| Epsilon Beta | |
|---|---|
| EB | |
 | |
| Founded | March 10, 1956 |
| College | Colorado State University |
| Location | Fort Collins, CO |
| Homepage | Epsilon Beta Homepage |
| Media related to Epsilon Beta Chapter | |
Colorado State University (formerly Colorado Agricultural and Mechanical College), established in 1870 in Fort Collins, Colorado
Epsilon Beta founded March 10, 1956
1732 initiates (as of June 2012)
Outstanding Epsilon Beta Alumnae
Fraternity Officers:
Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:
Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:
Contents
The Early Years
Colorado State University, the state’s oldest educational institution, was founded at the foot of the Rockies in 1870. It is still a Land Grant institution and is governed by the State Board of Agriculture, but is no longer known as the “Aggies.”
Colorado State is located in Fort Collins, which has grown from a small college town of 25,000 in the 1960’s to an expanding metropolis of nearly 60,000 in the early 1970’s. The size of the university has also more than doubled. The current enrollment is 18,411. Colorado State’s colleges include Agricultural Sciences, Business, Engineering, Forestry and Natural Resources, Home Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The College of Veterinary Medicine is considered one of the nation’s best.
Epsilon Beta Chapter was colonized in the fall of 1955. Due to a lessening of interest in sorority and fraternity membership since the 1960’s, several Greek chapters at Colorado State closed, but enthusiasm is still strong for Epsilon Beta. Outstanding girls are pledged, and there is capacity housing for 60 members.
Helen Cornish Hutchinson, Oklahoma, Director of Alumnae in 1955; Eleanore Goodridge Campbell, Colorado, Director of Membership; and Edith Culver Cross, Colorado, a Fort Collins alumna, gave this chapter its start. The Beta Mu Chapter at Colorado University conducted the program that resulted in a first pledge class of 17. The Colorado chapter was also present when Epsilon Beta was installed March 10, 1956 by Fraternity President, Edith Reese Crabtree, Wooster; Clara O. Pierce, Ohio State, Executive Secretary; Ruth Armstrong Harris, California, Director of Philanthropies; and Eleanore Goodridge Campbell, Colorado.
Housing
Epsilon Beta’s first home was of white stucco, had a red tile roof, wrought iron porch furniture and French provincial and early American style interior furnishings. A fashionable boutique was later housed there. As Colorado State’s enrollment increased, the Panhellenic quota changed, and the chapter needed more space. In September 1960, a move was made to the present home, west of the campus with a beautiful view of the foothills and distant Long’s Peak. The three-story light brick French provincial structure with a blue front door was originally decorated by Grace S. Anderson Agee, Oklahoma, an interior decorator. It was refurbished in 1973, with help from the Fort Collins Alumnae Club (now Association) and the Denver Mother’s Club.
From the time of colonization, the Fort Collins Alumnae Club, organized in 1956, has been of invaluable service to the chapter. Communication lines have always been open between alumnae and actives. Joint activities have included a Christmas party and Easter egg hunt at the Kappa house for children of alumnae, and Monday night dinners honoring one or more alumnae who remain for the fireside and meeting. Alumnae provided cherry cheesecakes for Fireside, and during finals would furnish snacks to brighten the tedious week. Alumnae also sponsored an annual chapter scholarship and were instrumental in organizing Epsilon Beta’s House Corporation in February 1973.
Honors and Traditions
Awards and recognition have come to both alumnae and actives. Epsilon Beta’s Advisory Board won an honorable mention at the 1960 Convention. The chapter received the award for the best active-alumnae relationship at the Province Meeting in Salt Lake City in 1973.
The Fort Collins Alumnae Club won one of the Rheva Ott Shryock, Pennsylvania gavels at the 1974 Convention for outstanding service to a chapter.
Throughout its history, Epsilon Beta has participated in philanthropies, which include Christmas parties for area orphanages; blood donation drives; caroling for area nursing homes; fundraising for the March of Dimes; cancer research; and the Walk for Mankind. The chapter sponsored a program of intercommunication between the United States and Vietnam via letters and tape exchanges with Fighter Squadron 191 in 1967. Epsilon Beta’s “Kappa Pickers” took part in three USO tours to Japan, Korea, and the Philippines, and two tours to Vietnam in 1970-71.
The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Goanna 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
Colorado State entered the 1980s rated as a Class I research university by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Education, with a new Veterinary Teaching Hospital and several “firsts” in areas ranging from climatology to solar energy. A revolutionary arthroscopic surgery for horses was developed in the veterinary school and CSU’s equine sciences major was the first to be offered in the nation. In 1988 Colorado State received its largest research award to date: a three-year $25 million grant to conduct research on and provide graduate education and technical assistance for Egyptian water problems. The next year the university opened its first student recreation center and a new Molecular and Radiological Biosciences Building.
