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Theta KiteAlpha Chi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta • Established at Purdue University in 1915 • Fall 2017
AlphA Chi WelComes NeW FACility CorporAtioN members
Thank You, Retiring Board Members
T he Alpha Chi Chapter owes a great debt of gratitude to the retired Facility
Corporation board members. Over the past six years they helped raise over $1 million, retired the mortgage, and renovated the public areas of the house. In addition, they revamped our legal documents and contracts, gathered much of our historical data and artifacts, master-minded our centennial celebration, and connected with the Purdue organizations supporting Greek life.
Because the Alpha Chi Chapter includes a house, we have a supporting structure of four partners. The board includes active members, volunteer advisors to the actives, and elected alumnae. The fourth partner is the house director (formerly House Mother). Mary Guckien is working very hard to meet a wide variety of expectations and we look forward to working with her.
Membership selection has really changed since our “good old days.” The number of new members is assigned based on the number of women going through recruitment. The objective is that all prospective members receive an offer. National Panhellenic and Theta nationals established this system. With a live-in capacity of 106, and with 15 seniors living out next year, our active leadership has been impressive to watch as they try to develop methods and policies to keep the Theta spirit alive for those who live out.
Nearly half of our actual residents are brand new and will be henceforth. Therefore, we have a learning curve relating to house rules. Sometimes it seems like we should call them “Rules of Engagement.” The job of the House Corporation is to work with the actives and house director to balance the needs and wishes of the actives with the safety and maintenance of the house itself.
Because our predecessors have done such a masterful job, our new board has the luxury of taking a step back and reviewing what requires our attention. Some major projects may be lurking such as a roof or a kitchen update. We have also begun to set aside the $600,000 recommended by Theta Headquarters as a contingency account. We have over $150,000 and will hopefully add to it every year.
The new board sees the pride Thetas have for our Alpha Chi Chapter and we look forward to serving.
Loyally,Elaine Rush Haehl ’69Facility Corporation Board [email protected]
Four members of the new 2017-20 Facility Corporation Board helped cut the special “mortgage burning” cake. Pictured are Nancy Schneider Eldridge ’69,
Elaine Rush Haehl ’69, Peggy Fawcett Edwards ’69, and Katie Baugh Nielsen ’69.
Lorene McCormick Burkhart ’52 Credits Theta for Her High-Achieving Mindset
L orene McCormick Burkhart ’52 joined Kappa Alpha Theta because she knew some
older women that were already in the chapter. “I went to a small rural high school. These girls were already in the house and that helped me feel connected,” Lorene says. “Joining was a connection thing.”
Lorene is a woman of many passions. She started out as a teacher after graduating Purdue with a degree in home economics. From then, she went on to have an extensive and diversified career. Lorene went from working in public relations to appearing on radio and TV representing her clients. Lorene’s job sometimes required a bit of travel and when that was the case, she even found a way to give back while she was working. “I coordinated my travel schedule so I could arrange to speak at women’s groups,” Lorene says. “I was one of the few woman executives at the time and I wanted to tell women how they could think differently about their lives and capabilities.”
As Lorene continued to speak to women’s groups and her career moved forward, she discovered something else she was passionate about: family relationships. Lorene is the founding donor of Purdue’s Center for Families, a research facility that studies the ins and outs of family relationships. “I feel strongly about how family relationships are built and maintained,” Lorene says.
An involved woman her entire life, Lorene says her involvement with Theta is what instilled the go-getter mentality in her. “Theta had several women who received recognition and I think that was a real emphasis for me to live with that kind of environment, of expecting to be the best,” Lorene says.
Throughout Lorene’s life she has encountered many successful, kind women. “It just reinforced that Theta selects people who have the potential of achieving and encourages them to reach that potential,” she says.
Lorene is still active in her community as she is the president of her resident’s association and sits on boards at three different universities. In 2016, she was an Old Master at Purdue. Most recently, she hosted a symposium entitled Status of Indiana Families: Issues and Answers on October 19. Lorene lives in Carmel, Ind., and can be reached at [email protected].
Theta Kite2
Our new members soon after opening their bid cards to Alpha Chi
Theta. The women were ready to run back to their new home at 607 Russell Street!
Our black and gold Bid Day brought extra meaning for sisters as new Thetas Hannah Ballard ’17* and Ashley Birkhimer ’17 were welcomed by
Shelby Ballard ’16 and Sydney Ballard ’16.
During the first week of classes, Thetas proudly wore their letters around campus to promote our chapter as recruitment began. Pictured are Izzy
Fray ’16, Lilli Cole ’16, Ashley Nordyke ’16, Amy Bitzer ’16, and Abby Bogdajewicz ’16.
Teresa Anderson ’16, Mikyla Pirsztuk ’16, and Erin Murray ’16 showed their excitement to cheer
on the Boilers this football season!
