Delta Gamma History

The Founding

Delta Gamma was founded on Christmas day in 1873 in Oxford, Mississippi, at the Lewis School for Girls by three young women who were unable to go home for the Christmas break. Together, our founders Anna Boyd Ellington, Eva Webb Dodd, and Mary Comfort Leonard create a "club of mutual helpfulness".

They chose the Greek letters Delta and Gamma because of their desire to "Do Good". This remains Delta Gamma's motto today and a driving force in all that we do.

What started with three women has since grown into an international Fraternity with more than 250,000 members in 153 collegiate chapters and more than 200 alumnae groups. Delta Gamma's sisterhood continues to inspire women through the values that were built into our very first Consitution. Article II, written by our Founders in 1873, states: The objects of this Fraternity shall be to foster high ideals of friendship among women, to promote their educational and cultural interests, to create in them a true sense of social responsibility, and to develop in them the best qualities of character.

Anchored in Hope

While the Constitution spells out the values of a Delta Gamma woman in Article II, you can't tell the story of Delta Gamma without speaking of hope. The original pin of the Fraternity was the letter "H," which the Founders meant to stand for hope. 

In 1877, the Fraternity adopted the anchor as our symbol, the age-old symbol for hope

A Network of Support

College is full of memories and experiences that will shape a woman's life and help lead her into a lifetime of fulfilling membership as an alumna. Upon graduation, Delta Gamma sisterhood is a network of support that enables each alumna to pursue her dreams and goals, while allowing her to give back. With opportunities to join one of more than 200 alumnae groups, mentor collegians, serve as advisers and volunteer for leadership positions, the Delta Gamma experience does not end after college. Instead, our sisterhood broadens to give each Delta Gamma the chance to continue her involvement in her own unique way.

Because serving others is at the root of Delta Gamma's history, the Delta Gamma Foundation functions as the philanthropic arm of the organization. The Foundation has been dedicated to sight conservation since 1936, when a member who was blind, Ruth Billow, Eta-Akron, asked the Fraternity to consider aiding the visually impaired. Since that time, the Foundation has grown to give millions of dollars to organizations that help further our shared mission and our members have given hundreds of thousands of service hours to those living with blindness or visual impairments.