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Epsilon Pi
EΠ
Founded	February 7, 1976 (1976-02-07) (48 years ago)
College	University of California, Riverside
Location	Riverside, CA
Homepage	Epsilon Pi Homepage
Media related to Epsilon Pi Chapter

University of California at Riverside, 1954

Epsilon Pi founded February 7, 1976

897 initiates (as of June 2013)

Some of Chapter’s Outstanding Alumnae: (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categories, please list them with the date(s) of recognition.)

Fraternity Council Officers:

Fraternity Loyalty Award Recipients:

Fraternity Alumnae Achievement Award Recipients:

The Early Years -- Colonization and Installation

Love and guidance by many caring Kappas allowed Epsilon Pi chapter to enjoy a great beginning. The culmination of this love and concern was exemplified in the beautiful Installation held the first weekend in February 1976 when 13 new members of Epsilon Pi Colony were initiated as charter members of Epsilon Pi Chapter at the University of California at Riverside.

Installing officer Marian Schroeder Graham, Beta Phi—Montana, Fraternity President, was assisted by many others including Phyllis Brinton Pryor, Beta Mu—Colorado, National Panhellenic Conference Delegate and colonizing officer; Patti Ball Hillyard, Delta Chi—San Jose State, installation chairman and President of the Riverside Alumnae Club; Lyn Conway Madding, Delta Gamma—Michigan State, Kappa Province Director of Alumnae; Kay Reid Tennison, Epsilon Delta—Arizona State, Kappa Province Director of Chapters; and Janeen Gould, Beta Beta Deuteron—St. Lawrence, Epsilon Pi Graduate Counselor. Also, several advisers and Graduate Counselors to California chapters and alumnae from all over southern California gathered to participate in and to honor the Installation of Kappa’s 95th chapter.

The setting for the ceremonies was the chapter house of Epsilon Pi’s sister chapter, Delta Tau—Southern California. It was agreed by all and well stated by Phyllis Pryor that “no more perfect arrangements could have been made for an unhoused chapter to be assimilated into a totally Kappa setting where a true feeling of belonging could be imparted. The cooperation and hospitality of those members of Delta Tau who made this possible will be long remembered as a very vital aspect of the happy Initiation of Epsilon Pi.” She also noted that “the beautiful, warm, very adequate facilities of the Delta Tau house accommodated the influx of extra people and activities gracefully and with no evidence of inconvenience or interruption.”

Fern Crane, Delta Tau Housemother; Katie Finnegan, Delta Tau President; Kris Kline, chapter coordinator, and chapter members were thanked for their superb planning and for making the guests and participants feel welcomed and prepared.

It was here that the scene for the entire weekend, including a lovely Friday night Fireside Service and dinner. Delta Tau members added to the beauty by sharing some of their traditional pre-initiation thoughts and songs.

Many gifts to the new chapter were recognized at the luncheon banquet, which was held at the University Hilton Hotel following Saturday’s Installation. Two special gifts were award badges for outstanding new members, one given to the new member class president, Debbie Dietrich, and one to Robin Rose, Recruitment Chairman, for scholarship.

Greetings to the new chapter increased even more when more than 150 guests came in heavy rain to a reception Sunday afternoon in Riverside at the home of a recent Delta Tau active. UC Riverside administrators and Panhellenic representatives and members of other Greek-letter groups on campus along with friends and family members of the new chapter members honored Epsilon Pi with their attendance.

Prior to Installation, the Epsilon Pi new members were busy with campus activities including selling cotton candy during Homecoming, a pizza party with alumnae, a new member retreat and joining the other fraternities and sororities in the Greek cheering section for football games and for Christmas caroling before the winter break. Epsilon Pi members also created a wooden plaque with pictures of the charter members, and they worked together on a hooked rug with an owl design for Delta Tau Chapter. The previous information was excerpted from (unknown source-most likely The Key.)

The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.

