Gamma Phi Beta History: . Gamma Phi Beta was founded on November 11, 1874at Syracuse University in New York by four collegiate women: Helen M. Dodge, Frances E. Haven, E. Adeline Curtis, and Mary A. Bingham. Gamma Phi Beta was the first-ever sorority and was organized by the founders to find support and comfort in a world that made them feel alienated because of their gender. The sorority was primarily known as the "Syracuse Triad." The organization spread to Cornell University where the second chapter was established in 1882. Gamma Phi Beta has chartered 190 national chapters and there are 138 active chapters today with over 200,000 sisters within the sorority.
The core values of the sorority Gamma Phi Beta are: love, labor, learning, and loyalty. The purpose of creating the sorority was "To inspire the highest level of womanhood." The sorority’s colors are light brown and dark brown and the pink carnation is the flower of the sorority. The pink carnation symbolizes “flower of love” or “flower of the gods” and it was appealing to the founders for it’s everlasting beauty. The symbol of the sorority is a crescent moon and symbolizes the members being “true and constant.” There are collegiate chapters all over the United States and there are alumnae chapters that foster the connection between collegiate members and those who have graduated.
The pink carnation, Gamma Phi Beta's flower
Gamma Phi Beta at the University of Arizona in 1922. 
The first chapter of Gamma Phi Beta
The Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Gamma Phi Beta: The Alpha Epsilon Chapter was brought to the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, on April 29th, 1922. The organization was known as "Delta Rho" before becoming an official chartered chapter of Gamma Phi Beta. Alpha Epsilon Chapter (Arizona) was installed by Denver alumnae headed by Eleanor Dennison (Denver, 1922), and 22 former members for Delta Rho were initiated. As of right now, there are 389 active members within the chapter. The sorority organizes philanthropy events, parents weekend events, social events, and recruitment events. There are nine active members who are on the Executive board who oversee the chapter and organize said events. There is a chapter President, Administrative Vice President, Membership vice President, Panhellenic Affairs Vice President, BEDI Chairwoman, New Member Educator, Education Vice President, Financial Vice President, and Public Relations Vice President. The sorority holds chapter every week on Monday nights where active members come together and hear updates on events, the sorority as a whole, and spend time together.
Gamma Phi Beta at the University of Arizona, current photo of the house
The House: Gamma Phi Beta is located at 1535 E 1st St, Tucson, AZ 85719. The sorority is on the university's Greek Row and is a pink two-story building with a large front yard and water fountain. The house sleeps 58 active members of the chapter. Members have "day rooms" where they have all their belongings and a "day bed." The members sleep in a sleeping porch - a dark and cold room full of bunk beds. The location of the house is approximately a five-to-seven-minute walk from the University of Arizona’s campus. The two-story house has 19 day rooms, a basement, a large living room downstairs, a kitchen, a snack room, a dining room, a chapter room, an upstairs living room, a backyard, and a front and back sleeping porch. The house is open to any member of the chapter at any time of day. Members often eat meals at the house. There is breakfast, lunch and dinner Monday through Thursday, breakfast and lunch on Fridays, and brunch on Sundays. There is a full-staffed kitchen, cleaning staff and a house mom who lives in her own section of the house.
View of Gamma Phi Beta house 
Gamma Phi Beta Moon Crescent
Philanthropy: Gamma Phi Beta’s philanthropy is Girls on the Run and the sorority’s mission is to build confident women of character who celebrate sisterhood and make a difference in the world around us. The sorority’s philanthropic motto is “Building Strong Girls” and through philanthropic work, they further their mission to provide experiences and resources that build spiritual, mental, and social resiliency in girls. Girls on the Run is a foundation that focuses on addressing mental and physical health in young girls to provide them with critical thinking skills, confidence, and encourage them to build meaningful relationships and healthy habits. The foundation has a 3rd through 5th-grade program and a 6th through an 8th-grade program where girls work together and participate in team-building activities to help establish social skills that will help them build the resiliency necessary to further their own lives. There is an annual 5K for both programs where the program participants get to demonstrate their dedication and resiliency by participating in the race.
