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Delta Gamma
ΔΓ
Founded	December 25, 1873; 145 years ago (1873-12-25) Lewis School for Girls (Oxford, Mississippi)
Type	Social
Scope	International
Motto	Do Good
Colors	Bronze      Pink      Blue
Symbol	Anchor
Flower	Cream-Colored Rose
Mascot	Hannah Doll
Publication	ANCHORA
Philanthropy	Delta Gamma Foundation (Service for Sight)
Chapters	151 active chapters 200+ alumnae chapters and associations
Members	250,000+ initiated members, 199,800+ living alumnae, 20,000+ current collegians collegiate
Nickname	Dee Gee
Headquarters	3250 Riverside Drive Columbus, Ohio USA
Website	www.deltagamma.org

Delta Gamma (ΔΓ), commonly known as DG, is a sorority in the United States and Canada with over 250,000 initiated members.^[1]

It has 151 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada and more than 200 alumnae groups.^[2] The organization's executive office is in Columbus, Ohio. The Delta Gamma Foundation gives more than 150,000 volunteer service hours and raises hundreds of thousands of dollars annually for scholarships and grants for its members, schools and assistance for the visually impaired, and support for U.S. veterans.^[3] In 2013, Delta Gamma founded the #IAmASororityWoman campaign. This movement calls on members of any sorority to spark meaningful conversations about what sorority women truly value, in an effort to combat common stereotypes.^[4]

Delta Gamma is one of 26 national sororities which are members under the umbrella organization of the National Panhellenic Conference.^[5]

History

Delta Gamma was founded in December 1873 at the Lewis School for Girls in Oxford, Mississippi near the University of Mississippi. The group's founders were Mary Comfort Leonard, Eva Webb Dodd, and Anna Boyd Ellington.^[6]

The early growth for Delta Gamma was confined to women's colleges in the southern United States. Within a few years, Delta Gamma had established itself in the northern United States and later to the East with the help of George Banta, a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and Delta Gamma's only male initiate until Trevor Russell.^[7] Banta played an integral part in the expansion of Delta Gamma chapters from Oxford, Mississippi, to well-recognized northern colleges.^[8]

In 1882, Banta married Lillian Vawter, a Delta Gamma at Franklin College. After Lillian died in 1885, he was remarried to Ellen Lee Pleasants.^[9] In his later years, he assisted with the rewriting of the Delta Gamma ritual.^[9] He frequently visited Delta Gamma conventions, often participating as a guest speaker. He appeared for his last speech in 1934, a year before his death.^[8] As a result of the assistance provided by Banta, Delta Gamma retains close historical ties with the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.^[10]

Delta Gamma was one of seven charter members of the National Panhellenic Conference when the first inter-sorority meeting was held in Boston, Massachusetts in 1891.^[11][12] Delta Gamma and the six other charter members formally joined the National Panhellenic Conference in 1902.

Delta Gamma Foundation and modern day

The Delta Gamma Foundation was formed in 1951 .^[13]

Today, Delta Gamma has 151 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada. It has more than 200 alumnae groups in the United States, Canada and England.^[14]

Symbols

Although Delta Gamma has no official jewel, the fraternity recognizes the anchor as its official symbol, and its official colors are bronze, pink, and blue. The official flower is the cream-colored rose, which is the only sorority flower registered with the American Rose Society (as the Delta Gamma Cream Rose). The Hannah Doll is their mascot.^[7][15]

The badge of Delta Gamma is a golden anchor and may be worn only by initiated members.^[16]

Before the adoption of the golden anchor, the symbol of Delta Gamma was simply a "H" for the word "Hope". In 1877, the original "Hope" badge was changed to the traditional symbol of hope, the anchor. Today's badge has a small cable wrapping around the top of the anchor, with the Greek letters Tau Delta Eta (ΤΔΗ) on the crosspiece. Delta Gamma's motto is "Do Good."^[16]