The Epsilon Beta House Board was active throughout the decade, often undertaking a new project each year. During this time the TV room was redecorated and a new fleur-de-lis inlay was installed in the front entrance of the house. The bathrooms were also redone with new tile and ventilation system, lighting, and plumbing improvements.
Epsilon Beta continued its philanthropic efforts with their Balloon Derby, a popular fundraiser for the Partners of Larimer County and Kappa’s Rose McGill Fund.
The chapter received the Efficiency Award at both the 1987 and 1989 Province Meetings. The Ft. Collins Alumnae Association was recognized for their assistance to the chapter in 1987 and the Epsilon Beta House Board was rewarded for their outstanding efforts in 1989.
Epsilon Beta continued to recruit new members well throughout the decade, pledging strong numbers each year. However, towards the end of the decade, the chapter began to experience disappointing scholarship, both within the active chapter and its new member classes.
Highlights of the 1990s
The 1990s not only brought research and scholarly recognition to Colorado State, but also a renewed emphasis on undergraduate teaching and outreach. An emphasis was placed on the physical infrastructure of the campus, with approximately $70 million spent to revamp campus buildings and landscaping. Additionally, the university increased the number of minority students on campus and set records in raising funds from private and public sources.
Sadly, on the evening of July 28, 1997, a flash flood ripped through Ft. Collins and the Colorado State campus without warning. The normally ankle-deep Spring Creek became a roaring river of mud and debris. The CSU campus suffered millions of dollars in damages to buildings and property. Morgan Library and the Lory Student Center were among the hardest hit, losing books, computers, and furnishings. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries or deaths on campus.
This decade saw the Epsilon Beta House Board continue its fine tradition of updating and redecorating as necessary. In 1990 the living room of the chapter house was updated with the addition of a baby grand piano, china cabinet and new chairs. The kitchen was redecorated in 1994 and the formal dining room got a facelift in 1995. Thankfully, the chapter house suffered minimum damage from the flood in 1997. Four new computers, all with internet access, were added in 1998.
Epsilon Beta held a variety of philanthropic events during this decade, beginning with a golf tournament in the early 1990s. They also held a 5K fun run with the men of Sigma Alpha Epsilon for the benefit of the Larimer County Partners. A bowl-a-thon was held in 1997 to help out Project Self-Sufficiency. By 1998 the chapter was holding its Chile Con Kappa competition to help a number of different agencies in the Ft. Collins area. Many of the chapter members also worked in the local Adopt-a-School program.
The Greek system confronted a number of issues during this time. In 1990 a new Greek alcohol policy was adopted to help lessen underage drinking. Later in the decade, new recruitment schedules were tried in an effort to increase Greek membership. “No frills” recruitment was implemented to allow for more in-depth conversation with potential new members.
Epsilon Beta continued to deal with their scholarship issues, trying a variety of programs to bring scholarship to the forefront of chapter life. By the end of the decade, the chapter was well above the all-women’s average.
At the 1995 Province Meeting, Epsilon Beta was recognized for its recruitment program and improvement in scholarship.
Convention Awards:
At the Fraternity’s 1998 General Convention, the chapter received an award for Outstanding Chapter and Advisory Board Relations and an honorable mention for membership.
Highlights of the 2000-2010
By the turn of the century, Colorado State had 22,000 undergraduate students, with six percent of the student population holding membership in the Greek system. Six women’s groups were on campus.
Early in the decade, Epsilon Beta began to experience difficulty in filling their chapter house to capacity. In some cases senior members resigned their memberships because they no longer wanted to live in the chapter house. The chapter also had a large number of members study abroad.
By the middle of the decade, the chapter was experiencing difficulties with chapter traditions that were detrimental to the purposes of the Fraternity and alcohol related. It became increasingly difficult to retain members who were loyal to the ideals and standards of the Fraternity. With strong direction from local alumnae, the chapter’s Coordinator of Chapter Development and the Fraternity Council, Epsilon Beta worked hard to return to the Fraternity's ideals and standards.
Epsilon Beta continued to host its Chile Con Kappa philanthropic event throughout this decade, raising more funds each year. The chapter used these funds to support Reading is Fundamental and the Kappa Foundation.
Highlights of 2011-2019:
(scholarship, group honors/awards, special events, philanthropy and service projects, etc.)
Housing:
Philanthropy:
Convention Awards:
Highlights of the 2020s:
(scholarship, group honors/awards, special events, philanthropy and service projects, etc.)
Housing:
Philanthropy:
Convention Awards:
Note to Chapter Registrar: 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!