History

On the campus of Syracuse University in New York, two sisters, Marguerite and Estelle Shepard discussed the need for a new women's fraternity on the campus. The University enrollment had doubled from 1900 to 1904, yet only one addition had been made to the fraternity system. Thus, many women were being denied membership in a fraternal organization. The Shepard sisters discussed this issue with Dr. Wellesley Coddington, a highly respected professor of Greek, Latin and German at Syracuse University. With his full support and assistance, the sisters decided to pursue their dream of creating a new fraternity. They began to contact other women on the campus that they believed would be interested in developing a new fraternity.

Marguerite and Estelle Shepard encouraged five other women-- Jennie Titus, Georgia Dickover, Grace Mosher, Ethel Brown, and Edith McConnell- to join in developing the organization. They developed a constitution and contacted a jeweler about creating the badge. Dr. Coddington helped develop a greek letter name for the organization. Soon four other women--Mary Snider, Georgia Otis, Emily Butterfield and Flora Knight-- joined the group giving Alpha Gamma Delta it's eleven Founders. On May 4, 1904, at the home of Dr. Coddington, Alpha Gamma Delta was officially founded. The constitution and bylaws were read and approved, the badges were first worn, the official colors were chosen and officers were elected.

The first Rush was held in September of 1904. On October 21, 1904 Alpha Gamma Delta was invited to become a chapter of an older fraternity. This invitation was refused and definite plans were made for extension. Unlike other groups that were founded as local groups to literary societies, Alpha Gamma Delta was founded to become a national women's fraternity. Alpha Gamma Delta was the first national women's fraternity to establish a philanthropy. The first Alpha Gam altruistic project was a camp for underprivileged children, which was started in 1919. Alpha Gamma Delta continued to be a leader in the National Panhellenic Conference by establishing an Executive Council format, the first of it's kind among Panhellenic groups.

In the five years that followed, eight new chapters were chartered in Wisconsin, Connecticut, Minnesota, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, and Washington-- a remarkable record in those years of limited travel and relatively slow communication. Alpha Gamma Delta became international in 1919 when the Tau chapter was established at the University of Toronto. Steady growth has marked the progress of Alpha Gamma Delta, throughout the goals years, due in large measures to goals set forth by our Founders and the strong foundation they laid for their new fraternity.

Epsilon Omega

Epsilon Omega chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta grew out of a local sorority, Gamma Phi Sigma. In the spring of 1992, the University instructed members of Gamma Phi Sigma to consider the possibility of becoming a chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta. After much deliberation, the women of Gamma Phi Sigma decided that affiliation with Alpha Gamma Delta would strengthen their sisterhood. Alpha Gamma Delta welcomed Gamma Phi Sigma into it's sisterhood in October 1992. After a fun and instructional pledge season, Epsilon Omega was presented its charter on April 17, 1993, and the chapter was officially installed.