Highlights of the 1970s

From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:

The chapter’s first formal, called “Sea and Sky”, was held in a multipurpose room in one of the apartment complexes near campus since the budget for the event was only $75; $25 was spent on decorations and $50 was spent on a band. One sister, who was dating a Sigma Alpha Epsilon from UCLA, had him fix up some of the Kappas with blind dates with his brothers. Charter President Kim Braun Padulo recalled the surprised reaction of the boys when they entered the room as it was not the kind of reception they were used to.

Epsilon Pi faced its challenges head on and ultimately succeeded. In the fall of 1976, they welcomed a second pledge class that nearly doubled the size of the chapter. Following soon after, in spring quarter the women had to write their chapter Bylaws. After getting the foundations of the chapter set, the women focused on their sisterhood. To improve this Epsilon Pi chapter participated in a potluck with the Northern Orange County Alumnae Association. The theme was to bring with you your favorite Kappa memory to share. After doing so, the women realized that while they were close, a house would bring them much closer to each other. They hoped that one day they would reach this goal for Epsilon Pi to have a chapter house.

October of 1977, thirteen more lovely ladies were pledged after an informal Yell-in, and on Inspiration week, in October 24-29; the women were initiated. With rush again in the spring the chapter was able to grow from 13 actives to 30 by 1978.

1979 was kicked off with Formal Fall Rush. The first night the girls attended open house and had sandwiches while getting to know each other. The second night was theme night, in which the chapter put on their annual performance of “Kapparet”. On the second to last night the chapter had project night in which the women used felt letters and animals to spell their names, these where then to be used for philanthropy. The final night, was preference night. Here the women all dressed up formally, and had dessert together while sharing stories in a circle. Epsilon Pi once again initiated more women, making the chapter grow a little bigger every year. With the goal to become one of the largest chapters, Epsilon Pi continued learning ways of improving and growing closer in sisterhood. To do so, their goal was set to focus on social graciousness, organization, and sisterhood (SOS). Memorable events from the 70s include hanging out at the pool at Bannockburn, yearly pledge class songs, and exchanges with other groups on campus.

Philanthropy:

Chapter Convention Awards:

Highlights of the 1980s:

From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:

Small "get to know each other" parties were held at the Bannockburn pool, so that all the women could get to know each other better and create stronger sisterhoods. They also held exchanges. Epsilon Pi had an annual "walkout" in which the pledges would plan to "kidnap" actives and have them do funny antics like sing Kappa songs and Kappa Dances at different stops on campus like the library, residence halls, and classrooms. Every stop would earn them a clue that would lead them to the location that the pledges had chosen to host them for dinner. They experienced the debut of MTV and this spurred lip-synching contests in the dorms, which were a blast!

After just a few years of being established Epsilon Pi was honored to participate in founding of a new chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma at the University of California, Irvine.

Philanthropy:

Epsilon Pi held many different Philanthropy events such as making rabbit-like Easter baskets to give to the Sunshine School in Riverside, dressing up around Halloween in costumes and visiting the Riverside Community Hospital patients with candy. One popular tradition was a "Grandparent Adoption" from convalescent homes where the chapter women would visit their adoptee twice a month and bring them carnations and homemade spice ropes. Chapter Convention Awards:

Highlights of the 1990s

From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:

In the early 1990’s, the chapter was focused on scholarship, improving rush, and philanthropy. The chapter tied for the 2nd highest GPA on campus in 1991 and placed 35 members on the Dean’s List. And in 1993-94, the chapter received the Dean’s Scholarship Trophy for the highest percentage of members on the Dean’s List. The chapter maintained a high level of academic excellence throughout the decade, due in part to weekly mandatory study hours for actives and pledges.

To prepare for rush, the chapter started early the prior school year with a 10 day work week. Rush quota gradually decreased on the UCR campus in the early 90’s. Quota was 32 in 1991, 24 in 1993, to 16 in 1994, and 13 in 1995. However, quota was back up in the 20’s by 2000. These smaller pledge classes, however, allowed the chapter to be fully involve the new members in all aspects of chapter life.