Carly Bailey ’14, Laura Peacock ’13, and Katie Krempp ’14 served as 500 Festival
Princesses last May. These ladies have also served as chapter officers and are Alpha Chi
Foundation scholarship winners.
Kappa Alpha Theta Has Successful Recruitment Alpha Chi Women Stay Involved On and Off Campus
A nother exciting semester at the Alpha Chi Chapter is well underway. After
a rewarding recruitment season, 41 charismatic and ambitious women now call 607 Russell Street their new home. We are looking forward to getting to know each member of the 2017 class, sharing our experiences and teaching them more about what it means to be an Alpha Chi Theta. We truly could not be happier with the women we have selected to continue the Theta legacy at Purdue, who will eventually be leading this chapter and campus.
This past summer, the women of Alpha Chi were busy with internships and incredible opportuni-ties all over the world. We had sisters studying in Italy, serving in Haiti, and interning in every field from fashion to politics, scattered as far as San Francisco. Many of our seniors have already received full-time employment offers as a result of their summer internships, and our
chapter could not be more proud of their hard work in pursuit of their next adventure.
It is clear the women of Alpha Chi were ready to jump right back into their studies and activi-ties when they returned to campus in August. So far this semester, we are proud to report that we have sisters serving on the College of Health and Human Sciences Student Council, representing Purdue on the soccer field and cheering from the sidelines, fulfilling Panhellenic positions, planning Purdue Dance Marathon, and much more. Most recently, five Alpha Chi women were selected to participate in the upcoming and prestigious Old Masters program. We continue to find inspiration and support in one another, and are excited to see what the rest of the semes-ter has in store!
Loyally in Theta,Claire Schumann ’14Chief Executive Officer
Welcome, Fall 2017 New MembersAbby Bailey
Hannah Ballard*Ashley Birkhimer*
Katie CulpAva Dooley
Tori DownhamGabrielle EgebergCassidy FriedrichAlesandria GanzJennifer Garson
Riley GillMadison Hanley*
Kylee HicksSasha Kipnis*Kenzie Knight
Mayzie MooreValerie MooreEliza Morris*
Samantha NobbeMackenzie OedyMiesha Owens
Cara PietrangeloGianna PorroIsabel Puck
Abigail PurserMegan Salzmann
Alisa SantiagoAlex Sarros
Marisabel SegoviaAlex Schaefer
Jennifer Skiles*Genna ThomasReilly TrieloffTaylor Trieloff
Lindsay Umphred*Kate Ward*
Madeleine WatsonSarah Watzlavik
Alexius WlodarskiTessa WojkovichHolly Yusiewicz
*Legacy
KAPPA ALPHA THETA3
(Left) The mortgage burning cake before it was cut. (Middle) With great joy, Ann Fawcett Murphy ’72, campaign co-chairman, Mary Lincoln Campbell ’64, retiring FCB president, and Linda Markins Sorensen ’60, Alpha Chi Educational Foundation president, officially burn the mortgage for 607 Russell Street. Kay Murphy Yeomans ’64, campaign co-chairman, was unable to attend. (Right) Pictured are six smiling members of the original Facility Corporation Board who bravely voted to begin a $1 million campaign to reduce Alpha Chi’s $1 million house mortgage. They returned at Homecoming to see the mortgage burned. Five of them are retiring this year after serving six years, confident with the knowledge that a very capable new board has been elected. Seated, left to right, are Mary Lincoln Campbell ’64, president, Marilynn Bottomley Dammon ’66, vice president, and Judy Bernet Evans ’64, vice president. Standing, left to right, are Barbara Allen Berling ’65, Marcia Erickson Weber ’63, and Louise Cummins Volpp ’65. Marilyn Bottomley Dammon ’66 is staying on as secretary, and Kay Murphy Yeomans ’64 has one more year to serve.
Meredith (Bee) Hunt Horner ’51 and Judy Kirkpatrick McKinney ’51 standing by the Theta marker that they were instrumental in having installed in 2002. Several women from the class of 1951 began the fund in 2000 as they looked toward celebrating their 50th year in Theta. A few from the initiation classes of 1952 and 1953 also donated, since members of those classes often joined each other at reunions. Judy McKinney remembers that she and Beverly Starnes Gerding ’51, Zoe Coulson ’51, and Sally Ashbaucher McIlveen ’51 were in the fundraising group. Bee Horner and her husband, Chuck, did the work of selecting a stone, engraving and positioning it. This marker is on the corner of Northwestern and Russell Streets.
On June 3, Virginia Kienly ’36 of West Lafayette turned 100! Several members of the West Lafayette alumnae group took her a small bouquet of flowers to celebrate the occasion. Sheila Johnson Klinker, Indiana State representa-tive, brought her a framed certificate marking the day. Front row, left to right: Sheila Klinker, Gamma ’57, Virginia Sidwell Kienly ’36, and Linda Martins Sorensen ’60. Back row: Nancy Crockett Ince, Beta ’47, Beverly Beck McCollough ’55, Mary Ellen Binney Lovell ’50, Katie Baugh Nielsen ’69, Marty Schroyer Hudlow ’46, and Marilynn Bottomley Dammon ’66.
