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|Image= [[File:Gamma_Mu.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1924|06|07}}
|College= [httphttps://oregonstate.edu/ Oregon State University]
|Location= Corvallis, OR
|Homepage= [httphttps://chaptersoregonstate.kappakappagammakappa.org/gammamu/pages/welcome.php Gamma Mu Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Gamma_Mu Media related to Gamma Mu Chapter]}}
'''2,258 479 initiates (as of June 20132018)'''
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'''Some of Gamma Mu’s Outstanding AlumnaeCharter Members:''' Louise Arnold, Enid Beal, Flossie Mae Blackburn, Ruth Cleland, Edna Belle Cobbledick, Wava Farley, Ida Granbreg, Cleda Hilderbrand, Frances Jones, Ann H. Karlson, Dolores Kelsey, Doris Elnor Lake, Helen Leonard, Ruth Lyon, Jessie McDonald, Vida McKern, Marie McNair, Helen Edythe Miller, Thelma Jean Miller, Edna Morback, Ruth Price, Mary May Swarm, Eleanor Thomas, Irma Van Hollebeke, Mildred Wallace, Kathryn Wightman, Zelia Zigler.
'''Fraternity Council Officers:'''
Dr. Carrie Case Worcester, 1996, Director of neonatal intensive care at Children’s Hospital, Orange County, Calif.;
Lou Seibert Pappas, 1998, ; writer and pioneer in the field of cooking Mary Carlin Yates, 2002, U.S. Ambassador to Republic of Burundi;
Ruth Shellhorn Kueser, 2006, Architect, urban planning expert (First received the award in 1960)
Lorna Collamore Jessup, who gave the fledgling group her wisdom, enthusiasm, and help, found a house for them to rent at 530 NW 11th Street. They floored the attic, which was then filled with two rows of cots to be a dormitory for 20 girls.
==Highlights of the 1920s==
Gamma Iota members were especially active in debate, music, and dancing. From the beginning, emphasis was on scholarship and character. On Homecoming Weekend in 1921, when the big football game between Oregon Agricultural College and the University of Washington was played, the group hosted visiting Kappas and alumnae. The house was in perfect order, the girls gracious and poised, and the guests impressed. They wondered how this small group in a modest house could carry out an extensive program of after-game courtesies, dinner, overnight guests and breakfast without flurry or confusion. The answer was that the members of Gamma Iota were making every effort to show the visitors how hard they were working toward their goal of receiving a Kappa charter.
This particular house was financed entirely by the fraternity of Tau Delta and was ready for occupancy by fall term of 1928. The house was truly a castle to the men, and virtue they emphasized in their petition to the national fraternity Chi Phi in 1929. Designed by the Portland architectural firm of Thomas and Mercer, and constructed by Portland contractors Hanson and Hammond, it is one of the largest and most impressive Greek living group houses in the college neighborhood. It was constructed at a cost of $45,000 and accommodated 40 men.
==Highlights of the 1930s==
In March of 1931, Tau Delta became the Epsilon Delta Chapter of Chi Phi fraternity, but the group only lived in this house through the 1934–35 school year. The following year, the house was turned over to Kappa Kappa Gamma.
In the chapter’s selection of Mrs. George Leekley as House Director in the fall of 1938, the House Board demonstrated remarkable insight for she stayed for 14 rewarding years. Her name became synonymous with good taste and graciousness. Her warmth and competence seemed to personify Kappa ideals to everyone who entered the Kappa Castle. Her hallmark of perfection showed in the lovely teas and the “touch-of-home trimmings” for holiday dinners. She was always compassionate and knew the perfect time for a treat of hot cocoa,. With the help of finance advisers Fern McCroskey Price, Peggy Mulligan Blackledge and Mrs. Leekley’s wise management, the mortgage was ceremoniously burned on March 23, 1944.
==Highlights of 1940s and 1950s==
War risk insurance was discussed during the early months of World War II, and desserts replaced dinners during Membership Recruitment. Elaine Kollins Sewell (Jones) and a Gamma Phi Beta friend co-edited a newsletter for all Oregon State servicemen.
Another big thing that happened in September was that a new University student success center opened on campus which serves OSU students with study rooms, tutoring as well as many other academic advantages. Oregon State also passed a bill in March of 2012 that is going to allow them to build a new residence hall that will open as early as 2014.