Programs

Philanthropy

The Delta Gamma Foundation has three main focuses: Service for Sight, grants to the fraternity for educational and leadership purposes, and grants to individual members.^[17] Members contribute to its funds, which go into Service for Sight, scholarships, fellowships, loans, leadership and educational programming, and assistance to members in crisis. Delta Gamma gives more than 150,000 volunteer hours to Service for Sight each year.^[18]

The sorority is one of the first recipients of the Helen Keller Philanthropic Service Award, given by the American Foundation for the Blind for assistance to those who are visually impaired and for sight conservation,^[19] and it is the first recipient of the Virginia Boyce Award presented by Prevent Blindness America^[20]

Delta Gamma sorority house at Ohio University

Anchor Splash and Anchor Games

Anchor Splash and Anchor Games are the sorority's fundraising events hosted on college campuses across North America.^[21] The proceeds raised at these events support Delta Gamma's philanthropies.^[21]

Anchora

The official Delta Gamma magazine is the Anchora ("aNGkərə" not "ankôrə"), which has been published continuously since 1884. The Anchora also serves as an archival resource of member activities.^[22]

Membership

Delta Gamma sorority house at Columbia University, New York

Chapters

The oldest existing chapter of Delta Gamma, Eta, is located at the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio, and was founded in 1879. The Zeta Phi chapter at Harvard University announced in 2018 that it was closing due to Harvard's policy against gender-segregated organizations.^[23]

Notable members

Arts, entertainment and broadcast journalism

• 
  Mona Kosar Abdi – multimedia journalist with WSET ABC 13, the Al Jazeera Media Network and KGTV Channel 10^[24]
  


• 
  Jill Arrington – former sports reporter for CBS^[25]
  


• 
  Diem Brown – Reality TV star (MTV's The Challenge)^[26]
  


• 
  Sabrina Bryan – co-star of Disney Channel's original TV film series and musical group The Cheetah Girls, contestant on Dancing with the Stars seasons 5 and 15^[25]
  


• 
  Nadine Jolie Courtney – beauty journalist, author, Bravo TV personality Newlyweds: The First Year^[27]
  


• 
  Cheryl Crawford – Broadway producer; founder of Group Theater and Actor's Studio^[25]
  


• 
  Mary Frann – actress, Newhart^[25]
  


• 
  Samantha Harris – former host of Dancing with the Stars and host of various shows on E!, model and actress.^[25]
  


• 
  Patricia Heaton – actress, Everybody Loves Raymond^[25]
  


• 
  E.D. Tarbox Hill – Fox and Friends host^[25]
  


• 
  Christine Lahti – actress^[25]
  


• 
  Julia Louis-Dreyfus – Emmy-winning actress^[28]
  


• 
  Joan Lunden – former host of Good Morning America^[25]
  


• 
  Donna Mills – actress, Knots Landing^[25]
  


• 
  Terry Murphy – Emmy Award–winning journalist of Hard Copy^[25]
  


• 
  Cristina Perez – lawyer, judge, television personality, radio host, and author^[25]
  


• 
  Kyra Phillips – CNN anchor, four-time Emmy award winner^[25]
  


• 
  Alice Ripley – Broadway actress; Tony Award winner, "Next to Normal"^[29]
  


• 
  Eva Marie Saint – actress^[25]
  


• 
  Susan Spencer – staff correspondent on 48 Hours^[25]
  


• 
  Julia Sweeney – actress and comedian from Saturday Night Live^[25]
  


• 
  Anita Vogel – Fox News Channel correspondent^[25]
  


• 
  Lizz Winstead – creator of Comedy Central's The Daily Show^[25]
  

Authors and publishing

• Phyllis Battelle – nationally syndicated columnist^[25]
  


• 
  Christine Clifford – author and motivational speaker^[25]
  


• 
  Brenda Wang Clough – science fiction and fantasy author^[25]
  


