The P.E.O. Sisterhood is a U.S.-based international women's organization of about 197,000 members, with a primary focus on providing educational opportunities for female students worldwide. The Sisterhood is headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, with chapters throughout the United States and Canada. Among other projects, it owns and supports Cottey College, an independent college for women in Nevada, Missouri.
The marguerite daisy, the P.E.O. flower
Alice Bird Babb (May 8, 1850 – November 21, 1926)
Mary Allen Stafford (December 30, 1848 – July 10, 1927)
Franc Roads Elliot (February 10, 1852 – August 9, 1924)
Cottey College is a private women's college in Nevada, Missouri. It was founded by Virginia Alice (Cottey) Stockard in 1884. Since 1927 it has been owned and supported by the P.E.O. Sisterhood, a philanthropic women's organization based in Des Moines, Iowa. For most of its history, Cottey was a two-year liberal arts college, and in 2011 it achieved accreditation as a four-year baccalaureate-granting college. It had 266 students enrolled in 2023.
Cottey College
Cottey College, circa 1910
Blanche Skiff Ross Memorial Library
Robertson (Robbie) Hall