Why was your org founded?

[PeppyGPhiB]

In a society where women were discouraged from entering college due to their "insufficient brainpower" and "delicate health," four women from Syracuse University came together to form a society they named Gamma Phi Beta. Now, over 130 years later, we celebrate the vision and dedication of those women and all that have come since then, who have built Gamma Phi Beta into one of the largest and most well-respected sororities in the world.

In the late 1800s, the few women that were admitted to colleges and universities in the United States were admitted reluctantly and negatively, facing harsh opposition from their conservative friends, family and faculty. The few "appropriate" and "genteel" careers open to women included dressmaking, teaching music and china painting, and instructing elementary classes - all with low pay. It took a truly ambitious woman to succeed.

In this controversy, Dr. E. O. Haven, Syracuse University chancellor and former president of the University of Michigan, and Northwestern University, maintained that women should receive the advantages of higher education. 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. Helen M. Dodge, Frances E. Haven, E. Adeline Curtis and Mary A. Bingham were courageous women that could see beyond the limits of their time. They recognized the opportunity a women's society presented, and aimed to establish one that would promote literary culture and social improvement among its members.

They sought the advice and help of Dr., Haven, their brothers, the faculty and 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 Gamma Phi Beta. As The University Herald, Syracuse University's newspaper, reported the following spring, "A new ladies' society made its appearance at the close of last term, and is to be known as Gamma Phi Beta . . . The ladies have started on the right principle, are select in the choice of members, and we see no reason why a prosperous future is not in store for Gamma Phi Beta."

The minutes of their first meeting on November 11, 1874 state: "Miss Dodge was appointed to draft a Constitution." Frances Haven and Helen Dodge agreed to ask Dr. Haven for a suitable name and motto. The Founders met again on November 16 for further decisions as recorded in the minutes: "The merits of the six mottoes suggested by Chancellor Haven were discussed, and the motto of Gamma Phi Beta unanimously accepted."

They agreed on a badge design for which they had sought the help of Charles M. Cobb and Charles M. Moss, Frances' future husband. Mary A. Bingham (affectionately known as Minnie) envisioned the crescent shape; Helen M. Dodge wanted the Hebrew letters. Frances E. Haven's beau, Charles Moss, took Minnie's crescent vision and combined it with his personal admiration of the Alpha Lambda Phi fraternity badge. When he couldn't come up with a suitable design, he sought help from a local Syracuse jeweler who ultimately sent the material to Tiffany's in New York City. Tiffany's sent back several designs, one which was adopted. The jeweler delivered the first badges on December 16, 1874, just one month after the sorority's founding.

The years that followed were full of growth. The society drafted a constitution, decided on rituals and expanded membership. The women took intellectual advancement seriously, taking time at every meeting to discuss current world issues and share new ideas. In those days, new members were initiated for the high price of $2.50, and tardy members were fined a nickel.

Eight years after their first meeting, two members of the Alpha chapter went 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. Gamma Phi Beta now has an international membership of over 130,000 members, with 119 collegiate chapters and over 200 alumnae groups worldwide.