Early in the decade, the chapter accepted the Challenge to Excellence issued to all chapters by the Fraternity. Work on the Challenge to Excellence continued during the rest of the 1990’s. It strengthened the chapter and brought the members closer together.

In 1991, nine of the 13 founders of Epsilon Pi were present for the Founders Day brunch. In 1995, the chapter celebrated Kappa Kappa Gamma’s 125th birthday with Zeta Eta at UC Irvine. On the social front, the chapter continued with its annual Sea and Sky formal, Monmouth Duo with Pi Beta Phil, and Kappa Krush dances. Epsilon Pi also participated in many sporting competitions on campus, such as the annual inter-sorority volleyball tournament, Sports week, the Greek Games and the annual Run to the C. The chapter also hosted a Parent’s Day each year.

The chapter focus shifted to sisterhood, public relations and participation in the mid-1990’s. Housing:

In 1991 the chapter lounge was redecorated. The last update was 16 years prior! Also in this year, the university offered sororities a hall in one of the dorms to have as their own. The chapter felt this would be a good way to improve chapter bonds, and would show the university that they were serious about having a house in the future.

Philanthropy:

Epsilon Pi won the Philanthropy Award at the 1991 Kappa Province Meeting. The chapter participated in the Cystic Fibrosis Walkathon and helped clean up downtown Riverside. They also continued their tradition of visiting the Sunshine House and their association with the Riverside section of the California School of Deaf. In the mid-1990’s, Epsilon Pi began a new philanthropy called Night Run.

Chapter Convention Awards:

1992 Efficiency Honorable Mention 1994 Standards Honorable Mention 1994 Scholarship Honorable Mention 1996 Scholarship Award Honorable Mention

Highlights of 2000-2010

From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:

The chapter actively participated in campus events such as BEAR Facts Orientation, Block Party, Homecoming and Spring Splash as well as Panhellenic sponsored events such as Sports Week, Greek Unity Week with Greek Pyramid, and Presents. Founders Day was often celebrated with Zeta Eta, UC Irvine and the Orange County Alumnae Association. A yearly Scholarship Dinner was held to honor the sisters with the highest GPA, most improved GPA, and all sisters with a 4.0 in a quarter. Yearly chapter events included a fall Date Party, a winter Scholarship Banquet, and a Parent’s Day in the spring.

Housing:

Epsilon Pi was the first Greek organization to be invited to participate in UCR’s Greek Housing Pilot Program. The chapter was able to rent five units in an apartment complex near campus and 10 members lived there during the 2009-2010 school year. However, due to a lack of contracts and security, the program was discontinued.

Philanthropy:

Members of Epsilon Pi volunteered yearly for a local breast cancer fundraiser put on by the Inland Agency, called “Shop to Stop Breast Cancer.” Each year, chapter members volunteered to read to students at Madison Elementary School on Dr. Suess day. In Spring 2009, the members of Epsilon Pi hosted sixth grade students for “A Day In The Life” at UCR. The Kappas gave them tours of the campus and the sixth graders got to meet the Men’s Basketball Team and the UCR Cheerleaders and Dance Team. The finale of the day was lunch on the commons lawn where the sixth graders read their favorite books to the Kappas.

Chapter Convention Awards:

2008 Rose McGill Award

Highlights of 2011-2019

From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:

Highlights of 2011

2011 was a busy and great year for Epsilon Pi Chapter. Winter quarter started out with the nomination process, leading to the election of a strong, new Chapter Council. That quarter we participated in two philanthropic events at Madison Elementary School, Where the Wild Things Read and Dr. Seuss Day. Both events involved reading to the students and encouraging literacy. Greek Unity Week also took place during the winter. Our members were paired with the men of Pi Kappa Alpha to compete in various activities throughout the week meant to strengthen Greek unity on campus. As our winter quarter event, the chapter had a “Finally Famous” themed semi-formal, in which couples dressed as famous couples throughout history.