• 
  Heloise Cruse – advice columnist^[25]
  


• Carolyn Englefield – former Senior decorating editor for House Beautiful magazine, current freelance Producer for House & Garden, Elle Decor, Veranda, Vanity and House Beautiful magazines^[30]
  


• Ellen Bromfield Geld – author^[31]
  


• Jackie Martin – first female photo and art editor of the Washington Herald in 1931, served as a war correspondent and director of photo operations of The Marshall Plan^[25]
  


• Lauren Purcell – deputy editor of Self magazine, editor-in-chief of Every Day With Rachael Ray^[25]
  


• 
  Heather Buchanan Spohr – writer, author, philanthropist^[32]
  


• 
  Terry Tempest Williams – author, conservationist, activist^[25]
  

Business, education and government

• 
  Edith Abbott – first female dean of a graduate school at an American university, the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration^[25]
  


• 
  Kelly Ayotte – United States Senator from New Hampshire (2011–2017)^[33]
  


• 
  Grace Abbott – highest ranking woman in the United States government for over a decade as the head of the United States Children's Bureau (1921–1934); first woman to be nominated for a Presidential cabinet position — Secretary of Labor in the Herbert Hoover administration; first American sent to the League of Nations to represent the United States^[25]
  


• 
  Carol Bellamy – President and CEO of World Learning, Executive Director of UNICEF (1995–2005), former Director of the U.S. Peace Corps (appointed by President Clinton)^[25]
  


• 
  Elizabeth M. Boyer – lawyer, writer/publisher, and feminist founder of WEAL^[34]
  


• 
  Rita Colwell – first female to be named Director of the National Science Foundation and chairman of Canon US Life Sciences, Inc.^[25]
  


• 
  Ada Louise Comstock – first full-time president of Radcliffe College^[25]
  


• 
  Deborah L. Cook – Federal judge for the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (2003–pres.)^[25]
  


• 
  Nancy-Ann DeParle – Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy in the administration of President Barack Obama (2011–present). Previously, she served as the director of the White House Office of Health Reform (2009–2011).^[25]
  


• 
  Jo Ann Emerson – U.S. Congresswoman from Missouri (1996–2013)^[33]
  


• 
  Susan Shannon Engeleiter – first woman to head the Small Business Administration (1989–1991)^[25]
  


• 
  Melissa Hart – U.S. Congresswoman from Pennsylvania (2001–2007)^[35]
  


• 
  Fern Holland – women’s rights expert, Defense of Freedom Medal recipient^[36]
  


• 
  Sarah Tilghman Hughes – first female federal judge who swore in President Lyndon B. Johnson on the day of President John F. Kennedy was assassinated^[25]
  


• 
  Merry Hull – redesigned the basic construction of the glove in 1939 which became the industry standard and is the design we wear today^[25]
  


• 
  Sharen Jester Turney – President and CEO of Victoria's Secret^[25]
  


• 
  Mary Landrieu – Senator from Louisiana (1997–2015)^[33][37]
  


• 
  Ruth Bryan Owen – U.S. Ambassador to Denmark (1933–1936) and Florida's first woman elected to Congress (1929–1933)^[25]
  

Sports

• 
  Judy Bell – first female president of United States Golf Association (1996–1998), Lifetime Achievement Inductee in the World Golf Hall of Fame, 2001^[25]
  


• 
  Carin Cone – champion swimmer^[25]
  


• 
  Emilee Klein – professional golfer^[25]
  


• 
  Bonnie Lauer – professional golfer; 1977 Rookie of the Year^[25]
  


• 
  Susan Nattrass – first woman shooter in the 1976 Summer Olympics^[25]
  


• 
  Jill Savery – member of the gold medal U.S. synchronized swimming team at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta^[25]
  


• 
  Anne White – nationally ranked tennis player in the late 1980s^[25]
  

See also

• List of social fraternities and sororities

Notes

References

External links

• Official website