|Image= [[File:Psi_Deuteron.jpg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1883|11|24}}
|College= [httphttps://www.cornell.edu/ Cornell University]
|Location= Ithaca, NY
|Homepage= [httphttps://wwwcornell.kkgcornellkappa.comorg/index.html Psi Deuteron Homepage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Psi_Deuteron Media related to Psi Deuteron Chapter]
}}
'''1,124 086 initiates (as of 1969 closure)'''
'''1,611 912 initiates (as of June 20132018)'''
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'''Charter members:'''
'''Some of Chapter’s Outstanding Alumnae:''' (If you have chapter alumna who have received recognition in any of these three categoriesJessie Jane Cassidy, please list them with the date(s) of recognitionAnnie Neale Curtis, Linnie Gambee, Helen Kittredge, Charlotte Smith.)
Psi Deuteron Chapter celebrated the centennial anniversary of Psi Chapter’s founding at Cornell during the 1983 homecoming weekend. Although the Psi Chapter had been inactive from 1969 until 1977, the Kappa tradition was maintained by the local group, Kappa Psi. This was a special celebration of the 100 years since the 1883 founding of Psi Chapter.
The weekend kicked off with a Friday evening banquet at Cornell’s historical Moakley House with alumna Dale Arrison Grossman as keynote speaker. She was a Cornell professor in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as well as Psi Chapter’s Finance Adviser. Pamela Hanna Haggin was toastmistress.
Awards and gifts made at the banquet included a women’s crew shell by Germanine Miller Gallagher to the women of the crew team, as a tribute to the ongoing sisterhood and success of Psi Chapter. This was accepted by Psi Deuteron actives and crew members Rhonda Alexis and Susan Reusswig. The presentation of a commemorative scholarship to Cornell University was made by Eloise Moore Netherton, Texas, Director of Philanthropy, and was accepted by Janice Oblack, Assistant Dean of Fraternities and Sororities. The evening ended with special recognition given to Kappas in attendance, such as Jewel Shaw, who was the eldest Psi alumna to travel to Ithaca for the celebration.
In 1988–89 a new house family arrived, Dave, Anna and (three year old) Whitney Brown. The chapter served as the Big Sister sorority for Alpha Omicron Pi, a new sorority on campus. Each of the six schools at Cornell was represented by members of Kappa Kappa Gamma this year. The chapter participated in the Greek-wide clean-up and planted crocus bulbs in front of the women’s dormitory.
==Highlights of the 1990s==
'''Housing:'''
In 1990, a window with the Kappa Kappa Gamma crest was installed in the foyer, designed and constructed by alumna Debra Yelverton. In addition, the living and dining rooms were redecorated with wall paper and curtains and the basement was repainted.
The chapter participated in fall rush for the first time, recruiting five new members to compliment the 26 women pledged in the spring. New house parents, David and Debbie Passey announced the expectation of a new baby, due in April of 1998.
==A New Millennium - Highlights of 2000-2010==
Psi Deuteron’s greatest strength, however, has always been our genuine relationships with one another and our overwhelmingly strong sisterhood. We firmly believe that, despite whatever challenges we face as a group, our dedication to one another will make us successful. Most members of Psi Deuteron would agree that our Sisterhood Dinners are the best events of our semester, where we invite all members to come out to dinner together at a local restaurant. Having all of our members in one place at one time in an informal setting is a wonderful experience and reflects our deep bond.
