Difference between revisions of "Delta Gamma"

Michigan State University established in 1855, East Lansing, Michigan

Founded as Delta Gamma on November 7, 1930

2,724 initiates (as of June 2018)

Charter Members: Beryl Emeline Abbey, Virginia Ruth Adams, Jean Marian Carruthers, Katherine Louise Cookerly, Josephone Carrel Dean, Margaret Christine Goodenow, Katherine Elizabeth Gordon, Rheta Helen Hullinger, Wilma Graham Kinney, Anna Jean Murphy, Virginia Lucile Palmer, Mary Elizabeth Pangborn, Kathryn Veronica Patterson, Mary Louise Sharer, Helen Laverne Shoesmith, Ann Anderson Shook, Natallia Geraldine Sutterby, Dorothy Charlotte Wickstrom.

Some of Delta Gamma Chapter’s Outstanding Alumnae:

Fraternity Officers:

Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:

Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:

Additional Outstanding Delta Gamma Alumnae:

The Early Years (Excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity: 1870-1976)

Chapter history unfolds with the first meeting of 11 enthusiastic girls as members of Delphian January 8, 1898, in the Y.M.C.A. in East Lansing. There was some dissatisfaction at the time with the name and the charter, so the following fall the name was changed to Themian Literary Society and a new charter adopted. The name came from Themis, Goddess of Justice. Membership increased to 13, who are regarded as charter members. The constitutional object of the society was to promote the literary and social culture of its members and to develop human fellowship, stressing loyalty and friendship.

Consequently, what started 32 years earlier became Delta Gamma Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma November 7, 1930. The chapter was installed by Alice Tillotson Barney, Chi- Minnesota, grand president, and Clara O. Pierce, Beta Nu- Ohio State, executive secretary. Members of Beta Delta Chapter, University of Michigan, helped with the installation.

Delta Gamma Kappas have a chapter house of which to be proud. A drive down M.A.C. Avenue reveals a lovely red brick Georgian Colonial house with white shutters that catch the eye with their fleur-de-lis motif. This warm inviting house has been home for the chapter since 1931.

A beautiful addition, which enhanced its graciousness and nearly doubled its size, was built in the back of the house in the spring of 1956. This project brought actives and alumnae close together as plans were made, change and finalized.

Worth mentioning are some of the novel ideas incorporated into the addition, admired and copied by some of the other houses on campus. In addition to four more bedrooms and bath, a combination sewing-pressing room was added to the second floor. This room, equipped with a studio couch, easy chair, and long mirror, can also be used as a guest room. The ironing board and sewing machine can be stored out of sight in an adjacent closet. A third floor storage space includes a 40 foot pole which holds garment bags and accessories. A feature of the bedrooms are built-in chests, dressing tables, wardrobes and book shelves, which contribute to the neatness of the rooms.

A spacious dining room opens out to a lounge and terrace- great for rush affairs and mixed parties.

Adjoining property has been purchased and houses the overflow of girls. Eventually this property (which has much historical interest in that the house on it was moved to its present location from the campus long ago) may be utilized for additional parking spaces, as required by local ordinance.

Astute financial management has enabled the chapter to burn mortgages in 1947 and 1974.

Delta Gamma philanthropies have always been in the field of rehabilitation. At present and in years past, members have worked at an extended care facility in Okemos. Members of the active chapter and alumnae also do volunteer service in the local hospitals at Christmas time.

On this campus of approximately 45,000 students, one of the spring, 1975, highlights was a style show and luncheon given by alumnae of Kappa, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Pi Beta Phi, evidence of the comaraderie that exists at Michigan State.

Highlights of the 1980’s

In February 1985, Delta Gamma hosted the Delta Province Meeting in conjunction with the Lansing–East Lansing Alumnae Association.

Highlights of the 2000’s

In the early 2000’s, Delta Gamma chapter supported Reading is Fundamental and celebrated literacy with a local elementary school and Brownie troops through story time and literacy-related crafts. They consistently maintained a high GPA among all sororities and were thrilled to receive a scholarship award at the 2005 Delta Province Meeting. They continued to be involved in a Greek-wide event called “Safe Halloween” which hosted a street carnival full of safe and fun activities for the children of East Lansing.

