Gamma Phi Beta Sorority

Gamma Phi Beta's mission:
Our mission is to foster a nurturing environment that provides women the opportunity to achieve their potential through life-long commitment to intellectual growth, individual worth and service to humanity. A complete Gamma Phi Beta woman is prepared to be a leader, believes in philanthropy and helping young girls, is committed to personal academic excellence and values her lifelong membership in Gamma Phi Beta.

Academic Excellence:
Our Founders were pioneering women whose desires for friendship and sharing as they pursued academic achievement brought them together. Academic success remains important today. Gamma Phi Beta encourages each member to achieve her academic potential. Every Collegiate chapter has a scholarship program which may offer study tables, tutoring, and PACE programs on such topics as time management, academic resources on campus, research using the Internet, test-taking strategies and improving your memory.

Philanthropy and Community Service:
Gamma Phi Beta has a long history of outstanding philanthropic and community service. Although not founded as a philanthropic organization, giving back to the community is an important part of our charter. As an organization committed to women, we envision a community in which every girl and woman has the resiliency necessary to advance her own life and the lives of others. Our philanthropic activities aim to provide experiences and resources that build spiritual, mental and social resiliency in girls. Some philanthropic projects are fundraisers and others involve service. Many of our chapters do both while focusing as much as possible on the Sorority's international philanthropy, camping for girls.

Leadership Development:
Gamma Phi Beta strives to develop confidence and teach leadership skills to our members. Chapters are led by an executive council of women who organize and manage the overall operation of the chapter including the financial, social, and recruitment needs. An extended executive council as well as committees and task forces compliment the work of the executive council, giving any member interested in developing leadership skills the opportunity to do so in a safe and nurturing environment. Much of work done by our members requires working not just with other members of the chapter, but also with University and College officials, local community groups and press, as well the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority International Headquarter, alumnae volunteers and the National Panhellenic Council.

History:
In a society where women were discouraged from entering college due to their "insufficient brainpower" and "delicate health," four women (Helen M. Dodge, Frances E. Haven, E. Adeline Curtis, and Mary A. Bingham) from Syracuse University came together to form a society they named Gamma Phi Beta on November 11, 1874. 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. Today, Gamma Phi Beta has over 114 active collegiate chapters and over 156 alumnae groups throughout the United States and Canada with more than 130,000 members worldwide.

What is a sorority?
A sorority is a sisterhood of women that have gathered together to promote a common set of ideals and purposes. To understand more fully what a sorority is and its purpose, we must go back in time to its inception. In the 19th century, colleges were for men only, and fraternities were going strong on college campuses across the nation. The end of the 1800s found women finally able to pursue a higher education in college. And yet, college remained a prominently male environment. To triumph in this predominantly male environment, four women searched for encouragement and support as well as an outlet for their talents and dreams. These four women, Helen M. Dodge, Francis E. Haven, E. Adeline Curtis, and Mary A. Bingham, were the founders of the first sorority, Gamma Phi Beta.

Why join Gamma Phi?
Gamma Phi Beta is a sorority founded upon the ideal of promoting the highest type of womanhood. To be a Gamma Phi Beta is to be a sister for life, our commitment to our sisters never ends. As you will continue to give of yourself Gamma Phi Beta will give back to you a life full of the most precious memories and eternal friendship.

What does Gamma Phi Offer?
Sisterhood is a way of life for Gamma Phi Beta, an organization that was founded to promote friendship among women students who share common values and ideas. Gamma Phi Beta sisters support each other in their endeavors, share hugs and smiles during times of disappointment and joy, and develop friendships that last a lifetime. Sisterhood also means sharing the responsibility for attaining chapter and individual excellence and the highest type of womanhood. As the women of Gamma Phi Beta strive to meet this goal, they also remember that growing, learning, and tolerance are reflected in sisterhood.

What is recruitment?
Recruitment is the process in which we meet interested women in our sorority. If you chose to participate in recruitment there is no commitment to join. Our next formal recruitment will be in Fall 2009, within the first few weeks of the fall quarter. During recruitment you will go to two "parties" each night, one for Gamma Phi Beta Sorority and one for Phi Sigma Sigma Sorority (another Panhellenic sorority on campus). You will get to meet the ladies of both sororities during this time. Additionally, you will learn all about sororities and exactly what our respective chapters do, and why we think joining a sorority is such an amazing part of college life. Then you will have the opportunity to decide which organization with which you fit in best. Recruitment is a really fun experience, and is something you should consider even if you are not initially sure if "sorority life" is for you. We promise our "sorority life" will offer you great opportunities and is not what is depicted on T.V.
For more information, please send us a message, or ask any Gamma Phi !