By the tenth anniversary, the Sem. Bot. had developed from a student-centered group to include a significant number of faculty. The following photo was taken December 30, 1896.

In June 1898, the Sem Bot directed "patents of precedence" to eight women, the first women mentioned (except when describing the quality and origin of pie) in the record of the Sem Bot. Women had initially been excluded from the club along with graduates and faculty; they formed the "Fem Bot Sem" during the mid 1890s. It functioned as a coed "rebel coalition" until the women were allowed membership in the second half of the 1890s. One of the only records of this society's short existence is in the 1895 Sombrero, where this picture appeared near the official Sem Bot entry. Later on, women came to play a dominant role in the society, holding leadership positions.

Of course, by the late 1890s the original members had begun to go their separate ways. Most earned graduate degrees, and collectively their scholarly travels spanned the globe. The club expanded from its original selective group of undergraduates. Visits to Lincoln by old members were celebrated usually by a meeting at the train station, a small banquet and colloquium in their honor, and a thoroughly practiced ritual of Canis Pie and the Undulator. Since many of the students went on to become faculty elsewhere, they were able to carry these traditions to new destinations and often founded similar clubs at other universities.

Many of the students had taken on teaching positions at the University of Nebraska itself during the 1890s, and so the club had expanded to include many faculty members. Almost, if not all of the Botany department faculty members were in the Sem Bot during parts of the first twenty years of the new century. The new faculty were rarely put through the thorough examination procedure endured by earlier members, but the amity established by the club strengthened both the department and the scientific community as a whole. For the most part, the Botany department had lower faculty turnover during than the other science departments of the period. It is interesting to note how long many of the professors who joined the department in the early twentieth century stayed at the University: Dr. Pool was associated with the department until 1956; Emma Andersen taught at the university until the 1960s; the Walker sisters, Elda and Leva, taught for over half a century each. Also, the developments in the Botany department promoted a healthy sense of competition within and without the department. Other sciences expanded their efforts and programs in order to achieve funding and results comparable to the Botany departments. This was somewhat difficult when the Botany department had worked so hard to assemble strong relationships with the administration of the University. The presence of the Chancellor and other high-ranking officers of the system at banquets indicates the University's involvement in the department and the Sem Bot. As is often the case, involvement implies investment, and the strength of the program by the time of the twentieth anniversary was impressive.