2007 brought several house renovations as well as the addition of new house board members. The chapter began to struggle with grades and attendance. Despite these challenges, Delta Gamma took home awards in several areas at MSU’s annual Greek Gala including President of the Year in 2008 and Chapter of the Year in 2009. A renewed focus on ritual and alumnae relations brought on a welcomed increase in alumnae participation at Delta Gamma. They also saw a major upturn in chapter attendance.

Delta Gamma maintained an active presence in philanthropy events around campus through the remainder of the 2000’s. They also saw additional home improvements in the 2009-2010 school year including updated bathrooms, kitchen, alcove, and plumbing. At the 2009 Province Meeting, they were honored to receive awards for the Most Improved Chapter and Most Philanthropic Chapter. The celebrations continued at convention in the summer of 2010 were they also received an award for Greatest Improvement.

Highlights of 2012

This past year, our chapter has had many successful events. For the fall semester of 2012, we were ranked second overall for the highest grades. For the year of 2012, we were also awarded the Leadership and Delevopment award at the Greek Gala. One of our proudest philanthropic moments in 2012 was our Circus event at The Boys and Girl's Club of Lansing. We donated over 100 books and put on an entire day's worth of activities and fun for the kids. It was an incredible day that made everyone proud to be a Kappa. On top of that, our fall recruitment was a huge success being that we were lucky enough to welcome 40 new members into our chapter with a 100%! Throughout the year, we were heavily involved in the community by participating in events such as the East Lansing Homecoming Parade, Polar Plunge, Relay for Life, Dance Marathon, and many other events in and around the Greek community.

As a whole, our chapter is a tightly knit group of well-rounded girls who care about the well being of Kappa. We push each other to find our strengths and help each other with our weaknesses. In the past year, the Delta Gamma chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has grown stronger and stronger. We hope to continue down this path throughout 2013 and uphold Kappa in a positive light.

Highlights of 2013

2013 was an awesome year for the Delta Gamma chapter! In the fall, we were excited to welcome our new house director, Cindy, and we did our best to make her feel at home and welcome! Although having a new house director was a big adjustment, we all worked together to ensure that the transition went as smoothly as possible.

Academically, we are also very proud of our accomplishments for 2013. For the spring and fall semesters of 2013 our chapter was ranked second overall for the highest grades. Furthermore, we are excited to report a successful fall recruitment and we initiated 45 girls in November! This past year was also packed with awesome philanthropy events!

In January, we held a campus-wide book drive and collected 942 books! Following the book drive, we held our annual circus event at the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing where we donated all of the books that we collected throughout January! At this event, we read some of the books, made crafts, face-painted and learned new dance moves from all of the kids! Both the kids and the Kappas had a blast and each child was able to leave with three books!

In the fall, we held a trunk show where we were able to raise $375 for Reading Is Fundamental. Furthermore, we conducted a Christmas Toy Drive led by our Panhel delegate, Maddie McMahon. We were able to collect and wrap enough gifts to sponsor four children through the Operation Good Cheer organization in Okemos, Michigan! Our toy drive was so successful that an MSU journalist interviewed Maddie and an article regarding the drive was posted online! The event we were most excited about however, was hosting the “Very Hungry Kappa-Pillar” pie-eating contest! Andi Tonis, our philanthropy chair put together this event and it was the first ever pie-eating contest on campus! We had over 90 participants and we raised more than $850 for Reading is Fundamental and the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing! We were especially excited to see an article about our event on the national Kappa website!

In addition to our philanthropy events we also were very involved in the community by participating in events such as Safe Halloween, the Polar Plunge, Dance Marathon and a campus fundraiser where we donated over $300 in school supplies! Lastly, I am excited to report that Lauren Steiner started a new tradition of hosting a “birthday party” in celebration of our 83rd year of being a chapter. We brought out tons of artifacts and scrapbooks from our history closet and everyone had a great time indulging in some of the Delta Gamma chapter’s history!

