Founding Date

Nov 18th, 1978

The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson. The school was of all male enrollment (except for nursing and graduate students) until 1970 when the university became coeducational. At the 1970 Delta Gamma Convention, the University of Virginia was approved as a possible future site for expansion. University of Virginia policy stipulated that the impetus for a sorority had to come from the students and not from a national organization. In 1977, an ad appeared in the school paper asking Delta Gamma legacies and others interested in forming a Delta Gamma group to meet at a certain time and place. One of the women who placed this ad was Evelyn Harrison. The idea for Delta Gamma was suggested by her roommate whose mother was a Delta Gamma. Eighteen women met for the first time on April 6, 1977. At the second meeting on April 27, the women elected officers, and selected the name Gamma Chi, the white rose as a flower, and the anchor as their symbol. The same day, Eve Harrison and Nancy Codispoti met for the first time with a representative of Delta Gamma, Ruth Ross Sager, Rho-Syracuse, Vice-President: Alumnae. The first president, Nancy Codispoti, said this about the new group: "Although we are very diverse, and few of us knew each other before we began forming, we have become very close very quickly, and have found many interests that are common to all of us. What is the neatest part is that we all have so much to offer each other. In our last meeting we discussed what we all would like to get out of a sorority and the answers were all practically identical: a sisterhood, a way to meet people; a way to get more involved in the school and the community, and a place where we can share our individuality with others." On October 21, Gamma Chi was recognized by the Inter-Sorority Council. They were required to complete a probationary period of one year as a local before affiliation with a national sorority. Gamma Chi incorporated the Delta Gamma purpose word for word in their constitution. Friday evening, November 17, 1978, women from Delta Rho-Virginia Tech conducted a "better than perfect, if that were possible" inspirational program for the prospective new members in the dome room of the Rotunda, a campus landmark designed by Thomas Jefferson. The ceremony included the formation of a human anchor, songs and poems by the Blacksburg collegians. Epsilon Gamma chapter was installed the following day, November 18, the same day as Epsilon Beta-Bucknell. Thirty-nine collegians were initiated by members of Delta Rho chapter. The Initiation and Installation banquet took place in the Kappa Sigma Fraternity national headquarters. The chapter moved into a renovated house at 138 Madison Lane in January 1980. An official dedication was held on April 26 of that same year.