From collection Member List
Amy served as the first treasurer of the Fraternity, elected on October 19, 1885, and also as recording secretary later in that first year. Although it is unclear why, Amy left DePauw after only one year. It may have been the expense or the distance from her family, who had recently moved to Colby, Kansas. After leaving school, she joined her family in Kansas and taught music there. In 1888, she married Julius F. Rieth, and their only child, Lelia, was born the next year. When the family moved to Crete, Nebraska, Amy became the assistant director of music at Doane College, a position she held for four years. Later, the family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where Amy kept in touch with the Xi chapter (University of Nebraska - Lincoln) for many years. She continued to teach privately in Lincoln, but due to her delicate health and the necessity of taking care of her invalid mother, she was eventually forced to abandon her musical activities.
The other six Founders never saw Amy again after she left DePauw. This was said to have been "a bitter disappointment for them, for they loved her dearly, and never forgot her, or lost touch with her, in spite of the miles between them." Amy DuBois Rieth died at the age of 45 on August 12, 1915, two weeks after having undergone a serious operation.
Related Items
Postcard written by Founder Amy DuBois Rieth, 1910
Founder Amy DuBois Rieth sent this postcard to Mabel Harriet Siller, author of the 1916 editon of The History of Alpha Chi Omega fron her home in Lincoln, Nebraska. It is dated May 16, 1910.
Amy DuBois Rieth Emerging Leader Award, 2023, photograph
The Amy DuBois Rieth Emerging Leader Award honors a current member who has been initiated no more than 12 months prior to her nomination for this honor, named for one of Alpha Chi Omega's Founders.
Alpha Chi Omega Goes Public
The members of the new women's fraternity, Alpha Chi Omega, announce their presence by parading across campus to attend chapel at Meharry Hall in East College.
Founders Forum at Headquarters Photograph
In 2006, The Alpha Chi Omega Foundation built and dedicated the Founders' Forum on the headquarters property. There were seven pillars on the outside featuring the signature of each Founder. The large sculpture in the center represented ...
Amy Dubois Rieth, Founder Burial Marker
DATE OF BIRTH: December 31, 1869 DATE OF DEATH: August 12, 1915 CEMETERY Wyuka Cemetery 3600 O Street Lincoln, NE 68510 Section 2, Lot 5546 (7 rows down), SP-7
Alpha Chi Omega Golden Jubilee Program, June 26, 1935
This program is for Homecoming Day of the 1935 National Convention, which took place at DePauw University where the Fraternity was founded. It includes a poem by Founder Olive Burnett Clark (Alpha, DePauw University), the words to the To...
Alpha Chi Omega Founded
Seven female students at the DePauw University School of Music meet with Dean James Hamilton Howe at his invitation to begin the process of forming "a society for musical and social improvement."
The First New Members
In the fall of 1885, the seven original founders invite eight friends from the School of Music to join Alpha Chi Omega.
DePauw University Soiree Musicale Program, 1886
Alpha Chi Omega was formally celebrated in a Soiree Musicale performance on February 6, 1886 in the DePauw University Music Hall. Dean James Hamilton Howe performed, with the assistance of Founder Amy DuBois (later Rieth), soprano.
