Gamma Phi Beta
| Gamma Phi Beta | |
|---|---|
| ΓΦΒ | |
 |
|
| Founded | November 11, 1874 Syracuse University, (Syracuse, New York) |
| Type | Social |
| Scope | International |
| Mission statement | To inspire the highest type of womanhood. |
| Motto | Founded On A Rock |
| Colors | Brown Mode |
| Symbol | Crescent Moon |
| Flower | Pink Carnation |
| Jewel | Pearl |
| Publication | The Crescent |
| Philanthropy | Building Strong Girls |
| Chapters | 187 collegiate, 175+ alumnae |
| Members | 200,000+ collegiate |
| Headquarters |
12737 E. Euclid Drive Centennial, Colorado USA |
| Homepage | http://www.gammaphibeta.org |
Gamma Phi Beta (ΓΦΒ) is an international sorority that was founded on November 11, 1874, at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. The term "sorority," was coined for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at Syracuse University.
The four founders are Helen M. Dodge, Frances E. Haven, E. Adeline Curtis and Mary A. Bingham. The sorority's international headquarters are located in Centennial, Colorado. Gamma Phi Beta currently has more than 200,000 initiated members, 130 chartered collegiate chapters and more than 155 alumnae groups across the United States and Canada. Gamma Phi Beta's primary objective is to inspire the highest type of womanhood.
Colleges and universities admitted few women students in the 1870s; some administrators and faculty members argued women had inferior minds and could not master mathematics and the classics. Regardless, Dr. Erastus Otis 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 and enrolled his daughter, Frances, at Syracuse.
After considering an invitation to join the then two-year-old Alpha Phi Fraternity, Frances instead asked three friends to assist her in organizing their own society. They sought the advice and help of Dr. Haven, their brothers, the faculty and members of two existing fraternities. Gamma Phi Beta was subsequently founded by Helen M. Dodge, Frances E. Haven, E. Adeline Curtis and Mary A. Bingham on November 11, 1874, at Syracuse University.
The women had originally selected the colors light and dark blue but changed them in 1875 to brown and mode (dark and light brown) in honor of Dr. J.J. Brown, whose study was used for Friday afternoon meetings of Gamma Phi Beta.
The first initiate, Clara Worden, joined in March 1875.
Gamma Phi Beta is a member of the Syracuse Triad, the name given to the three women's sororities founded at Syracuse University. Alpha Phi was founded first in 1872 by 10 of the original 20 women admitted into Syracuse University. Gamma Phi Beta came along two years later in 1874 and Alpha Gamma Delta completed the triad in 1904. The three sororities maintain a bond, and Syracuse Triad ceremonies or events are held on most campuses with chapters of all three groups.
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