Senior Society (University of Michigan).

Women's honorary society for unaffiliated women students at the University of Michigan established in 1905, one of several Women's honorarii, including Scroll and Wyvern.

The Senior Society formed as an honor society based on scholastic achievement and leadership for independent (non-sorority) senior class women in 1905, the same year as the senior women's honorary Mortar Board. The group came together under the guidance of then Dean of Women Myra P. Jordan, and was conceived of as an organization for unaffiliated women to gather for "social and friendly" purposes. The group later expanded its mission to include the promotion of "good fellowship" among campus women, provide a society with honor awards and membership privileges similar to those of sororities, and advance the interests of female students on campus.[1]

Members of the Senior Society were selected from the junior class on the basis of their scholastic record, including grade point average, and leadership skills. The nine founding members of the Senior Society, all from the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts class of 1906, were Anna Waugh, Louise Orth, Cecile Schirmer, Fannie Morris, Juliet Stockbridge (also A.M. 1909), Eleanor Armstrong, Helen Converse, Belle Maclean, and Alice Baker.

In addition to providing scholarships to women, the Senior Society participated in a wide range of campus activities including membership in the Women's League, service projects, career fairs, and sponsorship of dances, teas, and other social events. The group also promoted and encouraged the university's provision of educational resources for women including women's rest rooms, residence halls, and a women's gymnasium.

_____________________________

[1] Margaret Phalan, "Senior Society Founded in 1906 to Promote 'Good Friendship,'" Michigan Daily, March 9, 1933.