In 1961, Mary Burt Nash, Alpha Theta '30, was the third Alpha Xi Delta to rotate into the role of NPC chair. Before Mary Burt Nash, only two other Alpha Xi Deltas served NPC in this capacity. Both Ella Leib and Lena Baldwin were only out of college for 10 years before rotating into the chairmanship. When it was Mary Burt Nash’s turn, she was different. Mary Burt Nash was out of college for more than a decade when she was installed, and she had a great deal of education under her belt. Mary Burt Nash held a B.A. in history, an M.A. in history and a law degree.
When Mary Burt Nash was installed, the conference was no longer referred to as the Intersorority Conference or the National Panhellenic Congress. Now, it was officially titled the National Panhellenic Conference. The 1961 meeting took place in Chandler, Arizonia, and this was the last time, before Jane, that an Alpha Xi Delta was installed as the NPC chair. The events of the 1961 NPC Conference and Mary Burt Nash’s installation were recorded in the January 1962 edition of The Alpha Xi Delta, the Fraternity’s magazine at this time.
To read the article that appeared in The Alpha Xi Delta on Mary Burt Nash and the 1961 NPC Conference, click here.