==Highlights of 2020s:==
From chapter’s History Report: Scholarship==Highlights of 2014==2014 was a great year for Psi Deuteron Chapter. This year we sought to improve our academic records and keep promoting sisterhood. After hard work from the Academic Excellence Committee and chapter members, group honors/awardsour chapter improved the overall GPA and became ranked third among our Panhellenic sister in grades. This achievement helped us to gain an honorable mention for improvement in grades at convention this summer. We were pleased to have our president, traditionsCorey Matthews, special attend and represent our chapter's interests at the convention. We have promoted sisterhood through more informal sisterhood events. Pizza and movie nights at the house and study days have helped the sisters of Psi Deuteron to be closer than ever. We have also seen a great increase in leadership for the women of Psi Deuteron. We had two sisters participate in a class that had a curriculum focused on increasing Greek involvement in service and leadership on campus. This class is open to all members of the Greek community and helped Psi Deuteron to learn about new ways to integrate the curriculum into our chapter goals. We also were thrilled to have two members of Kappa Kappa Gamma elected to Panhellenic Council in November. They will serve on council for the 2015 calendar year. Psi Deuteron has also kept busy through our philanthropy work. We have continued our partnership with Caroline Elementary. This program gives sisters the opportunity to give back to the Ithaca community by tutoring and mentoring children. Psi Deuteron also raised the most money for the Cornell Relay for Life. We received the "Jade Award" for our commitment to the event through fundraising. We are excited to continue our community involvement and plan new ways in which we can serve our community. Psi Deuteron has had many successes this year, and we are eager to see the changes that 2015 brings to our chapter. Cornell has had a few notable changes in regards to Greek life this year. The first is the takeoff of Tumblr! This social media platform became very popular among our panhellenic sisters and we enjoy posting pictures that showcase our spirit of sisterhood and adventure. Our PR Chair is responsible for the project, and we are so grateful for her commitment. (The tumblr can be seen at kkgcornell.tumblr.com) The second great change to our Greek system was expanded with the addition of Phi Mu to Cornell University! We looked to welcome the new chapter by recommending women for their fall recruitment and attending their benefit concert later in October. We are thrilled to see more women choosing to go Greek at Cornell and commend the achievement of Phi Mu at Cornell thus far. In January, our chapter grew by 58 women after an extremely successful formal recruitment. The New Member program helped to integrate these women into our chapter in the 4 week long new member period. Cornell shortened the allowed new member period once again to accommodate the needs of Cornell's students. These changes have helped our chapter to become more active in the panhellenic community. We have enjoyed getting to know the other chapters on our campus or and look forward to continuing to increase involvement during 2015. We hold our chapter meetings in our lovely house on 508 Thurston Ave. here in Ithaca, New York. The meetings are held in the living room of our house, as the chapter has seemingly outgrown our chapter room downstairs. Chapter meetings are held on Sunday mornings with a chapter brunch that follows. During the 1890s, the meeting place for the chapter had shifted from Sage College to rooms in different parts of Ithaca. In the fall of 1917, a first house was rented and by 1921 sufficient funds had been raised to buy. Janet Balch gave $5,000 “with her usual Kappa-Cornell generosity,” and other alumnae contributed. The house, 508 Thurston Avenue, had been the home of Beverly Baines, romantic partner of early film idol Francis X. Bushman at a time when Ithaca had been the center of the motion picture industry (1912–1920). This house was razed in 1936 and a modern brick house was built on the site. It was opened in the fall of 1937 for the Alpha Province Convention, and was famed as the first Kappa house for which steel construction had been used. We are still located in the historic 508 Thurston Ave. house and enjoy owning the house as a chapter. The house is such an integral part of our sisterhood as it is where we hold many events. We feel very lucky to have so much history contribute to our chapter life daily. ==Highlights of 2015== 2015 was a great year for Psi Deuteron Chapter. This year we worked hard to transition our communication to the GIN system while continuing our strong focus on sisterhood. After hard work from the technology and standards chair, all chapter communication is now posted on the GIN system and nearly all sisters have downloaded the GIN app onto their phones. This has increased our attendance to weekly chapter meetings and sisterhood support events (fives) within the chapter. We hope to continue finding new ways to use this system to benefit our chapterin the future. We have promoted sisterhood through more informal sisterhood events. The younger member classes enjoy bonding at our house, overall nature while the senior member class has had an increase in programming that has been beneficial to them. The seniors have gone on trips to the orchards near Ithaca and to local art classes to make sure their last year in kappa is one full of memories. We have also seen a great increase in leadership for the women of Psi Deuteron. We had two sisters participate in a class that had a curriculum focused