Kappa Alpha Theta - Purdue University

Theta Kite Alpha Chi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta • Established at Purdue University in 1915 • Spring 2017 AlphA Chi plAns for summer improvements Facility Corporation Board Adds New Members A s I write, the daffodils on campus are blooming and our active sisters are counting the days until spring break. By the time this reaches you, the semester's end will be close at hand. Summer, for the facility corporation board, means that it is time for special projects. Our big project for this summer will be the stair towers. We will replace and upgrade the handrails, increasing both safety and beauty with a goal of achieving a more residential look to replace the more industrial look we have today. Adding drywall under the stairs will provide a ceiling akin to what we have in our own residences. The stairs will be recarpeted for the first time in many years and the walls will be painted and will feature attractive light fixtures. We have asked the architect and his designer to develop a plan to redo the halls and study rooms on the second and third floors, hopefully to begin in the summer of 2018. This will likely will be a two-summer project. We want the look and feel of the stair towers—gateways for recruitment— to have the same look and feel that the second and third floors will eventually have. Input, as always, has been solicited from the chapter members, who prefer a calming and neutral background for their living space. Also this summer we will be completing work in the study corridor as well as repurposing a basement room to become an executive board room. We hope to enhance our landscaping as well. Come to our annual meeting on Homecoming, Saturday, September 23, to see the results of our work! Recruiting new corporation board members has been an exciting spring project. As you may recall, those of us joining the board in the fall of 2011—six of us—will complete our two three-year terms at the annual meeting this September. The process of adding six new members began in the winter of 2015 with the addition of Elaine Rush Haehl '69, and has picked up steam since with the addition of Kathryn Baugh Nielsen '69, Peggy Fawcett Edwards '69, Kathy Lafuse-Wood '68, Laura Hannemann Bittner '82, and Inge Howe Maresh '66. Your board is blessed with the mighty combination of deep experience and fresh ideas offered by these sisters of yours. Laura teaches commercial design at Purdue, a position that keeps her fully in touch with emerging design and product concepts; Katie is a seasoned commercial banker and a natural treasurer; Kathy serves the Lafayette and West Lafayette real estate market, holds a valuable database of excellent vendors, and will share her years of advisory board experience; Peggy will serve us from her home base in California, adding important connectivity to both West Coast alumnae and Alpha Chi actives; Elaine brings the perspective of a mother of five young women as well as years of community engagement, including fundraising and treasury responsibilities; and Inge lives the true meaning of leadership through community service. I would be remiss if I did not mention that the outstanding balance on our mortgage is $13,000. When we all began to collaborate on this challenge, the balance was $1,113,000. What a difference a generous sisterhood can—and does—make. Thank you! Loyally in Theta, Mary Lincoln Campbell '64 Alpha Chi Facility Corporation President (734) 516-8337 Remembering Katie Dittrich Wood McMillin '48 "I first met Katie during recruitment in January 1950. She greatly impressed me and made me feel like Theta was the place to be. She strongly believed in Theta values and encouraged us to feel the sisterhood of Theta in saying 'Theta is forever, not just your college years—we will always be sisters.' "She demonstrated that to me in 1955 when my family was moving to South Bend where Katie and her family lived. I was sitting on the floor of an empty house waiting for the furniture to arrive when Katie came with a chair, pitcher of lemonade, sandwich, a cookie, and an invitation to dinner at their house. She was right—Theta was there for me even after college. mAry ellen Binney totten-lovell '50 mAry linColn CAmpBell '64 "K atie Dittrich Wood McMillin '48 was an Alpha Chi Theta and a Boilermaker through and through. Twelve people in her family went to Purdue, including her sister and her daughter who were also Thetas. Katie lived other places after graduation but found her way back to West Lafayette and remained active both with Purdue and with Theta. We had planned to profile Katie in this issue of The Kite to recognize her loyalty. Katie was one of our first supporters when we reorganized the FCB in 2011 and launched the Centennial Campaign in 2013. She came to our annual meetings, to Founders Days, and shared her stories with us, helping to keep our history alive. We were greatly saddened by her passing. Our plans to interview turned to a remembrance. (Continued on page 3) In the photo above Katie is seated at left with three Theta sisters in 1949, when scuffed saddle shoes were the "in" thing.

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