Overall, our chapter is a tight knit group of amazing and intelligent women who care about each other and the continued success of our chapter as a whole. We always support each other and we continue to push each other to reach our highest potential as indiviudals and as a chapter. Although the Delta Gamma chapter has faced some changes this past year, especially with regards to our new house director, we have successfully accomplished any goal we set and we have overcome any challenges that have arisen. If anything, the changes and challenges that we have encountered this past year have made us even closer and we have grown even stronger as a chapter. We all hope to continue down this wonderful path through 2014 and we are so excited for what is yet to come.

Highlights of 2014

 2014 was a wonderful year for the Delta Gamma chapter! We accomplished so many goals individually and as a chapter. We are excited to announce our successful Fall 2014 rush, recruiting 45 beautiful girls to join our chapter. Academically, we are also very pleased of our accomplishments for 2014, we were ranked 3rd over all for highest grades. This past year we also exceeded our expectations with awesome philanthropy events. Each Halloween our sorority participates in a local charity event called Safe Halloween. Michigan State’s Greek Life hosts a street carnival full of Halloween activities for children to enjoy the purpose is to provide a safe alternative to trick-or-treating for the children of East Lansing’s community. Also starting in March we begin collecting children’s books to donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing. Following the book drive we hold our annual carnival at the Boys and Girls Club. At this event, we read some of the books, made crafts, face-painted and learned new dance moves from all of the kids! Both the kids and the Kappas had a blast and each child was able to leave with three books! The most exciting philanthropy event is the annual “Very Hungry Kappa-Pillar” pie eating contest. The event was first introduced to our chapter by our former Philanthropy Chairman, Andi Tonis, who started the first pie eating contest on campus! In addition to our philanthropy events we were also involved in the community by participating in events such as the Polar Plunge and Dance Marathon. Lastly, this past spring our chapter hosted Founders Day, a day that recognizes when the organization was established and those who were involved. We honor our founders and open the house to local alumni wanting to share their favorite memories and experiences. We brought out tons of artifacts and scrapbooks from our history closet and everyone had a great time indulging in some of the Delta Gamma chapter’s past.

Overall, our chapter is a tight knit group of amazing and intelligent women who care about each other and want to continue the success of our chapter as a whole. We always support each other and push each other to reach our highest potential as individuals and as a chapter. Although the Delta Gamma chapter has faced some changes this past year, we have successfully accomplished any goal we set and have overcome many challenges that are thrown our way. The changes and challenges we have faced have made us even closer and stronger as a chapter. We all hope to continue down this wonderful path through 2015 and are so excited for what the year will bring.

Our chapter meets in the chapter room within our house that is owned by the chapter. Each member of our chapter is required to live in the house for one year. Our house is owned by the chapter and can hold up to 45 girls in the actual house and 5 in the annex.

Highlights of 2015

2015 was a very successful and busy year for the Delta Gamma chapter! Our chapter has accomplished many goals individually and as a whole. We are happy to announce a successful Fall 2015 rush, recruiting 51 new beautiful ladies. Academically, we are also very pleased of our accomplishments for 2015, ranking 5th over all for highest grades. This past year has also been very successful exceeding our expectations with awesome philanthropy events. Each Halloween our sorority participates in a local charity event called Safe Halloween. Michigan State’s Greek Life hosts a street carnival full of Halloween activities for children to enjoy the purpose is to provide a safe alternative to trick-or-treating for the children of East Lansing’s community. Also starting in March we begin collecting children’s books to donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing. Following the book drive we hold our annual carnival at the Boys and Girls Club. At this event, we read some of the books, made crafts, face-painted and learned new dance moves from all of the kids! Both the kids and the Kappas had a blast and each child was able to leave with three books! The most exciting philanthropy event is the annual “Very Hungry Kappa-Pillar” pie-eating contest. This event was first introduced to our chapter by our former Philanthropy Chairman, Andi Tonis, who started the first pie-eating contest on campus! In addition to our philanthropy events we were also involved in the community by participating in events such as the Polar Plunge and Relay for Life. Lastly, this past spring our chapter hosted Founders Day, a day that recognizes when the organization was established and those who were involved. We honor our founders and open the house to local alumni wanting to share their favorite memories and experiences. We brought out old photos and artifacts from our chapter history closet and everyone had a great time indulging in some of the Delta Gamma chapter’s past.

