“The  first  question  most  people  ask  is  if  I’ve  killed  anyone,”  Molly  McGroder,  a  20-­‐

year  housemother  for  Kappa  Kappa  Gamma  sorority  at  the  University  of  Kansas  said.  She  

can’t  help  but  laugh  at  this  joke.    

                         While  it  might  be  referring  to  her  two-­‐decade  stint  as  a  house  mother,  filled  with  the  

dramatics  of  living  with  and  being  in  charge  of  so  many  college  girls,  there  is  another  side  

of  the  house  mother  that  one  would  not  guess.    

  “When  I  first  heard  this  story  I  could  hardly  believe  it.  You  wouldn’t  look  at  Mom  

Molly,  walking  around  in  her  house  robe  and  think  of  her  as  some  sort  of  bad  ass,”  Colleen  

Fox,  a  junior  Kappa  Kappa  Gamma  said.  

Behind  the  sharp,  wise  elderly  woman’s  eyes  holds  a  story  of  a  chance  opportunity  

that  most  will  never  experience.    

Years  before  settling  in  Lawrence,  Kansas,  McGroder  was  once  a  young,  sharp  

recruit  of  the  CIA  during  the  1950s.  Quite  the  opposite  of  the  life  she  leads  presently,  such  

an  astonishing  fact  leads  to  many  questions,  namely,  has  she  killed  anyone?  

But  before  this  all  began,  Molly  McGroder  was  a  normal  young  woman  growing  up  

in  Dunkirk,  New  York  with  her  seven  siblings.  Attending  an  all-­‐girls  high  school  and  

continuing  to  the  all-­‐girls  Marymount  College  in  Tarrytown,  New  York,  she  grew  up  a  

veracious  leader  who  took  part  in  whatever  clubs  and  organizations  she  could.  In  college,  

she  was  the  standards  chair,  essentially  in  charge  of  the  behavior  of  her  fellow  young  

women,  and  can  even  recall  her  classmates  having  to  sneak  behind  her  back  in  order  to  go  

about  their  more  risqué  college  activities.    

 McGroder  began  her  professional  career  as  a  reporter  where  she  wrote  a  column  

called  “Vacation  Lands.”  The  column  detailed  various  vacation  spots  around  New  York.  

Eventually  she  became  the  society  editor.  As  she  continued  her  work  throughout  college,  

her  experience  produced  a  great  opportunity:  an  interview  with  “Vogue,”  arguably  the  most  

influential  fashion  magazine  in  the  business.  McGroder  landed  the  job,  and  as  a  journalism  

and  fashion  design  major,  it  seemed  that  “Vogue”  was  the  perfect  fit.    

As  McGroder  prepared  for  graduation  day,  and  to  take  her  place  as  a  writer  for  

“Vogue,”  little  did  she  know  a  new  opportunity  was  coming  her  way,  one  that  she  could  not  

refuse.  The  CIA  was  coming  to  her  campus  to  look  for  new  recruits,  and  out  of  pure  luck  

someone  had  mentioned  her  name  as  a  possible  candidate.  

“To  be  honest  I’m  not  really  sure  how  I  got  selected  for  the  interview  process.  I’m  

sure  one  of  my  teachers  referred  me  or  something  like  that,  but  I  guess  I’ll  never  know,”  

McGroder  said.  

   The  CIA  selected  McGroder  and  without  her  knowledge,  they  began  conducting  in-­‐

depth  interviews  and  research  into  all  facets  of  her  life:  her  hometown,  her  college,  her  

high  school  classmates,  even  the  man  who  sold  her  candy  at  the  drug  store.    

Almost  everyone  was  interviewed  in  order  to  make  sure  that  Molly  McGroder,  a  

seemingly  ordinary  student  would  be  able  to  meet  the  job  requirements  of  the  CIA.  Upon  

finding  that  she  fit  the  bill,  she  was  offered  a  job,  but,  in  turn,  had  to  turn  hers  down  at  

“Vogue”  in  order  to  follow  this  new  adventure.  

After  arriving  at  the  CIA  headquarters,  the  new  recruits  were  each  given  a  new,  

secret  identity.  According  to  McGroder’s  cover  she  was  working  as  a  government  worker  at  

the  post  office.  And  according  to  her  family,  friends,  and  significant  other  that  was  exactly  

the  case.  

“No  one  new  that  I  was  with  the  CIA,”  she  explained.  “I  think  that  was  one  of  the  

parts  of  my  personality  that  they  liked,  that  I  would  never  tell  a  soul.”  

These  new  covers  were  ornate,  complete  with  a  fictional  boss,  phone  number,  and  

work  address.  When  McGroder  filled  out  any  information,  for  example  for  a  credit  card,  she  

would  cite  this  made-­‐up  information.  And  by  chance,  should  someone  call  her  work  

number,  the  call  was  forwarded  to  a  CIA  operative  who  then  informed  her  she  had  a  call.  All  

measures  were  taken  in  order  to  make  sure  complete  secrecy  was  kept  for  the  CIA  

employees.    

