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Our HistoryOur History | Our Founders | Our Flower | Our Letters | Our Symbol | Noteworthy GPB's 
Helen M. Dodge, Frances E. Haven, E. Adeline Curtis, and Mary A. Bingham founded Gamma Phi Beta on November 11, 1874, at Syracuse, New York. They were imaginative, courageous risk takers who cooperated unselfishly as they worked to achieve the same ideals Gamma Phi Beta emphasizes today. Today, Gamma Phi Beta is an international sorority with more than 128 collegiate chapters in the United States and Canada and nearly 200,000 collegiate members world wide. Our international headquarters is located in Englewood, Colorado and is owned by the Gamma Phi Beta Sorority. Colleges and universities admitted few women students in the 1870s. In fact, administrators and faculty members gave women a rather reluctant welcome. They argued women had inferior minds and could not master mathematics and the classics. In this controversy, Dr. E. O. Haven, Syracuse University chancellor and former president of the University of Michigan, and Northwestern University, maintained that women should receive the advantages of higher education. He enrolled his daughter, Frances, at Syracuse, which in 1874 had approximately 200 students and 10 faculty members. Frances asked three friends to assist her in organizing a society. They sought the advice and help of Dr., Haven, their brothers, the faculty and members of two existing fraternities. The minutes of their first meeting on November 11, 1874 state: "Miss Dodge was appointed to draft a Constitution." Frances Haven and Helen Dodge agreed to ask Dr. Haven for a suitable name and motto. The Founders met again on November 16 for further decisions as recorded in the minutes: "The merits of the six mottoes suggested by Chancellor Haven were discussed, and the motto of Gamma Phi Beta unanimously accepted." They agreed on a badge design for which they had sought the help of Charles M. Cobb and Charles M. Moss, Frances' future husband. Helen's brother, a divinity student, suggested the Hebrew word. The jeweler delivered the first badges on December 16, 1874. After the installation of Beta chapter at the University of Michigan in 1882, Syracuse faculty member Dr. Frank Smalley coined the word sorority especially for Gamma Phi beta. It has been used ever since. Our FoundersHelen M. Dodge: Helen was born on September 26, 1850 in Verona, New York. She was a member of the second freshman class at Syracuse University, took the classical course and graduated in 1876. A talented musician and member of the Daughters of the Revolution and other organizations, Helen's chief interest was the missing work sponsored by her church. She married the Reverend J.V. Ferguson, who preceded her in death. Helen died October 21, 1937, leaving a substantial bequest to Syracuse University for scholarships for members of Gamma Phi Beta. Francis E. Haven: Francis was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 27, 1854, while her father was teaching at the University of Michigan. When he became president of Northwestern University, Frances entered with the first group of women students. After he was named chancellor of Syracuse University, she transferred there and graduated in 1877. Her diploma, signed by her father, is displayed in Gamma Phi Beta International Headquarters. Frances married Charles M. Moss in 1878 and moved with him to the University of Illinois where she was instrumental in establishing Omicron Chapter. She died June 16, 1937. E. Adeline Curtis: Adeline was born on December 22, 1854 in Moravia, New York. She graduated from Syracuse University in 1878 with a bachelor's degree in music. She married Frank Curtis and they had one son, Edward. Adeline was a soprano soloist at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Syracuse for 33 years. She died January 14, 1923. Mary A. Bingham: Mary was born in Watertown, New York on August 30, 1856. She graduated from Syracuse University in 1878 with a degree in art. In 1883, she married M. E. Willoughby, who died in 1913. They had two children, a son Francis and a daughter Ernestine. Mary Willoughby and Helen Ferguson were the only Founders who were able to continue their close association after their college years, as both lived in Utica, New York. Mary died on January 14, 1916.
Noteworthy Gamma Phi's
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