==Highlights of 2013==
The past year was a very exciting one for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. We have been expanding, growing, and becoming more involved with the community. Last Fall of 2012, one of our members became the Judicial chair for Panhellenic council. This was a huge success and really set off a great year for our chapter. In Winter 2013, we welcomed Kamelyn Bovinette and Alyssa Rollins as our President and Vice President of Standards. With the start of our new chapter council, we came up with a very effective list of goals to help bring our chapter together and work better as a whole. We want to increase our member involvement, encourage each other, and become more academically driven. For the past few terms our chapter has been below the all sorority average. Gamma Mu wants to raise our overall GPA from a 2.93 to a 3.1. With the help of our VPAE, we have set up quiet hours for studying in the house and have reserved rooms in the library for midterms and finals. As a chapter we are determined to raise our GPA and all the girls are motivated.
Over this past year we participated in many philanthropies as well as community service projects. Kappa Delta’s Mock Rock was once again our chapters’ favorite, and this past year we won third place! Since their philanthropy supports CARDV, which is the local organization we raise money for as well, all the girls love to get very involved. Last winter and spring term, we teamed up with another fraternity, FIJI, and walked dogs at the local humane society. This was a great community service project because it benefited the animals and the girls! Along with the dog walking, we volunteered with Habitat for Humanity several times. The girls got to paint a few houses and help build the front patio. We also got to support Kappa at the University of Oregon in their philanthropy last winter.
Our spring term philanthropy was Kick It With Kappa, and it was a huge success. We had a two-day soccer tournament between sororities and fraternities, as well as daily check-ins and activities. Our Kappa sisters from the University of Oregon came up to participate in the tournament and they tied for first place! We raised about $3,000 for Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV).
Recruitment this year was also a success for Gamma Mu. Overall we received 48 girls and got to initiate 43 of them! We were thrilled to welcome a group of young women who were eager to learn what being a Kappa means and help us in our goals for involvement and growth.
Our chapter is still only two blocks from campus, which is convenient for a lot of the girls in our house! Oregon State just started their Freshman Experience campaign, which requires all freshmen to live on campus. Having the Chapter house so close to campus makes it easy for all the New Members in the dorms to come over. In light of this new change, OSU has started building a new dorm on campus, which hopes to open in 2015. They also have continued work on the new Business building and the Student Success Center which both plan on opening later in 2014. Our chapter is a very positive place, and having very motivated members keeps the house involved with Greek life and the community. We hope to keep the momentum of last year going within our new pledge class and the house as a whole. ==Highlights of 2014== The year of 2014 was an exciting and busy year for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. Our chapter takes pride in being involved with the other chapters at Oregon State as well as the community. Last fall, two of our members were selected as the president and vice president for Panhellenic council. These girls represent our chapter wonderfully, along with Kappa Kappa Gamma as an organization. Our new chapter council worked together to make chapter goals and how they would go about accomplishing them. Member involvement and encouragement, academics, and committee use are a few examples of the goals they set. We started off the year with the GPA of 2.99, which is below the all sorority average, and ended the year with an improved chapter GPA of 3.12, which is above the all sorority average and ranked us fourth in the panhellenic rankings. Our VPAE did a fantastic job going above and beyond by meeting with girls, setting up study tables during midterm and finals weeks, and establishing quiet hours in the dining room to give the girls a quieter place to study in the house. As a chapter, we are determined to continue improving our study habits and GPA.Our participation in other chapter’s philanthropies and community service continues to be a priority at Gamma Mu. Mock Rock, a huge philanthropy of Kappa Delta’s, has always been a chapter favorite and gets the girls excited to raise money for such a great cause. This year, we won the philanthropy with our outstanding participation and fundraising. We had two philanthropies this past year. During winter term, our philanthropy was a hot wing-eating contest called Too Hot To Handle, which we hosted in our chapter’s parking lot. Despite the cold temperatures, we had a great turnout and time, and raised $2500 for Reading is Fundamental. For spring term, we did Kick It With Kappa, a soccer tournament between sororities and fraternities, as well as daily check-ins and activities. The sunny day and good spirits made it a great day to be a Kappa and raise another $2500 for our chosen charity, the Center of Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV). Every year, Gamma Mu participates in an all-university competition called Sing. Sing is held during Oregon State’s designated Mom’s Weekend, and is similar to a Broadway production where coed groups, usually sororities and fraternities, team up and sing three songs all while dancing and stunting to routines. Sing is taken very seriously here at Gamma Mu, with a tremendous amount of hard work, time, and effort put into five months of practicing. Last year, that hard work paid off