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 The Founding of Phi Gamma Nu
-- Celeste Weyl, Honorary Founder; Written in 1936
After receiving my A.B. at George Washington University in 1923, I returned to my home in Chicago , and that fall registered at Northwestern University for graduate work in commerce and journalism. I recognized the need for a commerce fraternity at Northwestern. The University was growing, and activities were inadequate. I discussed the idea of a women's professional fraternity with Professor A. W. T. Ogilvie, head of the Committee on Student Activities, who agreed that there was a definite need and encouraged me in forming a new group. He was one of our first patrons and a very helpful one.
At a party after the first football game in the fall of 1923 I met five students whom I thought had the personality, vitality, spirit and qualifications to form a nucleus for this new fraternity. We attended football games and college functions in a group, and a feeling of friendship quickly developed. They reacted enthusiastically to my idea of founding a professional fraternity. When we definitely decided to organize in February, 1924, the students appointed me president as I was the only one with a university degree and with experience as president of my social sorority at George Washington.
During the first two years we held regular business and social meetings at the members' homes. To create a treasury adequate to carry on our work of expansion, we sponsored dances, which were always successful financially and socially. Cooperation from the faculty, the various fraternities, and the student body was most responsive. Our problems during those early days were to initiate students who met the scholastic requirements and improve our financial status to carry on the work of a pioneering organization. There was a winning spirit and an enthusiasm among those members, which spelled success. Working together harmoniously, our achievements were amazing for a small group.
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