After  the  new  recruits  were  further  interviewed,  they  were  divided  up  into  different  

sectors  of  the  CIA,  never  to  see  each  other  again.  McGroder  was  then  placed  in  the  Russian  

Geographic  section,  where  her  job  was  to  know  every  possible  detail  about  the  Russian  

landscape.  Everything  from  where  streets  were  to  how  long  a  river  ran  was  their  

responsibility,  and  in  turn  they  would  report  that  information  to  the  spies  in  Russia.  All  of  

the  operatives  in  that  specific  office,  disguised  as  an  office  building,  were  also  expected  to  

study  the  Russian  language.  

“That  was  absolutely  a  goal  of  mine,  to  end  up  in  Russia  as  a  spy.  To  me  that  was  

never  really  a  scary  thing,  it  just  seemed  really  exciting,”  McGroder  said.  

As  would  be  expected,  everything  was  of  the  highest  security  clearance.  The  

different  sections  of  the  CIA  could  not  come  into  each  other’s  offices,  and  after  every  night  

of  work  everything  either  had  to  be  burned  in  the  incinerator  or  locked  in  the  vault.  In  fact,  

each  office  of  the  CIA  was  equipped  with  its  own  incinerator.    

Aside  from  the  life  of  a  classified  CIA  agent,  McGroder  lived  a  pretty  normal  life.  “I  

woke  up,  I  rode  the  bus,  I  went  to  work,  I  went  home.  I  also  lived  with  three  other  girls  at  

the  time,  and  was  dating  my  future  husband,  Jim  McGroder,”  she  said.  

Although  she  depicts  her  life  as  normal,  there  were  some  aspects  that  definitely  

were  not.  She  recalls  the  time  when  she  took  a  trip  for  a  night  out  in  Canada,  just  right  

across  the  border  maybe  30  minutes  away,  and  which  during  that  time  no  passports  were  

needed  to  enter.  When  she  arrived  back  to  work  in  the  morning  she  was  asked  why  she  left  

the  country  without  saying  so.  

“I  guess  someone  followed  me  to  make  sure  I  wasn’t  up  to  anything  suspicious,”  

McGroder  said.  

For  two  years  she  continued  her  work  in  the  Russian  Geographic  office,  until  a  more  

important  job  came  her  way.  Jim  McGroder  had  asked  her  to  marry  him,  but  was  moving  to  

Kansas  City.  In  the  end,  she  decided  to  leave  her  job  with  the  CIA  and  follow  him  there.  

For  years  she  served  as  a  mother  to  her  six  children,  five  girls  and  one  boy,  until  her  

children  were  grown.  After  her  husband  passed,  she  looked  for  something  new  to  do.  It  just  

so  happened  that  Phi  Psi  fraternity  at  the  University  of  Kansas  was  looking  for  a  new  

housemother.  Excited  and  looking  for  a  new  adventure,  McGroder  accepted,  but  was  not  

quite  sure  what  she  was  getting  into.  

“I  absolutely  hated  it.  The  house  was  gross,  and  the  behavior  was  even  worse,”  

McGroder  said.    

After  the  initial  failure  of  her  first  housemother  job,  she  was  informed  that  Kappa  

Kappa  Gamma  sorority  was  looking  for  someone  new  as  well.  A  close  friend  urged  her  to  

try  again,  and  that  is  how  she  was  placed  in  the  sorority,  where  she  has  remained  for  20  

years.  Now,  McGroder  over  sees  the  every  day  operations  of  the  house.  She  pays  the  bills,  

hires  the  staff,  and  above  all  is  there  for  the  girls  in  the  house  for  whatever  they  may  need.    

“She  is  really  easy  to  work  with,  and  is  a  really  good  communicator  about  problems  

with  the  house,”  house  chair  Lily  Daily  said.  

McGroder,  known  as  “Mom  Molly”  in  the  sorority  house,  has  her  own  apartment  on  

the  first  floor  complete  with  a  living  room  and  bedroom.  Every  morning  she  wakes  up  and  

stocks  the  fridge  downstairs  with  yogurt,  fruit,  cereal,  milk,  and  any  breakfast  essentials  the  

girls  might  need.  She  then  goes  about  her  day  like  anyone  else,  but  has  to  keep  in  mind  

there  are  80  other  women  that  she  has  to  help  look  after.  

“She  does  a  lot  of  little  things  like  [getting  us  breakfast]  that  really  does  help  in  

making  living  at  Kappa  such  a  great  experience,”  president  Kelsey  Dick  said.    

About  leaving  the  CIA,  McGroder  says  she  has  no  regrets.  

“I’m  happy  I  got  to  have  the  privilege  of  not  only  being  a  mother  to  my  real  children,  

but  becoming  a  house  mother  and  getting  to  be  a  part  of  so  many  young  women’s  lives  is  

really  a  blessing.”