Reminiscing on our Centennial Celebration
Beta Beta-Michigan State recently celebrated a major milestone – its centennial.
“More than that, it was a gathering to celebrate the trailblazers who formed the first women’s group at Michigan Agricultural College starting in 1891,” recalled Lorie Fiesselmann Dietz, class of 1978. “We gathered to honor the acts of leadership, sisterhood, and philanthropy the Feronian and Alpha Phi women have exhibited for over 131 years.”
The goal? To gather many and connect with even more. To make this happen, the Beta Beta Centennial Celebration Committee hosted a series of events that would enable and encourage a large group of women from many generations to come back to celebrate Beta Beta’s 100-year milestone, rekindle its special Beta Beta bond and launch the next century of the Beta Beta chapter.
Two hundred and fifty women returned to East Lansing, coming from as far west as California, Washington and Oregon and from as far east as New York, New Hampshire and New Jersey.
“We spanned the breadth of the [United States], and we spanned across eight decades from the 1950s through to the 2020s,” Lorie explained.
The committee sponsored a weekend that included four events to offer options for reconnecting. Most sisters attended more than one event, and many attended all four.
The Friday Welcome Back Event kicked off the weekend with a lot of energy. Beta Betas and their guests enjoyed cocktails and appetizers at the Graduate Hotel. From the moment the event began, the buzz of conversation and laughter indicated that the event was off to a great start.
“We enjoyed the kick-off event, toasting our chapter’s past, present and future,” Lorie remembered.
On Saturday morning, sisters flocked back to our house at 616 M.A.C. for the Coffee, Tours & Sisterhood Event.
“We gathered to rekindle special memories of our time at this very special chapter house,” Lorie continued. “We sang, enjoyed brunch, laughed and toured the house. For many, it was their first time seeing the significant renovations completed over the past 10 years.”
On Saturday afternoon, attendees gathered again for a pregame tailgate event in the shadow of Spartan Stadium. It was said to be a beautiful afternoon for a tailgate of sandwiches and beverages where everyone sang more songs, including the MSU Fight Song, and got in the spirit for the football game.
On Sunday morning, the Beta Beta sisters gathered for the capstone Centennial Celebration event at the Marriott Hotel.
“We recognized the several thousand women who came before us and the strong shoulders we now stand on to guide our chapter into the next century,” Lorie explained. “Seventeen trailblazing women founded the Feronian Literary Society in 1891 when women comprised less than 1 percent of the student body of 1500 students. It was a challenge for the women to be taken seriously. It was the first all-women’s society. In fact, they did not have an official meeting room until 1900. [However,] persevere they did as 31 years later, they formed one of the first sororities on campus when 78 women were initiated into the Beta Beta chapter of Alpha Phi.”
Now 100 years later, this chapter is the oldest operating sorority at Michigan State University.
“To document our past and introduce the next century, we created a banquet program booklet that traces the history of the Beta Beta chapter alongside a timeline of world history,” Lorie continued. “It includes photos from the university’s archives and the chapter’s digital archive [through HistoryIT].”
Attendees were joined by their U.S. Congresswoman, Elissa Slotkin, who represents the East Lansing area district. She presented the chapter with a proclamation honoring our more than 100 years of leadership on the MSU campus.
“The nature of a centennial celebration is that we cannot personally thank the women who started the chapter,” Lorie said. “Clearly, we are indebted to them for their leadership, their philanthropy for personally investing in the chapter house and the future members of the chapter, as well as for establishing the culture of sisterhood for Beta Beta. Yet, it is important to honor them as we celebrate our centennial. The banquet slideshow and the banquet booklet provided foundational knowledge of these influential women. We are grateful that they blazed the path for us.”
“It is also important to recognize three distinguished alums in recognition of their Philanthropy, Leadership, and Sisterhood. These three women significantly impacted Beta Beta for almost 50 years. We are indebted to them for their dedication.”
According to Lorie, as they began working on the Centennial Celebration, they wanted to invest in our chapter, much as earlier generations of Beta Betas had invested in us. From the construction of 616 to a significant addition to the chapter house and more recent major renovations, chapter members benefit from a beautiful and well-maintained chapter house. Further, with the investment of several generous donors, Beta Beta members benefit from two endowed educational scholarships. Current Beta Beta members are the beneficiaries of thoughtful and significant investments over the past 100 years.
“In honor of our next 100 years, we decided to create a new program for the chapter – the Beta Beta Centennial Leadership Program,” Lorie continued. “Before we came to that decision, we did some research, speaking with numerous corporate recruiters and human resources professionals. We asked them what they would recommend if we offered a leadership program. What kind of program would help our members land jobs? All of them recommended that we help our members discover their strengths to help our members grow and learn more about how they can contribute to the world.”
Based on the research, Lorie and the team at Beta Beta decided to make an impact by starting a forward-looking leadership education and strengths development program for all new member class members.
“We plan to start with the newest class, offer the program to them, and then annually to new member classes that follow the inaugural class,” Lorie said.
Across the country, more than a half million college students participate in the Clifton Strengths development program on an annual basis. Now, members will learn how their strengths shape their approach to work, leadership, decision-making and relationships.
“The goal is to give our members a boost in the classroom, in choosing a career and to begin contributing faster to a work environment,” Lorie said. “To fund this, we established the Beta Beta Centennial Leadership Fund in partnership with the Alpha Phi Foundation [to build] something special — enriching leadership and increasing scholarship through an endowment that will benefit the Beta Beta Chapter [with an endowment goal of $50,000].”
Additionally, distinguished Beta Beta members received awards for their philanthropic contributions to their chapter and Alpha Phi, including: Karen Abel Kolschowsky, who received the Centennial Award for Philanthropy; Susan Brink Sherratt, who received the Centennial Award for Leadership; and Constance Goldsmith Crittenden, who received the Centennial Award for Sisterhood.