Phi Mu Gamma (ΦΜΓ) was an American collegiate professional sorority for the arts. It was established at theEmerson College of Oratory (nowEmerson College) inBoston, Massachusetts in 1921. It merged withLambda Phi Delta, a professional fine arts fraternity, in 1930. It went inactive in the latter 1960s or early 1970s.
Its purpose was to organize female students who were interested in drama and to perform acts of charity.[2] The sorority's founding members were Kathryn Capron, Frances Collins, Natalie Curry, Miriam Kempton Evans, Ardis Hackman, Dorothy Richards, and Jesse Southwick.[1] Potential members were required to demonstrate scholarship and talent in drama.[3]
On February 28, 1921, the dramatic club at theUniversity of Oklahoma petitioned to became a chapter of Phi Mu Gamma.[4] It became Beta chapter on April 26, 1921.[3] A third chapter was chartered atDrake University in April 1922.[5] By 1929, the sorority had six chapters.[2] In 1930, it was known as a national professional dramatic fraternity.[6]
The fraternity was governed by national grand officers, elected at national conventions.[7] In February 1927, its national convention was held inDes Moines, Iowa.[7]
In June 1930, representatives of Phi Mu Gamma met in Omaha, Nebraska, withLambda Phi Delta, a national fine arts sorority, to discuss a merger.[6] Lambda Phi Delta's chapters were located in the Midwest and had not been established on any of Phi Mu Gamma's campuses.[6] Because Phi Mu Gamma was the older of the two organizations, it was decided to use its name.[6] The merger became official on October 10, 1930.[8] Both sororities also agreed to use October 17, 1890, the founding date of the predecessor social sorority, for the merged sorority's Founder's Day.[6] After the merger, Phi Mu Gamma had sixteen chapters.[9]
In 1940, the sorority called itself a national allied arts fraternity.[10] It was active until the late 1960s or early 1970s, when its chapters closed without apparent successor.[11][12]
Initially, Phi Mu Gamma used the badge of its predecessor sorority.[6] Its badge was a stacked shield, with the largest in gold and surrounded in pearls and turquoise, topped by a black enamel shield and, then, a gold shield with the Greek lettersΦΜΓ in black enamel.[1][3] After the merger with Lambda Phi Delta, a new badge was designed that combined the shield with the Lambda Phi Delta triangular badge.[6] Its pledge pin was a black, enameled triangle superimposed by a plain gold shield.[13]
The sorority's colors were gold, black, and blue.[13] Its flowers were the sweet-heart roses and forget-me-nots.[13] Its quarterly publication was theTri Shield.[13]
Each chapter performed a play at least once a year to raise funds for charitable activities.[2] For example, the chapter at Emerson College raised funds for a scholarship to be awarded to a junior non-member of the sorority.[14][15]
In 1931, Phi Mu Gamma considered establishing a foundation in memory ofMinnie Maddern Fiske.[13] This concept was accepted as a national program at the 1932 convention and was unanimously accepted at the 1936 convention.[13] This led to a central loan fund, available to worthy students pursuing one of the professional arts.[13] It also included various awards, including a national fellowship award, a national council Fiske scholar awards, state scholarship awards, active chapter awards, and alumnae chapter awards.[13]
^The college was in Montgomery at the time; its successor school, West Virginia Tech, moved to Beckley, West Virginia, in 2015.
^abcdefghWas originally a chapter of Lambda Phi Delta, which merged on October 10, 1930.
^In 1959, the Kansas CIty–Horner Conservatory merged with University of Kansas City, now called the University of Missouri–Kansas City.
^The college closed after graduation in 1930, and, therefore, this chapter may not have participated in the merger, but the chapter letter was assigned.
^Phi Mu Gamma was only in the college's yearbook for 1932.
