Delta Zeta (ΔΖ, also known asDZ) is an international collegesorority founded on October 24, 1902, atMiami University inOxford, Ohio. Delta Zeta has 163 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada, and over 180 alumnae chapters in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. As of 2013, there are over 300,400 college and alumnae members, making it the third largest sorority in the nation (after Alpha Delta Pi and Chi Omega).[1][2]
In 1954, the sorority adopted speech and hearing as its philanthropic cause, and is partnered with theStarkey Hearing Foundation andGallaudet University. Throughout its history, it has absorbed several other smaller sororities and also opened its first Canadian chapter in 1992. Delta Zeta is one of 26 national sororities that are members under the umbrella organization of theNational Panhellenic Conference; the sorority joined the Conference in 1910.
Delta Zeta Sorority was founded atMiami University inOxford, Ohio in 1902, the same year that the university first allowed female students.[3] Miami is dubbed the "Mother of Fraternities" because of the many prominent men's fraternities which were founded there.[1]
Six of the newly admitted women consulted the university presidentGuy Potter Benton, regarding the founding of the first sorority chapter.[3][4] Having been a leader in thePhi Delta Theta fraternity, he was familiar with the processes of a Greek organization and helped the women establish Delta Zeta, the first sorority at the campus. Benton aided in the preparation of the sorority'sritual, badge, and colors. For his contributions, he was named its Grand Patron.
Delta Zeta's founders
The Delta Zeta Sorority was officially incorporated on October 24, 1902. Its founding members were Julia Lawrence Bishop, Mary Jane Collins, Alfa Lloyd Hayes, Anna Louise Keen, Mabelle May Minton, and Anne Dial Simmons.[1]
The first National Assembly, with Lloyd as the national president, was held in 1907.[5] In 1910, Delta Zeta published the first issue of its national magazine,The LAMP, now issued three times a year.[5] That same year, the sorority joined theNational Panhellenic Conference.[6]
Throughout the middle of the century, Delta Zeta absorbed four other sororities:Beta Phi Alpha in 1941,Phi Omega Pi in 1946,Delta Sigma Epsilon in 1956, andTheta Upsilon in 1962; most of these sororities had previously absorbed other, smaller sororities as well.[7][8][1] In 1992, Delta Zeta chartered its first Canadian chapter at theUniversity of Windsor, marking the beginning of the sorority's international expansion.[5][1]
Delta Zeta's gold badge consists of a Roman lamp on top of aIonic column, with the three wings of Mercury on each side.[9] The Greek letters "ΔΖ" are inscribed on the lamp in black enamel.[9] There is a diamond set at the spout of the lamp and fourpearls inset on the capital of the column.[10] The original badge did not include pearls, which were added a few years later.[5]
The new member pin is a black enamel diamond decorated with a Roman lamp in gold.[9] The Roman lamp is the sorority's symbol.[11] Delta Zeta's flower is the pink Killarneyrose.[9] Its stone is thediamond. Theturtle is its mascot. The sorority's official colors arerose andgreen.[11][9] (The 1905Baird's Manual lists the colors as old rose and Nile green.) Delta Zeta is one of the first sororities to have had aLilly Pulitzer print made with its symbols.[5]
The National Council of Delta Zeta is an alumnae board tasked with the governance of the organization.[12]
The Delta Zeta Foundation is a not-for-profit entity within the organization that provides various scholarships for members of the sorority as well as funding leadership, philanthropy, and education programs. There is a national philanthropic organization for active members of Delta Zeta known as the 1902 Loyalty Society, and members join by donating $19.02.[13]
Delta Zeta has 165 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada and over 200 alumnae chapters in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.[1][14]
Lisa Franchetti (Alpha Alpha) former United States Navy admiral who served as the 33rd chief of naval operations from 2 November 2023 to 21 February 2025. First woman to be chief of naval operations, and the first woman to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[19]
At the end of 2006, theDelta chapter of Delta Zeta at DePauw University became enmeshed in a controversy that would eventually make national headlines and result in the chapter's closure.[33] The Delta Zeta national leadership was criticized afterThe New York Times published an article accusing the national office of moving certain members of theDelta chapter at DePauw University to alumnae status based on their perceived attractiveness. Founded in 1909, the Delta chapter was the sorority's second-oldest active chapter and its fourth-oldest chapter overall (a "single letter" chapter). Despite its long history at DePauw, the chapter struggled with declining membership and had acquired a negative reputation on campus. As a result,Delta chapter members voted to request Delta Zeta Sorority to close the chapter due to falling numbers and a lack of interest in recruitment. When notified of the chapter decision, Delta Zeta Sorority arranged a chapter membership review and chapter reorganization rather than closing the chapter completely. Several of the members who were moved to alumnae status, and therefore required to move out of the Delta Zeta house at DePauw, argued that they were moved to alumnae status due to their perceived unattractiveness, weight, or ethnicity and contacted the media.[34]
^abcdef"Manual of Information"(PDF).National Panhellenic Conference (23rd ed.). January 2018. p. 22. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on June 18, 2018. RetrievedJune 17, 2018.