Our chapter is a strong group of tight knit girls who are amazing, intelligent, caring and want to continue the success of our chapter as a whole. We always support each other and push each other to reach our highest potential as individuals and as a chapter. Although the Delta Gamma chapter has faced some changes this past year, we have successfully accomplished any goal we set and have overcome many challenges that are thrown our way. The changes and challenges we have faced have made us even closer and stronger as a chapter. We all hope to continue down this successful path through 2016 and are so excited for what the year will bring.

Highlights of 2016

2016 was a wonderful year for the Delta Gamma chapter! We accomplished so many goals individually and as a chapter. We are excited to announce our successful Fall 2016 rush, recruiting 58 beautiful girls to join our chapter. At this year's Greek Gala, our Chapter received many awards. We won Service and Philanthropy of the Year, Greek Ivy, Scholastic Excellence and Greek Woman of the Year. This past year we also exceeded our expectations with awesome philanthropy events. Each Halloween our sorority participates in a local charity event called Safe Halloween. Michigan State’s Greek Life hosts a street carnival full of Halloween activities for children to enjoy. The purpose is to provide a safe alternative to trick-or-treating for the children of East Lansing’s community. Also starting in March we begin collecting children’s books to donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing. Following the book drive we hold our annual carnival at the Boys and Girls Club. At this event, we read some of the books, made crafts, face-painted and learned new dance moves from all of the kids! Both the kids and the Kappas had a blast and each child was able to leave with three books! The most exciting philanthropy event is the annual “Very Hungry Kappa-Pillar” pie eating contest. The event was first introduced to our chapter by a former Philanthropy Chairman, Andi Tonis, who started the first pie eating contest on campus! In addition to our philanthropy events we were also involved in the community by participating in many of the other fraternity and sorority philanthropies too. Lastly, this fall our chapter hosted Founders Day, a day that recognizes when the organization was established and those who were involved. We honor our founders and open the house to local alumni wanting to share their favorite memories and experiences. We brought out tons of artifacts and scrapbooks from our history closet and everyone had a great time indulging in some of the Delta Gamma chapter’s past. The biggest event happening outside of our chapter was the 2016 Presidential Election.

Overall, our chapter is a tight knit group of amazing and intelligent women who care about each other and want to continue the success of our chapter as a whole. We always support each other and push each other to reach our highest potential as individuals and as a chapter. Although the Delta Gamma chapter has faced some changes this past year, we have successfully accomplished any goal we set and have overcome many challenges that are thrown our way. The changes and challenges we have faced have made us even closer and stronger as a chapter. We all hope to continue down this wonderful path through 2017 and are so excited for what the year will bring.

The organizations our chapter raised money for and donated hours to were Reading is Fundamental and they Boys and Girls Club in Lansing. We did this through our Hungry Hungry Kappapillar event and through our Carnival for The Boys and Girls Club. We love supporting these organizations! We think it is so important to encourage reading and literacy. We want these children to have the best opportunities when they grow up.

The chapter maintained ties with the community by supporting their local Boys and Girls Club with a book drive and carnival. They have also received several notable awards at the Greek Gala including President of the Year in 2015 and Scholastic Excellence Award and Greek Woman of the Year in 2016.

Highlights of 2017

2017 was a wonderful year for the Delta Gamma chapter! We accomplished so many goals individually and as a chapter. We are excited to announce our successful Fall 2017 rush, recruiting 53 beautiful girls to join our chapter. At this year's Greek Gala, our Chapter won Service and Philanthropy of the Year. This past year we also exceeded our expectations with awesome philanthropy events. Each Halloween our sorority participates in a local charity event called Safe Halloween. Michigan State’s Greek Life hosts a street carnival full of Halloween activities for children to enjoy. The purpose is to provide a safe alternative to trick-or-treating for the children of East Lansing’s community. Also starting in March, we begin collecting children’s books to donate to the Boys and Girls Club of Lansing. Following the book drive we hold our annual carnival at the Boys and Girls Club. At this event, we read some of the books, made crafts, face-painted and learned new dance moves from all of the kids! Both the kids and the Kappas had a blast and each child was able to leave with three books! The most exciting philanthropy event is the annual “Very Hungry Kappa-Pillar” pie eating contest. In addition to our philanthropy events, we were also involved in the community by participating in many of the other fraternity and sorority philanthropies too. Lastly, this fall our chapter hosted Founders Day, a day that recognizes when the organization was established and those who were involved. We honor our founders and open the house to local alumni wanting to share their favorite memories and experiences. We brought out tons of artifacts and scrapbooks from our history closet, and everyone had a great time indulging in some of the Delta Gamma chapter’s past.

