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Beta Upsilon
Bϓ
Founded	December 22, 1906 (1906-12-22) (117 years ago)
College	West Virginia University
Location	Morgantown, West Virginia
Homepage	Beta Upsilon Website
Media related to Beta Upsilon Chapter

West Virginia University established in 1867, Morgantown, West Virginia

Beta Upsilon founded December 22, 1906 - 12 Charter Members

2,362 initiates (as of June 2015)

Some of Beta Upsilon’s Outstanding Alumnae: (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)

Fraternity Council Officers:

Harriet French, Director of Chapters, 1942-1944; JoAnn Dodds (Richardson) Field Secretary, 1951-1953; Doris Stoetzer (Smith), Field Secretary, 1951-1953; Susan Brown (Hardesty), Field Secretary, 1967-1969; Elizabeth (Betsy) Klebe (Diedzic), Field Secretary 1979-1981; Christie Mullett (McCartney), Traveling Consultant, 1996-1997; Sarah Shupe (Sperry), Traveling Consultant, 1997-1998; Jenny Margolin, Leadership Consultant, 2007-2008; Stephanie Mathias, Leadership Consultant, 2009-2010, 2011;

Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:

Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients: Louise Keener, 1956, comptroller at West Virginia University and honored community and business volunteer; Dr. Mary Louise Scholl, 1988, developmental pediatric neurologist

Other Notable members:

Edna Arnold, dean of women at West Virginia for 16 years; Harriett French, honored law professor; Lynda Troller, former UPI photographer Margaret Buchanan Cole, Ph.D., retired associate professor of mathematics and president of the West Virginia University Alumni Association; Constance Bailey (McLaughlin), Graduate Counselor, 1941-1942; Margaret Miller (Copeland), Graduate Counselor, 1949-1950; Margaret Copeland (Bobby), Graduate Counselor, 1949-1951;Jean Bowling (Quenon), Graduate Counselor, 1951-1952; Barbara Sayre, Graduate Counselor, 1959-1960; Nancy VanDilst (Rice), Graduate Counselor, 1964-1966; Mary Lindsay (Woofter), Graduate Counselor, 1966-1967; M. Linda Troeller, Graduate Counselor, 1971-1973; Elizabeth (Betsy) Klebe (Diedzic), Graduate Counselor, 1980-1982

The Early Years

The seven members of the local, Kappa Delta, at West Virginia University in Morgantown were pioneers. They conceived the idea of petitioning a national fraternity even though there was much opposition and indifference to fraternities for women by the faculty. Progress was slow, but with the aid of three resident Kappas, they finally succeeded in getting a charter from Kappa Kappa Gamma.

Beta Upsilon Chapter was installed on December 22, 1906, by Grand President Mary Griffith (Canby), Pennsylvania, at the residence of a local Kappa, who felt privileged to open her new home to her new Kappa sisters. After the installation of the 12 charter members, the baby chapter met for the first time, using the new gavel presented by Wooster, the sponsoring chapter. Two new members were promptly initiated.

Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity opened its house for the initiation banquet and a “house party,” as the 13 visiting Kappas stayed there. The large living hall of the Phi Psi house presented a beautiful picture. Logs gave forth a cheery blaze in the great brick fireplace wreathed in holly, and Christmas greens hung everywhere. Red candles in crystal candlesticks accented the long banquet table, and bunches of dark red carnations, the flower of the Kappa Deltas, marked each place.

At the time of Installation, West Virginia had been a degree-granting institution for 30 years, but had been open to women for only 16. During those years, enrollment for women had increased from three in 1890 to 230 in 1906. Alpha Xi Delta and Chi Omega had been installed on campus the preceding spring.

Housing

In the fall of 1907, Beta Upsilon attempted to find a permanent meeting place. A dormitory room was rented for $10 a month, but proved to be too expensive, so the chapter met in the homes of town girls.

Beta Upsilon was the pioneer in starting the movement for fraternity houses in 1914, but it was not until 1917 that the university finally gave its approval. The chapter rented a house at 120 High Street … a big undertaking with only $30 in the bank and not a rug, a pan or even a can opener to start housekeeping with. Alumnae donated or loaned furniture, even a piano, or sent money.

