks and buildings that carry her name. A dormitory at Carnegie Mellon and an engineering lecture hall at the University of Maryland are both named after Resnik. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineering (IEEE) Judith Resnik Award is presented each year to teams or individuals with outstanding contributions to space engineering. She was also one of ten finalists in 2010 to represent Ohio in the National Statuary Hall located in Washington. 

Mary Ritter Beard, Kappa Alpha Theta

To celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The first featured Panhellenic woman is Mary Ritter Beard, a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at DePauw University. Beard was an American historian and activist who played an important role in the women’s suffrage movement. She was born in Indianapolis and was the fourth of seven children.

While studying at DePauw University in 1897, Beard was influenced by two of her sorority sisters who were not satisfied with limiting themselves to the conventional roles and courses of women. After graduating from DePauw, Beard worked as a German teacher in Greencastle, Ind. She married Charles Austin Beard in 1900, and they had two children born in 1901 and 1907. They moved to New York City where they both attended graduate school at Colombia University for Sociology.

Beard became involved with the suffrage movement through her work for the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL). Through this organization, she hoped to improve labor conditions for women and believed that suffrage would speed up governmental regulation of economic conditions which would improve the lives of the working class. In addition to her role in WTUL, Beard was a leader in the New York City Suffrage Party (NYCSP), and an editor for their publication “The Woman Voter.” In 1913, she left NYCSP to join the Congressional Union (CU), where she became an executive member of the board and editor of its weekly magazine “The Suffragist.” On multiple occasions, Beard helped organize, strategize, lecture, participate in demonstrations and write articles — she even testified before House and Senate committees on suffrage.

Later in her life, Beard concentrated more on her writings. Through the written word, she sought to educate women about their history and value to society. In 1935, she founded the World Center for Women’s Archives (WCWA), which collected women’s published and unpublished records. The center also established an educational institution for women. This center was endorsed by Eleanor Roosevelt and generated a huge interest in women’s history.

Geraldine “Jerrie” Fredritz Mock, Phi Mu

Photo courtesy of "The Aglaia" of Phi Mu

In honor of Women’s History Month, the NPC blog is featuring biographies of Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. Our final post spotlights Geraldine “Jerrie” Fredritz Mock, who was initiated as a Phi Mu at The Ohio State University, where she studied aeronautical engineering. The first woman to fly solo around the world, she had always been fascinated with flying and married a pilot; her husband only encouraged her to pursue her interest in aviation. She received her private pilot’s license in 1958 and decided she wanted to see the world in 1964, leaving for her worldwide flight in March that year.

 Mock encountered several difficulties in her journey around the world. Shortly after leaving from Columbus, Ohio ¾ where she lived with her husband and their three children ¾ she realized that her long-range radio was not working properly. When she landed at her first stop in Bermuda, she found that her brakes were also not working as well as they should have been. She had the radio fixed in Bermuda and made additional stops in Morocco, Tripoli, Cairo, Manila, Saudi Arabia, Guam, Honolulu, California, Arizona, Texas and Kentucky before arriving home in Columbus 29 days, 11 hours and 59 minutes after she left.

Her flight set a total of seven records. Twenty-seven years after Amelia Earhart’s mysterious disappearance, Jerrie Mock became the first woman to fly solo around the world, the first woman to fly around the world in a single-engine plane and the first woman to fly over both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. She also set a record for the fastest flight around the world for Class C1-c aircraft, among several other records. Her plane, the Spirit of Columbus, was re-acquired by Cessna after her flight and was displayed at the Cessna factory until 1976, when Cessna donated it to the Smithsonian Institute. Today, the Smithsonian displays it at the Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C.

After her record-setting flight around the world, Mock continued to fly and set several more world records. She was presented with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration Exceptional Service Decoration in 1964 and was awarded the Louis Bleriot Silver Medal by the Féderation Aéronatique Internationale in 1965.

Sources:

http://www.faa.gov/about/history/celebration/media/Jerrie_Mock.pdf

http://www.soloflights.org/mock_text_e.html

http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/topics/women-in-aviation/mock.cfm

Edith Head, Delta Zeta

Photo courtesy of Delta Zeta Sorority

To help celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog is spotlighting Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The third featured Panhellenic woman is Edith Head, an academy- award winning costume designer and member of Delta Zeta. Head was born in San Bernardino, Calif., and raised in the mining town of Searchlight, Nev. She attended the University of California, Berkeley and earned a master’s degree in French from Stanford University. After completing her education, Head taught school until 1923. In 1924, she began her career as a costume sketch artist for Paramount Pictures.