Overall, our chapter is a tight knit group of amazing and intelligent women who care about each other and want to continue the success of our chapter as a whole. We always support each other and push each other to reach our highest potential as individuals and as a chapter. Although the Delta Gamma chapter has faced some changes this past year, we have successfully accomplished any goal we set and have overcome many challenges that are thrown our way. The changes and challenges we have faced have made us even closer and stronger as a chapter. We all hope to continue down this wonderful path through 2017 and are so excited for what the year will bring.

Highlights of 2019

This past year our chapter has been able to grow through many barriers we faced. We had many fun sisterhood events including renting out the movie theaters to see A Star is Born and Hustlers. We also had sisterhoods that included boutique stores coming to the house and allowing girls to shop! In the spring our philanthropy chairs organized a great volunteering opportunity where as a chapter we were able to go to a local boys and girls club and read with them and do crafts for the afternoon. Our chapter faced challenges with officer transitions as most of council was changed throughout the summer. Much of the first month of school was trying to regroup and organize to make sure recruitment went well. Our recruitment chair did an excellent job making sure Kappa values were apparent throughout recruitment. The membership selection process also went much smoother than in years past. In October our chapter participated in safe Halloween which is put on by all of Michigan State's Greek life. This year in November we had a new philanthropy event that was extremely popular. Our philanthropy chairs created Kappa Arcade and rented out a local arcade in Lansing for the evening. The event was a huge success and they were able to raise around $1,500! Also in November we initiated our new members into Kappa Kappa Gamma! Initiation went smoothly, we as a chapter definitely have areas to work on regarding our ritual practice but I think we are on the right track! Attendance was high at initiation which is good as we as a chapter sometimes struggle with out attendance. As we move into next year as a chapter we are looking to have another successful recruitment, which I think we will as we have an awesome team for next year! We are looking to improve our ritual to make sure everyone in the chapter is knowledgeable regarding ritual. Lastly, our main goal coming into the year is to have very smooth officer transitions.

There haven't been any drastic changes on campus other than we got a new university president. They are working on modernizing the campus so there has been lots of construction. Our chapter is growing, we had a large new member class which is amazing. We also have been working very hard as a chapter to work on getting off warning of probation. We have made strides with our attendance which I think has been improving. We have plans to continue to work on our ritual and improve our knowledge of it.

RIF. Literacy and being able to read is a fundamental. Going through life without the ability to read can put severe hardships on an individual. We want to work in the community to promote reading and improving the numbers of individuals who know how to read.

To celebrate founders day we had a pizza party and cake before chapter. Our chapter all came to the house and ate together before we had our council meeting and our chapter meeting.