with a win for both us and Lambda Chi Alpha, the fraternity our house paired up with. We hope to continue this tradition of winning Sing with our freshmen pledge class and many more to come! Gamma Mu had a successful year of formal recruitment last fall. We received 49 girls and initiated 44 of them. Recruitment is always so exciting because another wonderful group of girls joins our chapter with the same values and morals that we all share. Oregon State University has been rapidly evolving to fit the high demand of becoming an even more prestigious university and adjusting to the increasingly higher number of students that enroll in the university each year. Our campus has been expanding, and also renovating old buildings on campus to keep up with the demand for classrooms, study rooms, etc. In the fall of 2014, Austin Hall had its grand opening in its own brand new, spectacular building on campus for all of the business students. The construction on Austin Hall seemed to last forever, but the final product of the building was a beautifully modern student oriented building with classrooms, study rooms, cafes, and much more. Located right behind Austin is an enormous building made only for classrooms, with a unique lecture hall that is completely circular, seating 600 students. It is said to be the only fully circular lecture hall in the United States. The addition of a new dorm was also completed this fall to help with the increasing number of students living on campus for their first year as part of the First Year Experience the university projected the fall of 2013. A student experience center is currently in its final chapter of construction on campus as well, which will host the beavers news, student leadership associations, and many other organizations and clubs, all with the goals of creating a more broadened and well rounded student body here at Oregon State. Gamma Mu is fortunate enough to have a house owned by house board a couple of blocks off of campus where we hold our chapter meetings. Gamma Mu has owned and lived in the chapter house since 1935, marking our 80th year in the house. The house was bought and owned from Chi Phi during World War I when many of their members were drafted for the war. The capacity of the house gives 60 girls the opportunity to live in each year, and is conveniently located two blocks off of campus, allowing for short walks to class. It is usually during a member’s sophomore or junior year when they live in the house. ==Highlights of 2015== The year of 2015 has been successful for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. One of our most exciting achievements has been our rise in grade point averages, which went from 3.12 in 2014 to 3.21 this year. Not only were we awarded most improved within the Panhellenic council, we are currently ranked in second place overall for sororities. Our VPAE has put much time and effort into our goal of increasing grades, such as meeting with girls to discuss academics and study plans, organizing quiet study hours for finals week, and overall doing a fantastic job of bringing energy and motivation to academics, inspiring girls to do well in school. In May we held our philanthropy, Too Hot to Handle, to support our national philanthropy, Reading is Fundamental. This philanthropy consists of a hot wing-eating contest among other fraternities and sororities on campus, and we received great participation. We held the event in front of Reser Stadium to accommodate more people than in previous years, which provided for a great turnout. Fall term was particularly exciting for our chapter because we hosted Kappa Klassic, a golf tournament that we haven’t had at Oregon State for several years. This brought a new and exciting element for both our members and the participants, and we successfully raised money for our local philanthropy, the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV).The first philanthropy we participated in during the 2015-2016 school year was Sigma Nu’s lip sync competition, and we won the entire event, kicking off fall term to with an exciting start. Mock Rock, Kappa Delta’s philanthropy, has been a chapter favorite for numerous years, and something we also put a lot of value in because they support CARDV as well. We are extremely proud to hold second place in the competition, given how competitive it is among all houses. We also received second place in Anchor Splash, Delta Gamma’s philanthropy. One of our main goals this year was to increase participation both in other philanthropies and in the community, and we have been making tremendous strides. Our philanthropy chair has created teams throughout the house, and each team will go to different philanthropy events both to participate and support, which has also helped to motivate members on other teams to do the same. She has done an exceptional job of motivating our members to get involved in the community by continuously informing us about new service opportunities.Every year Gamma Mu participates in Oregon State’s all-university competition, Sing. This competition consists of fraternities and sororities pairing to create teams, in which they will learn a dance/sing routine to perform during Mom’s Weekend. We have a history of taking this competition extremely seriously, and we have received either first or second place for the previous five years. This year, with the help of Sigma Phi Epsilon, we brought home the first place trophy once again and are hopeful for 2016.We had the pleasure of welcoming our LC into our home for three weeks during recruitment, and she was wonderful to have with us. She gave us insight to the recruitment process as well as chapter organization in general, and also shared a lot of her knowledge about Kappa Kappa Gamma as a whole. We received 44 new members this year, and were able to initiate 41 of them. This group of women is such a great fit for our chapter, and we are proud to have them carry on our values.