The Kappas lived happily there until the property was sold, although the lease had two more years to run. There the chaperone and the girls lived under the new landlord’s strict rules until they longed for a house of their own. During the next four years, the chapter spent $8,000 in rent for a house at 230 Kirk Street, worrying all the time that it might be sold out from under them.

After being the first of the women’s fraternities at West Virginia to rent a house, Beta Upsilon now became the first to own one. With a loan from the Fraternity Endowment Fund, pledges from alumnae, and the chapter savings account, a $16,000 house was purchased at 247 Prospect Street, just a block from campus. Chapter members lived there from 1930 to 1939.

In 1937, Clara O. Pierce, Ohio State, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Executive Secretary, and Margaret Reed Baker, Akron, Kappa architect, came to Morgantown to look into the possibility of building a new and modern home for the chapter. In 1938, a lot was purchased across the street from the house they owned. The alumnae were very involved and interested. Just as construction started, the man in charge of the stone work met with an accident. At the insistence of the Morgantown architect, a local alumna promised to oversee the work and took a course in stone masonry in Pittsburgh. She practically lived at the new building site, supervising every bit of the construction.

Again, Beta Upsilon was first—the first sorority on campus to build a house. Members moved into the upper floors on September 15, 1939, while the lower floor was being finished. Everyone shared the excitement of getting the workmen out and the decorators in with the furnishings in time to carry out plans for a formal housewarming on Founders Day. They proudly welcomed 300 guests to the new three-story Colonial house with the Kappa coat-of-arms beautifully displayed on a chimney above the side porch.

The chapter’s financial problems were many, but the chapter carried on by renting and finally selling the old house, and seeing that alumna members paid their pledges.

Traditions and Honors

Alumnae living in Morgantown have had a good relationship with the active chapter during the years, and are very loyal. The alumnae and active chapter occasionally meet together, and in the early years the alumnae were always welcomed to special Sunday teas. The Kappa mothers in Morgantown have also been most helpful. Mother’s Day is always celebrated with a tea for in-town and out-of-town mothers.

Another early tradition that kept Kappa ties unbroken was the annual breakfast at the beginning of the commencement season. Alumnae gathered to reminisce and exchange news, and the seniors were their guests.

The chapter has always held a prominent place on the campus in college activities, and ranks high in scholarship. Beta Upsilon is the permanent possessor of the Aaron Arkin Scholarship Cup, which had to be won five consecutive times before retiring it. It also twice won the Alfred Jarrett Hare Cup, which replaced the Arkin Cup.

Just as Beta Upsilon developed, so did West Virginia University. From 12 Kappas in 1906 to 237 in 1930, the chapter grew to 981 in 1973. The university had 930 students in 1906; 3,554 in 1930; and approximately 15,000 in 1973. The 10-block 1930 campus had grown to a three-way divided campus covering 610 acres in 1973. There were approximately 3,000 faculty members. Beta Upsilon Chapter has also contributed to the Fraternity during those early years with 3 Field Secretaries; and six Graduate Counselors.

Louise Keener, who was comptroller at West Virginia, was the second woman to be made a member of Vandalia, an outstanding honor in West Virginia. She received the Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award for the field of business in 1956.

Among other notable Beta Upsilons, one alumna served as dean of women at the University for 16 years; another was a UPI photographer covering the Olympic sailing events in Kiel, Germany, one a professor of law at Miami University and another, a graduate of the law school, received the Order of the Coif. Another early alumna was associate professor of Mathematics at the University and has the distinction of being the first woman to serve as president of the West Virginia University Alumni Association.

Beta Upsilon members are still being chosen for membership in honor societies, elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and being honored in dancing, swimming, speech pathology, audiology and more. Many go on to post-graduate degrees.

The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.

