Delta Gamma was founded in 1873 at the Lewis School in Oxford, Mississippi. It is one of the largest and most influential sororities in the country. The founders—Anne Boyd Ellington, Eva Webb Dodd, and Mary Comfort Leonard—aimed to encourage intellectual growth, service, and the maintenance of high ideals and standards. Today, the fraternity has more than 142,000 members in 146 collegiate chapters across the United States and Canada.
The Zeta Theta chapter at Columbia University came into being in 1989, and since its inception, it has upheld the traditions of sisterhood and service. Our purpose is to offer women a rich heritage and indelible bonds based upon principles of personal integrity, personal responsibility, and intellectual honesty.
By becoming a member of Delta Gamma, one will join a group of amazing young women who strive to uphold the ideals of their fraternity. Members of the Zeta Theta chapter number among the many of Columbia University and Barnard’s leaders, volunteers, and scholars. The sisters of this chapter are bound together through their service to the Delta Gamma foundation and Service for Sight, their sisterhood – strengthened through everything from Big/Little sisters, late-night study sessions in Butler, coffee runs, and impromptu movie nights – their scholarship (emphasized by maintaining the highest GPA of any Greek organization on campus), and their leadership.
Some quick facts about Delta Gamma:
- Fraternity motto: “Do Good”
- Fraternity flower: the cream-colored rose
- Fraternity colors: bronze, pink and blue
- Fraternity symbol: the anchor
- Noteworthy alumnae: Melissa Hart; Sarah Tilghman Hughes; Mary Landrieu; Carolyn Englefield; Julia Sweeney; Joan Lunden; Ann Daly; Kyra Phillips; Ann Coulter; Kelly Ayotte; Molly Hering Bordanaro