Although she started as a sketch artist, Head worked her way up and quickly became known as one of Hollywood’s top costume designers. During her career, Head designed costumes for black and white films, color films and television. She designed for the top stars at Paramount Pictures and Universal Studios, where she constructed many iconic dresses that are still replicated today. Head was known for her outgoing personality and willingness to work with stars to create the perfect wardrobe. To honor her contributions to costume design, Head was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 1960, Head was selected by Delta Zeta as an honorary convention initiate. She was initiated as an alumna member into Mu Chapter at the University of California, Berkeley. After her initiation, Head continued to be involved with Delta Zeta. She lent her talents to the Southern California Council of Delta Zeta for its Lamplighters’ Flame Fantasy fashion show several times during the 1960s and 1970s. In 1968, Head was named Delta Zeta Woman of the Year.  The Delta Zeta Foundation awards a scholarship in her name for members studying fashion design.

Head died Oct. 24, 1981. In 2013, Google commemorated Head’s accomplishments and what would have been her 116^th birthday with a Google Doodle. Head’s career as a costume designer spanned over 50 years and included 35 academy-award nominations and eight Oscars. She holds the record for most academy-award nominations and the most Oscars for a female.

Edith Head will be forever remembered as a Panhellenic sister who opened doors for women in the male-dominated field of costume design.

Sources:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0372128/bio

http://my.umbc.edu/groups/umbcgreek/news/37561

Margaret Chase Smith, Sigma Kappa

Photo courtesy of Sigma Kappa

To help celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog is spotlighting Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The second featured woman is Margaret Chase Smith a member of Sigma Kappa. Smith was an accomplished politician and a proud Panhellenic woman.  She was born and raised in Skowhegan, Maine. She graduated from Skowhegan High School in 1916 and married Clyde Smith, a politician, in 1930. Smith became involved in local politics during the 1930s when she was elected to the Maine Republican State Committee. After her husband unexpectedly passed away in 1940, she ran for and won his spot in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Smith was the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress and was the first woman from Maine to serve in both the House and the Senate. Smith’s political career began in 1940 and lasted until 1972; during that time she was the first woman to lead the Senate Republican Conference. In the 1964 presidential election, Smith tossed her hat into the ring and was the first woman to receive a nomination at a major party convention. Despite losing every primary election, she stuck with it until she placed second to the other Republican candidate, Barry Goldwater. Smith was honored for her accomplishments in politics with the Presidential Medal of Freedom awarded by George H.W. Bush in 1989.

Although Smith never attended college, she was awarded an honorary degree from Colby College in 1943. In 1949, the Sigma Kappa Alpha Chapter at Colby College extended Smith an offer of honorary membership. On Feb. 18, 1949, Smith was initiated into the Sigma Kappa sisterhood.

Margaret Chase Smith exemplifies the definition of a Panhellenic woman. She was a fearless leader who opened doors for women in politics. During her lifetime she received 95 honorary degrees and more than 270 honors and awards. Smith will forever be remembered for her contributions as a member of Congress and as a trailblazing Panhellenic woman.

Sources:
http://www.mcslibrary.org/bio/biolong.htm

http://www.sigmakappa.org/Significant_SK_Politics/

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=888&dat=19490218&id=zedOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Xk4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4581,1627456

Carrie Chapman Catt, Pi Beta Phi

Photo Courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
In this portrait taken in 1883, Carrie Chapman Catt 
is proudly wearing her arrow badge in the style of the day.

To help celebrate Women’s History Month, the NPC blog will spotlight Panhellenic women who have been influential historical figures. The first featured Panhellenic woman is Carrie Chapman Catt, a member of Pi Beta Phi at Iowa State University. Catt was a notable women’s suffragist and founded the League of Women Voters. She was born in Wisconsin but moved to Iowa as a child, where she lived for much of her life.

Catt worked as a teacher to pay for her education and was the only woman in her graduating class in 1880. After college, she continued to work as a teacher and was later appointed superintendent of schools, becoming one of the first women in the country to be named to such a position. 

She became involved in the suffrage movement in 1887, when she joined the Iowa Woman Suffrage Association. In her involvement with the organization, she served as a professional writer and lecturer, recording secretary and state organizer. She later became involved with the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and spoke at the group’s convention in 1890 in Washington, D.C. 

Catt became NAWSA president in 1900, following Susan B. Anthony’s term as president. Catt resigned her presidency in 1904 but resumed that role in 1915. During her second term as president, the 19th Amendment granting women the right to vote was finally passed, after which Catt officially left her role as NAWSA president.

Catt continued to be involved with advocacy work for the rest of her life, founding the League of Women Voters and supporting the formation of the United Nations. 

Sources:
http://www.catt.org/ccabout.html
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/naw/cattbio.html