Gamma Phi Beta members raise money for this foundation in a variety of ways. This past year, the Alpha Epsilon chapter of Gamma Phi Beta hosted a Moonball tournament where different organizations at the University of Arizona could create teams and participate in a volleyball tournament on the mall. Moonball encouraged camaraderie and healthy competition while fundraising money for Girls on the Run. The Alpha Epsilon chapter raised approximately $17,000 which was donated directly to Girls on the Run. In previous years, Gamma Phi Beta members have attended the 5K races in Tucson, Arizona, and showed physical support for the young girls who participated in the 5K. Gamma Phi Beta has strengthened the community of Tucson, Arizona, and beyond through fundraising money for a program that provides young women with the skills and opportunities to be strong and determined within their community and their lives.
Gamma Phi Beta also fundraises for the Gamma Phi Beta Foundation which assists members of Gamma Phi Beta with financial help in terms of paying for school or sorority dues through scholarships. The sorority also hosted a “Mac n Cheese with GPHIBs” where they catered Sauce mac n cheese and sold tickets to people who wanted to get Sauce at the Gamma Phi Beta chapter facility. This event raised $19,683.80 and the money was donated directly to the Gamma Phi Beta Foundation.
Gamma Phi Girls @ Girls on the Run 
Moonball 2023
Moonball 2023
Mac N Cheese with GPHIBs 2023
Mac N Cheese with GPHIBs 2023
Recruitment: Each Greek organization at the University of Arizona has recruitment. Gamma Phi Beta participates in recruitment of New Members every year in the fall. The most recent pledge class (PC 23) had 134 girls. Recruitment allows for college members to "rush" different houses and find a community on campus that most resonates with them. There are four different rounds of sorority recruitment at the University of Arizona. The first round is referred to as the Open House round - the PNMs (potential new members) watch videos of the houses, and the houses watch introduction videos of all the PNMs. The PNMs rank their top eight houses and the houses rank the PNMs that seem most likely to fit into their specific chapter. Mutual selection provides PNMs and the sorority houses with schedules going into the second round which is called Philanthropy round. The PNMs visit the houses they were welcomed back to for thirty minutes during their given round. Within the recruitment set, PNMs talk to active members and get to know each other and each sorority's philanthropy and values. There is another mutual selection process that occurs after Philanthropy round which determines the PNMs schedule and each houses schedule for the next round, which is called Sisterhood round. The Sisterhood round allows for PNMs and actives to talk again and provide PNMs with an opportunity to learn about each houses' sisterhood and relationships with each other. The final round is Preference round. PNMs pick their favorite two houses and visit for fifty-five minutes with both chapters and participate in a special ceremony. Preference round is known to be the most emotional and is the last time PNMs get to visit a house before Bid Day. The PNMs rank their final two houses in order of which house they want to join most. On Bid Day, PNMs open their bid cards and get to run home to their new chapter. Recruitment can be an emotional process and can be stressful for the potential new members and the active members. Recruitment allows for college females to join an organization on campus that makes them feel welcomed and a place for them to call home. Incoming college freshman often feel unknowing as to what is to come and joining a sorority can help alleviate the feeling of being alone and disconnected from the community.
Further Information:
For more information on Gamma Phi Betas, check out: http://www.gammaphibetauofa.com/home.html , https://www.gammaphibeta.org/who-we-are/our-history , https://www.facebook.com/arizonagammaphi/ , https://www.instagram.com/arizonagammaphi/?hl=en , https://twitter.com/arizonagammaphi?lang=en , http://gammaphibetauofa.tumblr.com
https://www.girlsontherun.org/what-we-do/ https://www.facebook.com/arizonagammaphibeta
“Explore the Legacy” Our History, https://www.gammaphibeta.org/who-we-are/our-history
“Decades” The History of Gamma Phi Beta, http://gammaphibetahistory.org/decades/
“Alpha Epsilon Chapter” The History of Gamma Phi Beta, http://gammaphibetahistory.org/alpha-epsilon-chapter/
“Philanthropy” Gamma Phi Beta, http://www.gammaphibetauofa.com/home.html
Information regarding amount fundraised during Moonball (2023) and Mac N Cheese with GPHIBs (2023) was cited from the Internal Philanthropy Chair (Ali Grant) herself on (2/20/24).