The chapter also enjoyed a scholarship dinner at Ciao Bella restaurant and a go-cart racing sisterhood event held at K1 Speedway. For the spring quarter, Epsilon Pi Chapter continued its emphasis on philanthropy. We volunteered at the Inland Agency’s Shop to Stop Breast Cancer event. Also, our sister Brittany Altamirano competed in and won the 2011 Delta Queen Pageant hosted by the men of Delta Tau Delta, raising around $7000 for City of Hope cancer research. During this quarter, the campus’ Fraternity and Sorority Involvement Center hosted a Pillar’s Reception where Epsilon Pi was proud to receive the Friendship Pillar Award. The Chapter hosted Parent’s Day at the Benedict Castle and a formal at the Pomona Valley Mining Co.

Another major accomplishment for the chapter during spring was our Sports Week participation. Members assembled teams for volleyball and football, and did excellent in both sports, taking home the overall win for Sports Week. In April, a few members of our chapter went to Kappa Province in Tucson, AZ, where we were awarded the Rose McGill Magazine Award. As fall quarter began, the members of Epsilon Pi were eager for recruitment, to gain more assets to our chapter. After going through formal recruitment, the chapter welcomed 31 New Members on Bid Day. The New Members were taken to a taco dinner afterwards to celebrate and get to know the chapter. This year, the chapter invited local alumnae and the women of the Zeta Eta Chapter at UC Irvine to our Founder’s Day brunch at the Riverside Art Museum. Many of our members also participated in the Pink on Parade breast cancer walk, as well as the 5K run held by the men of Sigma Phi Epsilon to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Our chapter enjoyed a movie night sisterhood as we went to go see the film 50/50, as well as a Thanksgiving potluck themed meeting to end the quarter.

Campus: This year, the Panhellenic Board on campus tried to really encourage unity among the Greek community, but the panhellenic organizations in particular. Kappa encouraged this as well, as we participated in Panhellenic’s Cookies and Crafts event. All 6 of the panhellenic organizations came together to get to know each other better, as well as learn more about one another’s philanthropies. We also participated in the kickball tournament thrown by the women of Gamma Phi Beta, to further demonstrate our support of panhellenic. The campus hosted many annual events like Spring Splash, Bear Facts Orientation, and Block Party, all of which Epsilon Pi participated in.

Chapter: If one word were chosen to describe the overall nature of our chapter in 2011 it would be growth. We suffered some minor setbacks, but with positive mindsets and a strong chapter council, we pushed through and began making necessary changes for our chapter to head in the right direction. Epsilon Pi has taken pride in both its diversity and large chapter size and has used both of those factors to strengthen the chapter as a whole.

One main challenge for the chapter was attendance. With such a large chapter size, we expected high numbers of attendance, but were not seeing that. Chapter Council began a point system for attendance. A minimum requirement of points was made necessary for fun/positive things later on, such as getting a little sister in the fall. In addition, our VP Standards took attendance into account as she looked over members who needed standards appointments. She stressed the importance of going to mandatory events in these meetings and the consequences of not doing so. The attendance problem was not completely erased, but the chapter hopes to see improvements, continuously reminding members of the attendance policy in our chapter’s bylaws and standing rules.

Highlights of 2012

Each year Epsilon Pi chapter continues to reach and exceed previous years' achievements. 2011 was an amazing and notable year for Epsilon Pi chapter. In January, we began with inspiration week filled with a variety of big and little and sisterhood bonding events. Soon after, the Alpha Omega pledge class was initiated. It was a beautiful and special ceremony that we were able to share with the newest members of our wonderful chapter. The following week we had an amazing Semi Formal which was hosted at the Caspian in Irvine, where we enjoyed an Arabian night filled with kabobs and belly dancers. Soon after we had elections and welcomed the newly elected chapter council. During that time period we were graced with the Leadership Officer and received an abundance of tips and advice on how to make our chapter even stronger than what it was then.

Following elections and the LC visit, we had Greek Unity week on campus which brings the Greek and cultural sorority and fraternities together. This year we were paired with the men of Phi Kappa Psi and Sigma Alpha Epsilon. During this week we are separated into teams and participate in a variety of team and at the end of the week perform a team dance that is appreciated by the whole Greek community.

