08/19/2026
Throughout our 175th Anniversary Year, we will be honoring sisters throughout history for their accomplishments and impact. Today we highlight Mildred “Millie” McDowell Mathias, Alpha Pi—George Washington University, initiated 1947.
This profile is written with memories from Millie’s granddaughter, Morgan Mathias, Epsilon Lambda.
Millie grew up in Virginia where she was known for being a very determined student. She had other interests, such as bridge and the performing arts, but she always took learning very seriously. Millie was valedictorian of her high school class and received a full scholarship to attend George Washington University (GW), which allowed her to live at home while being the first generation in her family to attend college. At GW, Millie was named May Queen, joined the Alpha Pi chapter of Alpha Delta Pi, and served on honor board. Millie went to GW at the same time as Jacklyn Kennedy and is remembered as saying “there were a lot of people that would become famous one day with whom I attended George Washington.”
In 1950, Millie was selected as the first recipient of the Dorothy Shaw Leadership award for her outstanding service and leadership. The Dorothy Shaw Award remains the highest individual award presented to a collegiate member of Alpha Delta Pi.
Milie was always interested in politics, which inspired her to major in political science, paving the way for her first job at the State Department and eventually the CIA. Millie met her future husband Dick Mathias, who was a member of Sigma Nu, at a fraternity social while at GW. Millie fondly told the story of their first date, during which Dick, who had served in the Navy, played a silly trick on Millie by telling her that he couldn’t swim when they went out on the boat with friends only to jump right out of the boat and swim to the bottom of the Potomac River. Dick worked as an attorney for the Federal Trade Commission in Washington D.C. and ultimately a federal administrative judge in Tampa, Florida. Millie and Dick raised four sons and Millie retired from the University of South Florida in the Medical Technology Program.
Millie was always a leader in the community and engaged with her family. Morgan said, “Millie was a force. I still remember her taking me and nine of my cousins to vacation bible school during the summer while I was growing up. She would also treat us with trips to Busch Gardens. Now I think about how could she take nine children to a theme park, but she did it with ease. Family was always very important to her, and I am so grateful that I had such a wonderful close relationship with her. My most impactful memory was when she surprised me by attending my initiation into ADPi. I was overwhelmed with joy when I saw her. To be able to share that special moment with her will always be something I cherish forever.”
In 2010, Morgan received the same prestigious Dorothy Shaw Award that her grandmother had received 60 years earlier. Morgan said, “I always revered her for her leadership and citizenry, and receiving the same award meant that I also attained a similar achievement. I left USF and ADPi connected with her legacy and felt that I made a difference both on campus and in my chapter.”
Thanks to Millie for setting an example as our first Dorothy Shaw recipient and to Morgan for not only carrying Millie’s legacy and for helping us tell Millie’s story.
