About

Delta Zeta National

When six young women came together in 1902 to form a social sorority, they had a vision of lifetime sisterhood fostered by ideals that they cherished.

The six friends bonded quickly as they faced the challenges of starting a sorority on a male-dominated campus, as women had just been given full status as students at Miami University.

Alfa Lloyd, Mary Collins, Anna Keen, Julia Bishop, Mabelle Minton and Anne Simmons met with Dr. Guy Potter Benton, then president of the university, to make their idea a reality.

Delta Zeta Sorority was founded at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1902. It was the first sorority to be founded at the university.

The Founders then went on to lay the foundation for the Sorority which would have a national reach. Today, Delta Zeta has enriched the lives of over 260,000 alumnae and collegiate members in the United States and Canada.

Mission

Constitution of the Delta Zeta Sorority, Article II, Sections 1. and 2.

“The purpose of this sorority shall be to unite its members in the bonds of sincere and lasting friendship, to stimulate one another in the pursuit of knowledge, to promote the moral and social culture of its members, and to develop plans for guidance and unity in action; objects worthy of the highest aim and purpose of associated effort. The purpose of this sorority shall be advanced through the National Convention, the National Council, and the college and alumnae chapters.”

Creed

To the world,
I promise temperance and insight and courage,
To crusade for justice,
To seek the truth and defend it always;

To those whom my life may touch
in slight measure,
May I give graciously
Of what is mine;

To my friends,
Understanding and appreciation;
To those closer ones, Love that is ever steadfast;

To my mind, Growth;

To myself, Faith
That I may walk truly
In the light of the Flame.

— Dorothy Mumford Williams
Alpha Zeta, 1939