As we continued into winter quarter we held two amazing philanthropies at Madison Elementary School; Kappa Kamp and Dr. Seuss Day. Both event encouraged the students to read and enjoy books. We also had a delicious scholarship dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory where we acknowledged our hard working sisters that make the Dean's List, have the most study hours, and the highest overall GPA.

Towards the end of winter quarter we held our Leadership Day, which aimed at better training our newly elected chapter council to ensure that they would be confident in achieving everything their position asked them to, as well as doing their little perfectly.

In the spring quarter, our sisterhood took a great start with having a fun and exciting event at Dave and Buster. This quarter we also supported the men of Delta Tau Delta's annual Delta Queen Pageant. Our sister, Lauren Montes, won the Delta Queen Pageant raising $6,000 for the City of Hope cancer research. We continued to support our chapter and partook in the annual Sports Week, where each sorority competes against each other in track and field, volleyball, and football.

Our sisters did an amazing job playing and dedicating their time to practices. This quarter we also had our annual formal, "A Night In Spain", which was held at the Green River Gold Club in Corona. It was an amazing event where we danced the night away and appreciated the seniors, as it was their last formal with the chapter. As the quarter continued, we hosted "A Day In The Life" where we hosted students from Madison Elementary School and showed them the campus. We introduced them to the soccer team and cheer leaders and gave them a tour of the campus. We wanted to encourage the sixth graders to continue on to college to get a higher education and to show them that anyone can achieve that with hard work and dedication. We ended this quarter with a fun filled water themed sisterhood at our president, Brittany Altamirano's house. There was a water maze, water guns, and of course water balloons. The sisterhood definitely helped relieve some stress that we had pertaining to the upcoming finals. Later that weekend we also had our annual Parent's Day at the Canyon Crest Country Club, where we had a nice lunch with all our sisters and their parents. We also appreciated our sisters who stood out exceptionally in being a good sister and kappa and sisters that stood our academically as well.

After returning from summer vacation, Epsilon Pi was eager for recruitment and to gain new assets to our ever growing sisterhood. Following formal recruitment we were more than happy to welcome the 30 Beta Alpha new member class. After bid day on campus we took them to one of our sister's house to have dinner and meet the chapter; there were also an abundance of ice breaking games. This year, the Orange County Alumni Association hosted Founder's Day at the Tustin Senior Center. After thoroughly educating the Beta Alpha new member class with Kappa history and creating a new love for Kappa we had Inspiration Week and Initiation. It was again a beautiful ceremony where each sister was able to appreciate and remember why we joined one of the strongest sisterhoods. We concluded this quarter with our Kappa Thanksgiving, which brought our chapter together once again.

This year, the Panhellenic Board on campus was continuing to encourage unity among the Greek community. The board hosted many events where each sorority could come and support panhellenic. Such events were "blankets for babies", "cookies and crafts", and staff appreciation. Kappa supports the board and tries to get more involved by participating. Kappa also participates in Block Party, Spring Spash, and Bear Facts orientation.

Highlights of 2013

Epsilon Pi had a truly remarkable year in 2013 with all that we accomplished and participated in. As our winter quarter began, we had the opportunity to help recruit members for the new chapter that was established at Chapman University with our sisters from USC. The recruitment was so successful that we had the amazing honor to be apart of their initiation ceremony and be their big sis chapter. Towards the end of the quarter we were partnered up with the men of Phi Gamma Delta and the women of Omega Zeta Chi to participate in a week of Greek Unity. The main event was a dance competition in which we were elated and humbled to have won first place.

As the quarter continued we participated in our annual philanthropy of “Reading is Key” in which we traveled to Madison Elementary school and spent the day reading and doing crafts with the children. We also had a delicious Scholarship dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory in which we gave awards to the sisters who had accomplishments such as the most study hours, highest GPA, and being on the dean’s list. The last major event of winter quarter was our semi-formal in which we went to a lovely Italian restaurant and had a great time dancing the night away with our sisters and dates.