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence and Reading is Fundamental
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
We believe that continuous learning is important for everyone, and reading is a large aspect of that. Everyone should have access to books, which is why we take so much pride supporting Reading is Fundamental. We also take the safety of women everywhere extremely seriously, and believe that the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence does a great job of supporting women who have been hurt and need help.
==Highlights of 2016:==
2016 was another banner year for the Beta Omega chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. This year we improved in areas of overall grade point average and rank, and also our awareness of college campus issues such as substance abuse and sexual assault prevention. It continued to be a strong year for philanthropy, sisterhood, and recruitment.
At the beginning of 2016, Beta Omega once again held our winter philanthropy event, Kappa Dodgeball. We are fortunate to have this event increase every year and continue to be the most attended Greek event on campus. This year raising over 10,000 dollars, Beta Omega was able to donate a full playground to our local philanthropy, Early Childhood Cares, which helps children under the age of five with developmental disabilities. Our most successful aspect of philanthropy this year was creating groups within Kappa to attend other Greek life philanthropic events. This created a huge increase in our Greek community involvement and gave more support to all Greek life philanthropic organizations.
In the spring we held our Barn Dance, Spring Fling, and Mom’s Weekend. This year our mom’s club helped raise even money to renovate our living room to be beautiful and recruitment ready!
In the fall we had another successful recruitment gaining 62 wonderful new members into the chapter. Our Bid Day Theme was “Go Kappa Went Kappa” and decorations and food of all shades of blue and blue filled our house as the new members ran to their new home.
On October 13th, we held a Founder’s Day with a dessert celebration and time capsule activity. The members of Beta Omega wrote down their favorite memories and blessing that Kappa has given them, to be opened by the new freshmen on their senior Founder’s Day. It was a sweet idea that gave the graduating seniors time to think of all they have gained from Beta Omega, while the new members were excited to experience Kappa Kappa Gamma for the next few years.
Overall, 2016 proved to be another year of growth for the Beta Omega women, who consistently strive to be good examples of women and sisterhood, and who wear their letters proud.
==Highlights of 2017==
2017 has been a year of notable advancement for the Gamma Mu chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma. For the winter term of 2017, we had many fun activities for our members to attend. One of the most fun events was our house dance, which was a Great Gatsby themed Sapphire Ball. We all had a great time and thought the theme was creative. We also participated in many philanthropies this term to support the causes of our Greek Community. For Sigma Alpha Epsilon, we had a many members participate in their field day, which included the always-muddy tug of war competition. We also participated in Phi Kappa Psi’s philanthropy, which the main event was a game show themed event called Phi Psi feud. An added bonus this term was winning the Barre3 Corvallis Instagram competition, which gave us all a free month of Barre3 classes.
==Highlights of 2018:==
Winter term - During our 2018 winter term we hosted multiple different study tables for our
sisters to come to the Kappa Kastle and get homework and studying done to help achieve their
academic goals for the term. On March 3rd, we had a fun house dance with the theme being
Dynamic Duos. We also participated in Delta Upsilons philanthropy and won it! We were able to
put $150 toward the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation from winning their philanthropy. We also
won the Lambda Chi Alpha philanthropy, Watermelon Bash. Sophia Wooley and Laura White
were our scholars of the term. Alessandra Ferriso won the Kappa Kappa Gamma scholarship for
Gamma Mu.
Spring Term- In April we hosted our first ever Kappas in the Key which was a 3 on 3 basketball
competition. It was a very successful philanthropy and in the end we raised $4,000 for the Kappa
Foundation and $2,000 for CARDV. We were able to participate in continuous ongoing bidding
and received 8 new members and also initiated them in the spring. In May we hosted Mom’s
weekend at our Kappa Kastle which included the all university Sing competition on friday night.
The new members were able to establish a close relationship with the men of Delta Upsilon. We
ended the term with a very fun Kite and Key house dance with Kappa Alpha Theta, which only
happens every 4 years at Gamma Mu.