on increasing Greek involvement in service and leadership on campus. This class is open to all members of the Greek community and helped Psi Deuteron to learn about new ways to integrate the curriculum into our chaptergoals. We also were thrilled to have two members of Kappa Kappa Gamma elected to Panhellenic Council in November of 2014. Having two member of Panhellenic Council in our house increased our responsibility to the Greek community and in turn helped us to increase turn out to Greek service events in the community like "Collegetown Clean Up" and "Day of Demeter."Psi Deuteron has also kept busy through our philanthropy work. We have continued our partnership with Caroline Elementary. This program gives sisters the opportunity to give back to the Ithaca community by tutoring and mentoring children. Psi Deuteron also continues to help sponsor Relay for Life and GoPink! at Cornell. These event increase awareness and support for cancer on campus. Psi Deuteron has had many successes this year, and we are eager to see the changes that 2016 brings to our chapter goals. ==Highlights of 2017==2017 was a great year for the Psi Deuteron Chapter. This year we focused on making improvements in several areas including sisterhood and academics. We also continued to thrive in our annual philanthropy events. This year to further promote sisterhood we held severl informal events throughout the year. We had movie nights, challenges dinners together and how they had our new members spend more time at the house. We also had several opportunities for our sisters to study together. We had times for academic bigs and littles to study together and coffee and bagel tabs at libraries. ==Highlights of 2019== This past calendar year our chapter made a commitment to further understand the rituals and history of Kappa Kappa Gamma. We have increased the amount of activities that support this commitment, such as song practices, while also upholding the traditions of the sorority. We have also continued traditions important within our chapter specifically, such as philanthropic involvements. We were overcomenot only engaged within our chapter, etcbut also among the greater Cornell community. Our chapter also enjoys being involved in the local Ithaca community as well. While our campus culture is always changing, our chapter always strives to maintain the same values of Kappa Kappa Gamma. No matter what is happening on campus, our chapter is reliable in its kindness, maturity, and strength. While we all have diverse interests and backgrounds, at our core, our chapter all holds similar values and morals. The two main philanthropic organizations that our chapter supports is the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation and Reading is Fundamental. Our chapter chose these organizations because, like other Kappa chapters, we are encouraged to donate to them. Since the values of these organizations strongly align with the values of our chapter, we have continued to be inspired to volunteer with other organizations, including but not limited to the Caroline Elementary school in our local community.:
During our last Founder’s Day, our school was on break. While we could not all be together, we emphasized the importance of Kappa’s history and the day through messages to the chapter, and in person once we were all together.
'''Housing==Highlights of 2020s:''' ==
==Highlights of 2020:==
Our chapter was able to conduct major events, such as initiation and recruitment, before COVID-19. Nevertheless, the pandemic impacted our chapter’s experience tremendously. Without being able to meet in person, chapters looked a lot different. Women in our chapter took to planning events virtually (we will be conducting virtual recruitment early next semester). While we were virtual, Psi Deuteron was still able to conduct some of our typical events. For instance, we held virtual fundraisers on social media for our philanthropy. Most importantly, the women of our chapter were still connected, even though we were physically separated.
'''Philanthropy:'''The two main philanthropic organizations that our chapter supports is the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation and Reading is Fundamental. Our chapter chose these organizations because, like other Kappa chapters, we are encouraged to donate to them. Since the values of these organizations strongly align with the values of our chapter, we have continued to be inspired to volunteer with other organizations, including but not limited to the Caroline Elementary school in our local community.
In response to the events of summer 2020, our chapter examined our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. While we took small-scale measures to address issues of equity, such as posting on social media, our chapter wanted to implement more long term, meaningful changes. Through formal and informal conversations, our chapter emphasized the importance of being an inclusive chapter. We even brought the wider Cornell community into our conversations to see what we could do better. While these conversations were difficult to have, they serve as a small step in the right direction. We will continue to have these discussions, and in the coming years, they will mobilize into more direct action. Our chapter is looking forward to trainings and other events that will make us more conscientious members of our community.
While we were apart because of COVID-19, we were still able to reflect on the importance of Kappa’s 150th anniversary. These past few years, the Psi Deuteron chapter has taken the initiative to truly value our traditions. On this anniversary, we all took the time to reflect on the significance of this day and what Kappa means to us.