Highlights of the 1980s

The highlight of 1985 was being the first sorority on campus to fill quota, which was raised to 41 this year. Since the number of girls rushing did not increase, it promoted more competition between the sororities. The main challenge during the year was to improve public relations, which we did with exchange dinners between the sororities, a welcoming committee for a new Greek chapter on campus to promote InterGreek unity. Our philanthropy this year was with Pi Kappa Alpha, to support Cerebral Palsy. Several members were inducted into Mortar Board, Phi Beta Kappa, Rho Lambda and other honor groups. One member was elected to the Board of Governors.

In 1988 Beta Upsilon came out on top during rush with the number one quota of 64 bringing membership to its highest ever with 160 members. At Province Meeting the chapter won scholarship and membership awards, and on campus, placed second in scholarship achievement, philanthropy and Greek Week which helped to benefit the Morgantown Big Brothers/Big Sisters. A new philanthropy program was begun, The Kappa Kids's Club. Kappas visit the Children's Hospital at Ruby Memorial as volunteers and in October held a Halloween party for the young patients there.

Beta Upsilon won first place in the Mountaineer Week competition during the 1989-90 school year and continued it's new Kappa Kid's Club at the Children's Hospital. Campus-wide, new identification cards have been distributed to fraternity and sorority members to use when attending Greek events. A new alcohol policy has been implemented campus-wide for the fraternities, a challenge in getting used to the new policy.

Highlights of 1990s

In 1990 Beta Upsilon started a new philanthropy of its own: See-Saw Athon. After making a creative see-saw, all campus fraternities participated by see-sawing for 12 hours to raise money for the American Cancer Society, Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation and a Scholarship Fund started in memory of a sister killed in a car accident that year. The new alcohol policy was implemented and successfully followed. The Greek ID cards were discontinued and orange stickers with the word “Greek” are placed on student ID cards. Changes on campus include the colonizing of Zeta Tau Alpha and Sigma Kappa and the closing of Delta Delta Delta. In compliance with the new alcohol policy, a new non-alcoholic barbecue was held with Sigma Chi.

The fall of 1991 Beta Upsilon was voted Most Outstanding Sorority on campus, and for the second consecutive year captured the highest Grade Point Average Award among all fraternity/sorority organizations. The chapter welcomed Fraternity representatives who attended initiation of the new pledges in February. In addition to other philanthropies, members knitted blue toboggans (caps) for cancer patients at Ruby Memorial Hospital. The chapter fulfilled its goal to have 75% attendance at Kappa functions, through coordination of various communication efforts. At Province Meeting in Chapel Hill, N.C., the chapter won first place awards for Social Awareness and Finance, and Honorable Mention in Membership. This year, the first Sapphire Ball was held to honor the pledge class. In 1994 Beta Upsilon received honorable mention at the Fraternity Convention for its pledge membership program. Members regularly attend BADD (Brothers against drunk driving) as alcohol policies are strictly followed withing the fraternities.

In 1995, a new philanthropy, Homerun Derby, was an outstanding achievement, taking place on the softball field. A new sisterhood activity, movie night, was instituted at the chapter house, helping new and older members become better acquainted. The goal this year was to increase involvement, spirit, moral to 90%, and to have 90% of the chapter above a 2.5 grade point average.

In the Fall of 1997 we were voted Most Outstanding Sorority on campus and captured the highest Grade Point Average Award among all sororities for the second consecutive year. In 1998 the chapter received honorable mention at Convention for its Race Against Violence philanthropy and for its Alumnae/Active relationships, plus Most Efficient and Outstanding House Board award. In the fall the chapter hosted a successful Parent's Date Party to orient our pledges' parents with Kappa. The chapter continues to use the newly implemented Rush policies focusing on communication rather than skits and decorations.

The close of the decade found Beta Upsilon continuing to have the highest GPA on campus. The biggest challenge was participation, with members balancing studies and sorority events, but instituting Sister of the Week awards for participating in activities helped turn a negative into a positive. the chapter is also the only sorority on campus who participates in all of the sororities' philanthropies. It raised $1,600 in its 5K race which went to the Rape and Domestic Violence Center, the Children's Network and to the Melissa Blum Scholarship Fund.

Housing: Owns their chapter house.

