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History

Gamma Phi Beta is one of the ten oldest women's organizations in the United States. It was founded on November 11, 1874 at Syracuse University by Helen M. Dodge, Frances E. Haven, Eunice Adeline Curtis, and Mary A. Bingham. The young women enlisted the help of Dr. E.O. Haven, Francis' father and Syracuse University's chancellor, as they fought to establish a group solely for women on the male domninated Syracuse campus. After its installment, Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at the university, coined the word "sorority" especially for Gamma Phi Beta. Organizations created following the footsteps of Gamma Phi Beta have been called sororities ever since.

Thanks to the efforts of Helen M. Dodge, Francis E. Haven, E. Adeline Curtis, and Mary A. Bingham, Gamma Phi Beta now has an international membership of over 200,000 members, with 128 collegiate chapters and 156 alumnae groups.