Spring quarter began with 6 sisters attending Kappa Province. In addition to learning valuable skills and information for our chapter, Epsilon Pi was honored to have received 2 awards: the New Member Program Award and the Norma Dow Patton Gracious Living Award. Soon after, we had a visit from the LC, which gave the new officers a chance to get ideas and information about her new positions in personal meetings that were set-up. We also had our formal at a beautiful venue at the Glen Ivy Spa and golf course in which we had a great night taking pictures in a photo booth, eating delicious food, and giving out senior recognition awards.

This quarter was also very philanthropic. Not only did we host our annual “Day in the Life” event for Madison elementary school children to come and see what it is like to be a college student, but we also partnered up with the women of Pi Beta Phi to create our very own join philanthropy on campus called “Words with Friends”. It was a spelling bee and speed read event in which all the organizations could compete with each other and donate either money or books to our philanthropy. This quarter, as well as supporting many other philanthropies throughout the year, we also supported the men of Delta Tau Delta's annual Delta Queen Pageant. Our sister, Hailey Grisel, received second place and remarkably raised $6,000 for the City of Hope cancer research.

We continued to support our chapter and partook in the annual Sports Week, where each sorority competes against each other in track and field, volleyball, and football. Our sisters did an amazing job playing and dedicating their time to practices because we ended up winning the entire event. Later that month we had parent’s day which was so special in being able to show our families a little bit of what Kappa is like. We were able to honor the sisters who truly embody what Kappa is and also got to see what our chapter used to be like through the heritage display.

There is also an annual awards ceremony for the Greek community on our campus in which we were honored to have received the University of California, Riverside Marguleas Sororotiy/Fraternity Service Award in recognition of our leadership and philanthropic efforts in our community. To finish off the quarter and the academic year we had a sisterhood in which we were able to go go kart racing. We had such a fun time competing with each other for the fastest time and just be able to spend time bonding together. Fall quarter was a very hectic quarter for Epsilon Pi. We had another LC visit during recruitment which helped us make sure we were going about things as best as we could. Although we did not expect for the large increase in the size of our new pledge class, we were so grateful to welcome 45 new amazing women into our organization. Soon after, we celebrated founder’s day with our lovely Chapman sisters which was special because we got to see them experience it for the very first time as a chapter. It was so touching to see alumni from decades ago being recognized and pinned and being able to do our ritual together.

Our chapter also hosted an amazing event called “Finding Kind” in which we had the screening of the documentary to fight against female teen bulling. We then all took individual pledges to better ourselves and the way that we treat others. We were so pleased to see how many women from different organizations on campus came to support this cause. Towards the end of the quarter, we had a super hero themed date party in which we got to go to Sky Town and jump around and play various games involving foam pits and trampolines. Inspiration week and Initiation of our new Beta Beta pledge class was a very special week for all of us. We were so happy to officially welcome them into our chapter and share our ritual with them during such a beautiful and special ceremony. We also had fun during that week roller-skating and playing laser tag together during our big/little night. To finish off the quarter, we had a sisterhood the week before finals at the movie theater in which we were able to take a couple hours away from studying to relax and laugh with our sisters while watching Grown Ups 2. It had been events like this that keep us close and strong as a chapter.

This past year brought changes that mainly affected our recruitment. Since our school decided to admit more students, there were more women that went through recruitment that the sororities were not prepared for. Although we thought it would be overwhelming and near impossible to have such a large pledge class, we pulled through together and were blessed to have received 45 new members instead of our anticipated 30.

Highlights of 2020s:

From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship, group honors/awards, traditions, special events, changes on campus or within chapter, overall nature of the chapter, chapter goals, challenges and how they were overcome, etc.:

Philanthropy:

Chapter Convention Awards:

Note to Chapter Registrar: Please refer to your chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes and back issues of The Key to fill in any gaps in the above historical highlights. If your chapter archives are not complete, please research your university library, campus newspaper and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chapter. Please double check your work for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistance.

Your efforts will ensure a complete and accurate history of your chapter for future generations to enjoy!