Graduate Dames.

In March 1948, Mrs. R. K. Waugh organized the Graduate Dames of North Carolina State College (later North Carolina State University) as a social and cultural outlet for the wives of graduate students. Six wives of faculty members were instrumental in the founding of the chapter. They were Mrs. H. A. Stewart, Mrs. D. B. Anderson, Mrs. J. H. Hilton, Mrs. Fred Barkalow, Mrs. D. W. Colvard, and Mrs. W. G. Cochran. The society became an affiliate of the National Association of University Dames when it ratified the national constitution on September 1, 1949.

The concept of an organization for graduate students’ wives had originated in 1896 at Harvard University. From there, the idea spread to the University of Chicago and later to other institutions across the United States. In the 1920-1921 school year, the independent wives’ clubs at the University of Chicago and University of Iowa corresponded with one another about their mutual aims and experiences. They wrote a constitution and founded the national society in February 1921. The constitution provided that the national headquarters would rotate from one chapter to the next, in order of constitution ratification dates. In 1933-1934, the University of Chicago introduced the annual yearbook, which included reports from each chapter on its activities. By 1967, the national organization had grown to ninety-eight chapters.

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