Philanthropy:

Participates in all other sorority philanthropies on campus. Rape and Domestic Violence Center, Children's Network, Homerun Derby, Salvation Army Clothing Drive, Ronald McDonald House, Rose McGill Fund, Mountainview Rehabilitation Hospital, visiting sick children as part of “Kappa Kids Club,” knitting blue hats for cancer patients at Ruby Memorial Hospital.

Chapter Convention Awards:

Most Efficient and Outstanding House Board, 1998

Highlights of 2000-2010:

The chapter excelled in philanthropies, the only sorority on campus participating in all sororities' philanthropies. It placed first in the Delta Gamma Anchor Splash, first in Phi Sigma Phantasia, second place in Sigma Chi's Derby Days and third place in the TKE Feud. It also claimed the highest GPA on campus.

For the 23rd consecutive year Beta Upsilon held the title of best grades on campus in 2007. The chapter participated in spring informal Recruitment for the first time in five years. At Province Meeting the chapter won Best Overall chapter, Risk Management, Scholarship and Best Advisory Board awards. It started a new philanthropy called First Book and joined Kappa Alpha to hold a Christmas Party for the Boys and Girls Club. This year the campus began restoring and remodeling older buildings, enrollment on campus is grew and a new University president was installed.

Highlights of 2011 –2019:

Highlights (scholarship, honors/awards, special events, philanthropy and service projects, etc.):

Highlights of 2012

Through the year of 20112-2013 Breana Marquand and Lakyn Hose were awarded the Kappa Kappa Gamma undergraduate scholarship award from the foundation. If you would like the full list of each scholarship awarded to all chapter women, please contact me. Kappa Kappa Gamma Beta Upsilon chapter won the WVU spirit stick for being very school spirited and involved on campus.

At convention, the Beta Upsilon chapter was awarded the Most Improved Academic Excellence award.

We had quite a few special events throughout the year. We hosted a Chapter Founder's day, Senior Luncheon, Sapphire Ball, Spring Formal, and Parent's Weekend. We had a lot of philanthropic involvement this year. Every year we host Kappa Klassic for all the fraternities on campus to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. We also participate in every fraternity philanthropy on campus to remain very active in Greek life. We participated in Relay for Life, Dance Marathon for Children's Miracle Network, Alzheimer's Walk, and Greek Clean-up.

Last year, our chapter's goal was to get back to the foundation about what Kappa really means to us and try to better the chapter by following the bylaws. One of the major challenges we noticed was our policies and procedures were out of date. To overcome these challenges and we chose to reach out for help from chapter alumni. We also kept a strong chapter council to help lead the chapter. When Hurricane Sandy came and wiped out a lot of cities and towns, we decided to help anyway we could. We donated toiletries, clothes, and other necessities to relief organizations in the New Jersey, New York area.

Highlights of 2014

We had quite a few special events over the past year. In the spring we enjoyed our annual Spring Formal and hosted Senior Send Off for our members graduating. We hosted Founders Day where sixteen alumnae came, which we thoroughly enjoyed. They shared their favorite memories and told us what Kappa means to them. In the fall, we participated in Formal Recruitment in mid-September. We also hosted a parent date party where we had a raffle to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. We are very involved in philanthropic work on campus. We host several events of our own, such as our annual Bowling for Books, in which fraternities on campus participate to raise money for Reading is Fundamental. We also remain active in Greek life on campus and participate in every fraternity philanthropy. We also participated in Relay for Life, Dance Marathon, and Greek Clean Up. We recently worked with a local homeless shelter, the Bartlett House. We had the opportunity to serve there by cleaning the facilities, tutoring and playing with children, filing paperwork, sorting clothes, and donating necessities. We are currently in the process of starting a Big Sis program with the Bartlett House, which we are very excited about. It has been years since our chapter has had a newsletter, but our new Public Relations chair published the first Kappa Klippings for January-February 2015. We hope to continue this throughout the years to come. Our registrar is creating a scrapbook for the school year, and we would like for this to become a tradition. We received a warning of probation, which was definitely a wake up call for our chapter. We are striving to get back to the ideals that Kappa was founded on, and we have seen tremendous progress. We are working together to enforce risk management procedures, improve chapter management, and increase sisterhood. We have already seen a huge improvement, and we can't wait to see what this next year brings.