Purchase a Memorial TreeT he Facility Corporation Board has created a memorial area along the fence line that separates
Theta’s parking lot from the dorms behind it. The board is planting a row of trees and forsythia bushes. For a donation of $600, each can be marked in memory of a deceased sister with her name and the name of the pledge class making the gift. The trees and the forsythia will one day grow together to block the view of the fence with masses of early yellow spring flowers. For more information, contact Elaine Rush Haehl ’69, Alpha Chi Facility Corporation, P.O. Box 2164, West Lafayette, IN 47996.
Alpha Chi Facility CorporationP.O. Box 2164West Lafayette, IN 47996
Address Service Requested
Theta Kite
Visit Us Online Visit Alpha Chi’s website, www.alphachithetas.org, and like us on Facebook at Kappa Alpha Theta-Alpha Chi Chapter.
Emily Schneider ’15 received the Educational Foundation’s first Zoe Coulson Scholar Award from Alpha Chi CEO Claire Schumann ’14. The award will be presented each semester to the active with the most improved grades. Zoe Coulson ’51 was touted in the 1980s as one of the first women to break the glass ceiling
in the business world. She was editor of The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook, the first woman officer at Campbell Soup Company, the first woman member of the board of directors of Rubbermaid, and was on the cover of Business Month in 1989. In 2015, she was inducted into the Purdue Department of Nutrition Science Hall of Fame. And she has a special love for Alpha Chi Theta, underscored by the donation of her pin for this award.
eNdoWmeNt oF more thAN $65,000 AlloWs thetA to Give out more sCholArships
Newest Scholarship Award Named after Zoe Coulson ’51
T he Alpha Chi Educational Foundation is now in its fifth year and is the only active
chapter Educational Foundation. All Thetas who were initiated into or affiliated with Alpha Chi Chapter are members.
Thank you to all of you who have contributed. In addition to making it possible to award six $750 scholarships last April, you have enabled us to create an endowment that now has over $65,000. This fund will ensure the continuation of our goal to award scholarships annually to chapter members excelling in scholarship, leadership, and service.
Special thanks to those who have contributed to this endowment. One such person is my pledge sister, Susan Dalenberg Kessler ’60. She believes in our cause and we hope you do too. Another loyal donor to the general scholarship fund is Ann Fawcett Murphy ’72, who gives to honor the memory of her family members Julie Matthews Snyder, 1917, Caroline Snyder McConnell ’41, and Martha Snyder Fawcett ’43. Bob Griffiths established a named endowment in memory of his wife, Connie Corson Griffiths ’60.
We are excited to announce the creation of a new award. Zoe Coulson ’51 has given her Theta pin to the chapter. The Educational Foundation had that pin framed and placed in the display case in the living room. Pictured at left is our first winner.
We are pleased to welcome Lorna Gless Utley ’73 as a trustee and send appreciation to retiring member Jennifer Meyer Brunette ’87 for her five years of service.
Contributions to the endowment or to the general operating fund of the Educational Foundation are greatly appreciated and will be treated with Theta love. All donations are tax deductible. For more information on donating and including the Educational Foundation in your will, please contact me at [email protected] or (765) 714-1845. Send donations to: P.O. Box 3754, West Lafayette, IN 47906.
Loyally, Linda Markins Sorensen ’60Alpha Chi Chapter Educational Foundation President
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” —Helen Keller
Mary Lincoln Campbell ’64, retiring president of the Facility Corporation Board. In recognition of her tireless efforts in reorganizing and energizing the FCB and in developing the Century of Sisterhood campaign, the Alpha Chi Theta Educational Foundation has named an endowed scholarship in her honor.
Save the DateAlpha Chi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta
Founders Day LuncheonSaturday, January 20, 2018, at 11:00 a.m.
Lafayette Country ClubHonoring 75-, 50-, and 25-year sisters
Guest speaker: Lorna Gless Utley ’73
All Thetas are welcome
RSVP to Barbara Puterbaugh Ballard ’86Founders Day Chairman
Facility Corporation Board
President • Elaine Rush Haehl ’69
Vice President • Marilynn Bottomley Dammon ’66
Treasurer • Katie Baugh Nielsen ’69
Secretary • Inge Howe Maresh, Alpha Rho ’67
Members at LargePeggy Fawcett Edwards ’69
Nancy Schneider Eldridge ’69Kathy Huff Lafuse-Wood ’68
Kay Murphy Yeomans ’64
This Holiday Season, Remember That Alpha Chi Educational Foundation Is Registered on Amazon Smile.
