Delta Gamma
Delta Gamma (Î"Î") Fraternity is one of the oldest and largest women's fraternities in the United States, based in Columbus, Ohio.
Delta Gamma (
Î"Î") is a college
fraternity, although more often referred to as a
sorority, founded on
December 25,
1873, in
Oxford,
Mississippi, at the
Lewis School for Girls near the
University of Mississippi.
The badge of Delta Gamma is a golden
anchor. It has a small rope wrapping around the top of the anchor and the Greek letters Tau Delta Eta (
ΤÎ"Η). The
anchor is the traditional symbol of hope. It also represents "holding fast."
The early growth for Delta Gamma was confined to women's colleges in the southern
United States. Within a few years, Delta Gamma was established in the northern United States and then later expanded to the east with the help of
George Banta, a member of
Phi Delta Theta fraternity. Because of the assistance provided by
George Banta, Delta Gamma retains close ties with
Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
In
1891, Delta Gamma was one of seven charter members of the
National Panhellenic Conference when the first inter-sorority meeting was held in
Boston, Massachusetts. This organization is the governing body of
sororities in America with 26 members.
As the population moved west, so did Delta Gamma. What began as a club in the South soon became an international fraternity in both scope and thinking as Delta Gamma established itself not only in the United States, but also in
Canada.
Through the years, goals and achievements have grown as Delta Gammas continue to live by the motto set forth by the founders, "Do Good." During
World War I, Delta Gamma established and funded an orphanage in
Belgium and opened the Delta Gamma House for Children in
Holland.
Delta Gamma offers to women of all ages a rich heritage based on principles of personal integrity, personal responsibility and intellectual honesty. Its primary purpose is to foster high ideals of friendship, promote educational and cultural interests, create a true sense of social responsibility, and develop the finest qualities of character.*First
fraternity to establish an independent philanthropic foundation in
Ohio in
1951 (Service for Sight)
*The first sorority to have its own in-house printing press.
*The first and only panhellenic group to have its flower registered with the
American Rose Society - "Delta Gamma"
*One of the seven original women's groups that began the National Panhellenic Conference
*
Edith Abbott (first woman to become dean of a graduate school --
The University of Chicago)
*
Grace Abbott (social worker)
*
Jill Arrington (sports report for
ESPN)
*
Carol Bellamy (CEO and President of
World Learning)
*
Sabrina Bryan (actress, singer)
*
Ann Coulter (political pundit)
*
Cheryl Crawford (Broadway actress; founder of Group Theater and Actor's Studio)
*
Jo Ann Emerson (U.S. Congresswoman from Missouri)
*
Mary Frann (actress, most notably from the television show
Newhart.)
*
Melissa Hart (U.S. Congresswoman from Pennsylvania)
*
Patricia Heaton (actress)
*
E.D. Hill (co-host of
Fox and Friends on the Fox News Channel)
*Judge
Sarah Tilghman Hughes (swore in
President Lyndon B. Johnson on the day of President
John F. Kennedy's assassination)
*
Christine Lahti (actress)
*
Mary Landrieu (
United States Senator for the state of
Louisiana)
*
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (actress)
*
Joan Lunden (former host of "
Good Morning America")
*
Julianna Margulies (actress)
*
Donna Mills (actress)
*
Terry Murphy (Emmy Award-winning journalist)
*
Susan Nattrass (first woman shooter in the 1976 Olympics)
*
Kyra Phillips (anchor on CNN)
*
Eva Marie Saint (actress)
*
Julia Sweeney (actress and comedian from "
Saturday Night Live")
*
Liz Winstead (creator of Comedy Central's
The Daily Show)[
1])
*The original Delta Gamma badge was the letter "H". This symbolized hope.
*The current symbol of Delta Gamma is the anchor, the traditional symbol of hope.
*Initiation fees pay for a member's lifetime subscription to the Delta Gamma publication
Anchora.
*Delta Gamma has 145 chapters and one colony.
*Delta Gamma has 267 alumnae groups.
*Delta Gamma has 14,000 collegians.
*The largest Delta Gamma chapters are:
**
University of Mississippi - Alpha Psi
**
Louisiana State University - Gamma Zeta
**
University of Oklahoma - Alpha Iota
**
University of Missouri - Mu
**
University of Southern California - Alpha Nu
*As of April 2006, the newest Delta Gamma Chapter is
University of Texas at Tyler - Eta Xi
*As of 2005, Delta Gamma has:
**2,037 25-year members
**1,097 50-year members
**646 60-year members
**67 75-year members
*Delta Gamma women were featured on the show "
Happy Days"
*Delta Gamma is featured in the book "
Legally Blonde." In the movie, the name of the sorority is changed to "Delta Nu," but the crest of the chapter remains the same.
*
Official web site