'''Chapter Convention Awards'''==Highlights of 2021:==
During the past year our chapter has really focused on getting more organized. We worked on meeting with our advisor, Liz Wong, consistently and even had her come speak to the chapter about how both active members and the chapter council are responsible for the successes of our chapter. We were also lucky enough to have a donation of $500,000 for 10 years. This means that two women in our chapter will be able to receive a scholarship of $25,000 each, annually, in honor of Nancy Nichol McLamore. Because of COVID-19, and Cornell protocol, it was difficult to host philanthropy events, but we were able to participate in some which are detailed in our philanthropy section. Overall, we were able to keep the Psi Deuteron Chapter lively and tight knit, despite the pandemic, and worked hard to make our chapter a more inclusive, welcoming and organized place.
Cornell University supported Reading Is Fundamental during the indicated time frame, and recently switched its philanthropy focus to Mental Health Awareness. During Reading Is Fundamental, Kappa sisters at Cornell visited local elementary schools and read to students. We recognized the importance of literacy and acknowledged that our sisters could encourage young students to read, making our interactions exciting for the students. Additionally, we recognized that we may be viewed as role models to these children and that reading to them may result in motivation to learn and read on their own.
--------------Our chapter supported Kappa’s philanthropy by visiting Fall Creek Elementary School in Ithaca, NY and reading to students. Beyond this, we held multiple fundraisers in order to help buy new books for local elementary schools and other resources that would allow these students to grow. Due to COVID, we were unable to visit these schools in person and read to students over zoom. While this wasn’t the same as interacting with the students in person, our sisters made the most out of our situation in order to continue helping these young students.
'''Note to Chapter Registrar:''' Please refer to your The Psi Deuteron chapter archives including chapter meeting minutes of KKG supported Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives this past year by emphasizing the DEI chair position and back issues creating a committee to support the chair. Members of ''The Key'' to fill in any gaps the committee played an important role in sorority recruitment by presenting about the above historical highlightsvalue of focusing on diversity and providing equitable opportunities. If your chapter archives are not completeIn addition to presentations, please research your university librarythe committee was divided amongst the recruitment process in order to make sure a DEI perspective was utilized as much as possible. Further, campus newspaper we implemented DEI-related announcements at each weekly chapter and yearbook archives for newsworthy information about your chaptermade sure to emphasize these values to new members. Please double check your work In the future, we plan to support collaborations between the DEI chair and the Education chair in order to provide educational opportunities for accuracy. Contact chapter Advisory or House Board members, local Alumnae Association members, or your Province Director of Chapters for assistancePsi Deuteron.
Your efforts will ensure Our chapter operations changed a significant amount due to COVID-19. Everything that our chapter had to do was moved online including weekly chapter meetings, initiation and recruitment. Our philanthropy events were limited to only a few girls and our finances were impacted heavily. Unfortunately, due to a complete few COVID-19 outbreaks within our chapter, we had to hire cleaners for our house and changed the dormers to triples. We also had to cut off the use of some of our showers given that they were too close together. This was also due to Cornell’s rules of social distancing, which our house followed as best as we could. We had hand sanitizer stations and did not allow any guests in the house until Cornell allowed us to. When guests were finally allowed in the house, they would have to sign in and accurate history sign out with a book that we had at our front door. All of our chapter meetings, including initiation, were moved online which, made it difficult for members to feel like a part of the chapter. However, we tried to make meetings as engaging as possible by bringing in speakers and turning on our cameras. Because of recruitment being completely virtual, it was difficult at times to get to know the PNM’s and if they would be a good fit for our chapter. This is why we came up with different questions other than the same “name, major, hometown” small talk, so that we could really get to know the PNM’s. Some of these questions included “Did you know your roommate before/meet through mutual friends?” and “How has your transition been with COVID?” We trained our active members to be as respectful as possible when speaking to different girls about COVID, especially because we don't know how much COVID may have impacted their lives. We also made sure to emphasize all of the things our chapter for future generations typically does without COVID, to allow the PNM’s to get a real sense of what our chapter is like under “normal” conditions, which we hope to return to enjoy!soon.