Highlights of 2020

Chapter Summary Summarize the previous calendar year, scholarships, group honors/awards, Convention awards, traditions, special events, philanthropic involvement, chapter goals, and how your chapter operations changed because of COVID-19 (e.g., how did it affect recruitment, initiation, etc. Were events/activities held virtually?). In January, the year began with meetings with the whole chapter regarding Greek Week, and recruitment practices. Chapter meetings were held on each Monday at 7 pm and the Council met at 6 pm before the chapter meetings.The chapter participated in watching a movie together in the house in January as a sisterhood event. The chapter held a sisterhood event in Febuary at Title boxing in East Lansing for sisters to join together in a kick boxing class. In Febuary, the chapter purchased and donated books, writing supplies, and tools to The Boys and Girls Club in East Lansing for part of our philanthropic involvement. In March, Pre-COVID, the chapter held a fundraiser at Foster Coffee to raise money for our philanthropy. There was also a Zumba class for seniors to attend. Pre-COVID, the chapter joined together for Greek Week, where we joined up with two fraternities to raise money for The Boys and Girls Club. Sisters participated in rehearsing for song fest which is a campus tradition where members in Greek life pair together and come up with dances for many weeks, before it was cancelled due to COVID. Sisters also were eager to donate and participate in The Greek Day of service in March, before it was cancelled, but continued to donate. The chapter also planned and organized Kappa Carinval which is our chapters Philantrhopy event that other sororities and fraterntiies come to at the Kappa house to raise money for our philanthropy, but was not able to happen due to COVID. The chapter had planned for a Mom’s Day at the end of March which was cancelled due to COVID. During the COVID-19 lockdown, the council continued to meet to work together and plan for a virtual semester and for the upcoming Fall semester. In May, the chapter sent in videos to make one large video for the seniors who were graduating, and gifted them a basket with gifts inside. During this time, the chapter had virtual meetings to discuss recruitment, rirtual training, and Bid Day for the fall semester. The chapter decided on a theme of Hello Kappa, and began preparing for recruitment by learning about how to talk with girls, the ritual songs of Kappa Kappa Gamma, and how to present yourself. In August, when the chapter returned to campus, we began preparing for recruitment by having several virtual meetings. With virtual recruitment, there came a lot of changes.The president and recruitment chairs came up with guidelines, rules, outfits, and advice for this new way of recruitment. The chapter prepared to use Zoom while in bump groups to talk to the girls who were in recruitment. The chapter also created videos from girls living in the house to show around their rooms and favorite parts of the house/Kappa. Our philanthropy chair also created a virtual scrapbook video to show off our philanthropy. In September, Kappa Kappa Gamma welcomed 43 new members. The process of recruitment went very smoothly. In October, our chapter worked with another fraternity Phi Gamma Delta in a competition to raise money for our philantrhopies, where we would all participate in a 5k race. The race was cancelled because of COVID, but thousands of dollars was raised. In November, the 43 new members were intiated virtually where alumnai joined as well. The intiation process lasted about an hour long and was done by the Chapter President, The Marshall, and The New Member Chair.The 150th anniversary of Kappa Kappa Gamma was celebrated with a virtual zoom call to share experiences In November, we also installed our new council for 2021.

Chapter Philanthropy What organization does the chapter support? This chapter supports Reading is Fundamental, Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation , and the Keifer Foundation

Why did the chapter choose this organization? The chapter chose these organizations because we support all three philanthropies throughtout the year in different ways. We support The Kappa Kappa Gamma foundation because they encourage the sisters to get involved and fund aid to sisters and who need financial support. We support Reading is Fundamental because as sisters we can make a difference by helping underserved kids learn to read and provide them with books. We are able to provide kids with support with their literacy issues and provide proactive solutions. We support the Keifer Foundation because it is very personal to one of our own sisters whose family created the foundation. We support this foundation because it helps spread awareness for the dangers of distracted driving and this foundation brings the sisters together.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion How did your chapter include diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in your programming this year? (e.g., adding a DEI officer, philanthropy events, social media awareness campaign, chapter training, etc.). We included diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatuves in our programming this year by having a diversity, equity, and inclusion chairwoman on our council. She will be working alongside her committee of members from each grade and class in the chapter to bring the chapter closer. She will be having conversations and holding meetings regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion. She is coming up with ideas for educational lessons for the chapter. We also participate in the campus community programs regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Sesquicentennial Celebration How did your chapter celebrate Kappa's 150th anniversary? Share what you have done this year. Our chapter celebrated Kappa’s 150th anniversary by having a zoom meeting with alumi and current members of the chapter to celebrate Kappa Kappa Gamma and share our experiences and the memories we have made. We also posted on our social media accounts with current members and alumni sharing our best memories of Kappa Kappa Gamma, why we love Kappa, and what Kappa has brought to our lives. People were able to speak about the friends they have made and the opportunities it has brought them.

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