Our chapter prides itself on having the reputation of being "Kappa Klassy." We are a service-oriented sorority, and we have maintained great relationships with all of Greek life on campus. We have a strong sisterhood that is only increasing. Many chapters, including ours, are on a warning of probation. We are working together to change our chapter for the better, and other chapters on campus are as well. In mid-November, all Greek organizations on campus were placed on a moratorium. This was spurred by the death of a fraternity new member in a fraternity related event. This fraternity had already lost its charter previous to the death of the student, but the University saw this as an opportunity to rebuild Greek life on campus. During this time, sororities and fraternities were not allowed to engage in social events. The only events allowed required approval by Student Activities at least 48 hours in advance. These were mostly weekly chapter meetings and philanthropic events. Although the circumstances were unfortunate, this provided time for our chapter to increase sisterhood become more involved in philanthropic projects. We took this as an opportunity to improve the chapter as a whole. We fulfilled the 2/3 requirement for a sisterhood event and a philanthropic event to be lifted from moratorium on Feb. 4.

Highlights of 2015

One member from Beta Upsilon received an undergraduate scholarship from the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation, and many of our members have scholarships through various other sources. If you would like a full list of each scholarship awarded to all chapter women, please let me know.

We had numerous special events throughout the past year. In the spring we had our annual spring formal, and we also hosted the annual Senior Send Off, honoring our graduating members. In October we hosted Founder’s Day. We also hosted a Parent Date Party, where the proceeds benefited the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Endowment Fund.

We are very involved in philanthropic work on campus. We are involved with Greek Life on campus, and we participate in every fraternity philanthropy. We have even had the opportunity to participate in other sorority philanthropies as well. We also host our own philanthropies, such as Bowling for Books (spring philanthropy) and Hoops for Huggins (fall philanthropy). In the spring we volunteered quite a bit at the Bartlett House, which is a homeless shelter in our community. We have also continued to donate food the shelter this semester.

Our registrar made a scrapbook for the 2014-2015 school year, and she presented it to the chapter in August. Our PR chair is continuing to make the monthly newsletter, which members are enjoying. In August, we were told that our Warning of Probation would be extended. We have already seen so much progress in the chapter. We have placed emphasis on improving risk management procedures, chapter management, and increasing sisterhood. We recently won several awards at the Panhellenic Banquet. These awards included Maintenance of Fine Standards, Excellence in Risk Management, Order of Omega Award for Academic Excellence, Excellence in New Member Education and Retention, Greek Woman of the Year (President Ellen Walburn), and Outstanding Alumna of the Year (Whitney Hatcher). We also just had initiation this month, and we welcomed 45 new sisters into Kappa.

Due to the moratorium last year, WVU’s Greek Life is continuing to see changes this year. Greek Life on our campus is striving to become more service-oriented and academically focused. The University decided to change recruitment to deferred recruitment. Although details are uncertain, we believe this will be put in place next year.

Chapter Philanthropy:

What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?

We have always raised money for our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. Last spring we hosted Bowling for Books, where fraternities on campus brought books to donate and their entry fee was donated to Reading is Fundamental. In October we hosted our first annual Hoops for Huggins. The money was donated to the Norma Mae Huggins Research Endowment Fun, which funds cancer research in West Virginia.

Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?

We chose to support the Norma Mae Huggins Research Endowment Fund because we wanted to have a local philanthropy as well as our national philanthropy. Nearly everyone will be affected by cancer (either themselves, family, or friends) at some point in their lives. Because of this, most people will be able to relate to the Norma Mae Huggins Research Endowment Fund’s purpose.

Highlights of the 2020s:

(To be filled out by the chapter Registrar) Highlights (scholarship, honors/awards, special events, philanthropy and service projects, etc.):

Housing:

Philanthropy:

Chapter Convention Awards

Note to Chapter Registrars: Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of The Key to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance.

Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!