HISTORY

Gamma Phi Beta History:

 

On November 11, 1874, Gamma Phi Beta was founded at Syracuse University by four courageous women who saw well beyond the limits of their time. Helen M. Dodge, Frances E Haven, E. Adeline Curtis, and Mary A. Bingham worked tirelessly to establish a women's society which promoted literary culture and social improvement.

 

In the 1870s, colleges and universities admitted few female students, and administrators and faculty argued that women had 'inferior minds' and could not master mathematics and the classics. Dr. E. O. Haven, Syracuse University chancellor and former president of the University of Michigan, disagreed; he enrolled his daughter Frances at Syracuse, which in 1874 had approximately 200 students and 10 faculty members.      

 

Frances asked three friends to assist her in organizing a society, and sought the advice of Dr. Haven, their brothers, the faculty, and the members of two existing fraternities. On November 11, 1874 , the four founders met in Dr. J. J. Brown's study for the first official meeting of the Alpha chapter of Gamma Phi Beta. With the help of Charles M. Cobb and Charles M. Moss, Frances' future husband, the women agreed on a badge design, and the first badges were delivered on December 16, 1874. Over the next few years, the society drafted a constitution, decided on rituals and expanded membership.Eight years after their first meeting, two members of the Alpha chapter traveled to the University of Michigan to charter the Beta chapter. Upon their return to Syracuse, Professor Frank Smalley commented, "I presume that you young women are now members of a sorority." Thus, Gamma Phi Beta became the first women's fraternity to be called a sorority.Now, more than 130 years later, Gamma Phi Beta is one of the largest and most well-respected sororities in the world. With an international membership of more than 160,000 women, Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority has 119 active collegiate chapters and nearly 200 alumnae groups.

 

Delta Chapter History:

 

The Gamma Phi Beta Delta Chapter at Boston University was founded in 1876, only two years after the Alpha Chapter was founded at Syracuse University, making Delta one of Gamma Phi Beta's oldest chapters. In 2011, the Delta Chapter celebrated our 125th Anniversary at Boston University.