Shortly after Stephen F. Austin Teachers College (SFA) opened in 1923, students began organizing social clubs. By the late 1920s, women formed the Amities and Pine Burrs to develop friendships and a sense of belonging. The Fideles and Sigma Gammas arrived on campus in the late 1940s as more women began attending SFA. Dr. Ralph W. Steen’s appointment as president brought significant changes to SFA and inadvertently to the social groups.
Responsible for adding more classrooms and dormitories, expanding course work and faculty, the new president also influenced the campus population by attempting to bring in students from metropolitan areas. In an effort to entice a broader student body, Steen supported Ernestine Henry, dean of women, as she helped guide each group’s transformation into national sororities. The result of Steen’s desire to expand SFA brought subtle changes, but ones that had a lasting impact on the campus environment.
","abstract_html":"<p>Shortly after Stephen F. Austin Teachers College (SFA) opened in 1923, students began organizing social clubs. By the late 1920s, women formed the Amities and Pine Burrs to develop friendships and a sense of belonging. The Fideles and Sigma Gammas arrived on campus in the late 1940s as more women began attending SFA. Dr. Ralph W. Steen’s appointment as president brought significant changes to SFA and inadvertently to the social groups.</p> <p>Responsible for adding more classrooms and dormitories, expanding course work and faculty, the new president also influenced the campus population by attempting to bring in students from metropolitan areas. In an effort to entice a broader student body, Steen supported Ernestine Henry, dean of women, as she helped guide each group’s transformation into national sororities. The result of Steen’s desire to expand SFA brought subtle changes, but ones that had a lasting impact on the campus environment.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Clark, Lea Brannon"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts - History","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"History","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Dana Cooper","Dr. Scott Sosebee","Dr. Paul J. P. Sandul"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-05-18T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-05-18T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:22Z","subjects":["Stephen F. Austin State University","women's social clubs","Panhellenic sororities","Social History","Women's History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/278","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Dana Cooper","Dr. Scott Sosebee","Dr. Paul J. P. Sandul"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Clark, Lea Brannon"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2019-05-10T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["History"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts - History"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Stephen F. Austin State University","women's social clubs","Panhellenic sororities","Social History","Women's History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/278"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Shortly after Stephen F. Austin Teachers College (SFA) opened in 1923, students began organizing social clubs. By the late 1920s, women formed the Amities and Pine Burrs to develop friendships and a sense of belonging. The Fideles and Sigma Gammas arrived on campus in the late 1940s as more women began attending SFA. Dr. Ralph W. Steen’s appointment as president brought significant changes to SFA and inadvertently to the social groups.
Responsible for adding more classrooms and dormitories, expanding course work and faculty, the new president also influenced the campus population by attempting to bring in students from metropolitan areas. In an effort to entice a broader student body, Steen supported Ernestine Henry, dean of women, as she helped guide each group’s transformation into national sororities. The result of Steen’s desire to expand SFA brought subtle changes, but ones that had a lasting impact on the campus environment.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Ripple Effects: The Transformation of SFASU Women's Social clubs to National Sororities"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Dana Cooper","Dr. Scott Sosebee","Dr. Paul J. P. Sandul"],"dc:creator":["Clark, Lea Brannon"],"dc:date.available":["2019-05-10T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Shortly after Stephen F. Austin Teachers College (SFA) opened in 1923, students began organizing social clubs. By the late 1920s, women formed the Amities and Pine Burrs to develop friendships and a sense of belonging. The Fideles and Sigma Gammas arrived on campus in the late 1940s as more women began attending SFA. Dr. Ralph W. Steen’s appointment as president brought significant changes to SFA and inadvertently to the social groups.
Responsible for adding more classrooms and dormitories, expanding course work and faculty, the new president also influenced the campus population by attempting to bring in students from metropolitan areas. In an effort to entice a broader student body, Steen supported Ernestine Henry, dean of women, as she helped guide each group’s transformation into national sororities. The result of Steen’s desire to expand SFA brought subtle changes, but ones that had a lasting impact on the campus environment.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/278"],"dc:subject":["Stephen F. Austin State University","women's social clubs","Panhellenic sororities","Social History","Women's History"],"dc:title":["Ripple Effects: The Transformation of SFASU Women's Social clubs to National Sororities"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["History"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts - History"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:22Z"}