Fall Term- After a summer full of internships, study abroad and new house renovations we
moved back in to the Kappa Kastle to begin our work week to prepare for an amazing Fall
Formal Recruitment. We had a 100% retention rate and received 39 new members, 7 of them are
kappa legacies. Our bid day theme was Kappa Karnival. This theme was really fun as it allowed
members to dress in colorful fun outfits. We even had a bouncy house obstacle course and cotton
candy for the new members to enjoy! We celebrated Kappa Kappa Gammas 148th founders day
with a brunch at the house with the local alumni. We had 8 seniors head up to Portland, Oregon
to attend the Portland Alumnae Association Founder’s Day. November was a busy month as we
celebrated Dad’s Weekend with the men of Delta Upsilon and hosted our annual brunch on the
Sunday of dads weekend. We recently initiated 39 new members and 1 alumnae Jennifer
Stegerholt which was a very special experience for all Gamma Mu members. Our fall term house
dance was themed as a pajama party! It was the coziest house dance we’ve ever had. To end the
busy month we hosted our chicken wing eating contest philanthropy, Too Hot to Handle at the
Kappa Kastle. We raised $6,600 and donated 558 books to children. To end the term before going
home for winter break we had a sisterhood bonding Kappa Khristmakkah at our lovely Kappa
Kastle.
'''Describe the recent changes on campus and describe the chapter’s overall nature.'''
This year Gamma Mu strived to be more involved on campus. All members of Gamma Mu are
currently in or joining clubs on campus as well as working on-campus jobs. We have partnered
more with OSU and the community. We want to focus our attention on improving inclusiveness
in the community.
'''Chapter Philanthropy
What organization does the chapter support?'''
Reading is Fundamental and Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence (CARDV)
'''Why did the chapter choose this organization?'''
We believe that continuous learning is important for everyone, and reading is a large aspect of that. Everyone should have access to books, which is why we take so much pride supporting Reading is Fundamental. We also take the safety of women everywhere extremely seriously, and believe that the Center Against Rape and Domestic Violence does a great job of supporting women who have been hurt and need help.
'''Chapter Facility'''
'''Where does the chapter meet?'''
All Gamma Mu members meet in our chapter room in the basement of our Gamma Mu chapter house, the Kappa Kastle
==Highlights of 2021==
This past year was challenged since we cut the capacity of our members living into half capacity, this meant only pledge class 2019 lived in the Kappa Kastle. We still held virtual chapter winter and spring term. We all had classes
over zoom and most events were on zoom. Spring term, things went a little bit back to normal we
held a virtual barn dance and other virtual events such as functions with other fraternities and our
philanthropy, Kappas in the Key. Our chapter is academically successful and amazing, we have
amazingly educated women in our chapter, it’s unbelievable. For the year of 2021, we were
Panhellenic Chapter of the year, we had both an upperclasswoman and a lower classwoman of the
term, and in Spring 2021 we were above all women gpal!! I am so proud of this chapter and all the
women. Fall term of 2021, we went back to in person classes on campus, with weekly in person
chapter council meetings, as well as chapter meetings. It was a nice change and felt a little more
normal. We had to wear masks on campus and in the chapter house for events, sisterhoods, chapter,
and even our fall term house dance, with the theme of Denim and Diamonds. In the fall during
recruitment, we also welcomed 24 new women into our chapter and had our first in person Initiation
since 2019, because of COVID. Everything went smoothly and we were able to have a successful
Initiation. We also decided to switch philanthropies, instead of RIF we now support the JED
Foundation. For our fall term philanthropy, Kappa Kasino night, all proceeds went to the JED
foundation. We raised over $3,200 and 14 chapters participated.
The beginning of this year, Winter term 2021 we worked with the Heartland Humane Society here in Corvallis, Oregon with our Philanthropy called Kappa Kritters. We have worked with the Heartland Humane Society since 2019. We had a pet supplies drive where we raised over $1300 and collected over 100 items in donations to help animals in need of toys, food, and beds. In the Spring of 2021, we held a virtual Kappa’s in the Key event to support the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation. The KKG Foundation aids current and alumni Kappa members in times of financial need and crises. They give one woman in every chapter a $3,000 scholarship every year. Half of the money we raised from Kappa’s in the Key goes to the KKG Foundation. This term, fall 2021 we took away Reading is Fundamental (RIF) and instead partnered with the JED Foundation. Kappa Kappa Gamma nationally has partnered with six well established mental health related organizations. The JED Foundation protects emotional health and prevents suicide for teens and young adults. The Foundation gives skills and supports teens and young adults to thrive today and tomorrow. Fall term we have our Kappa Kasino night event. Greek members can come play games, eat food, and dance to the music while supporting a good cause.Each event we partake in everyone has a specific job. Whether that’s check----------------ins, managing Crowd Change page, Chipotle night or even making the backdrop for Kappa Kasino night. We advertise on social media pages and throughout the Greek life community. The women of Kappa Kappa Gamma love partaking in our philanthropies and especially love giving back to the community. One thing our new members said they were most excited about joining Kappa is our philanthropies.