From collection Member List
Ruth Knight Vos (Beta Gamma-Colorado) served as the 51st international president of Alpha Phi, the culmination of a long career of leadership within the Fraternity.
Ruth was initiated into Beta Gamma Chapter in 1929 and held the role of chapter president during her collegiate years. She was a district governor in the 1940s and a member of the 1948 Convention Committee, followed by a term on the Board of Trustees from 1948 to 1954. In 1957, the Executive Board appointed her to be the Fraternity’s delegate to the National Panhellenic Council (NPC), a position she held for seven years. As NPC delegate, Ruth represented Alpha Phi at NPC meetings and conventions, sat on the College Panhellenics Committee, and was an adviser to numerous college and university Panhellenic organizations.
During her term as international president (1962-1964), Ruth advocated for integrity as she and the Executive Board presided over tremendous growth in Fraternity membership and finances. In her address to the 1964 Convention, reprinted in the fall 1964 issue of the Quarterly, Ruth spoke about the dual importance for Alpha Phi to keep up with societal change and maintain the Fraternity’s values. Her words are still relevant today:
"We are living in times of rapid change—sometimes hourly change. Alpha Phi must gird itself to cope with the world of today—not yesterday. This, I believe, is the most valuable contribution which the experiences of the past biennium can make to Alpha Phi: to awaken Alpha Phi once again to what lies ahead; to stir the spirit within each member to be willing to think out and take constructive steps to prepare for the future, and yet, to impress upon each the necessity to keep and preserve our traditions inviolate, while establishing new ways and means to promote them."
