Founding Date

Oct 17th, 1981

Clemson was founded in 1889 through a bequest from Thomas Green Clemson, a Philadelphia-born, European-educated engineer. In November 1889, Gov. John Peter Richardson signed a bill accepting Clemson’s gift, which established the Clemson Agricultural College and made its trustees custodians of Morrill Act and Hatch Act funds. Initially an all-male, all-white military school, Clemson Agricultural College opened in July 1893 with 446 students. Clemson became a coeducational, civilian institution in 1955. In 1963, with the admission of Harvey Gantt, Clemson became the first traditionally white institution in South Carolina to desegregate since Reconstruction. With academic offerings and research pursuits, the institution became Clemson University in 1964. Delta Gamma was invited to establish at Clemson University in February of 1981. Establishment week began on March 29, and the founding member class was formally pledged on April 3. Collegians from Delta Iota-Georgia performed the ceremony for the 76 women joining the new chapter. The women of Epsilon Kappa met in August of 1981 to prepare for the upcoming recruitment period. The chapter’s efforts were well worth it, and the new chapter added 29 women to their ranks. On October 17, the original founding class was initiated by members of Delta Iota. Sixty-three women joined the sisterhood. The rest of the new members were initiated on January 30, 1982. Epsilon Kappa held their first Anchor Splash® that November. The Epsilon Kappa chapter moved into the 6th floor of Manning Hall by the summer of 1981. Their floor nicknamed “the Hall” sleeps 52 and was renovated hall in summer 1999. The chapter celebrated its 15th anniversary in 1996. The chapter was very successful in and around campus in their first few decades. They were consistently recognized by Clemson’s Panhellenic Council and were active on campus and in the Clemson community. By the early 2000’s, however, the chapter was experiencing hardship. The women of Epsilon Kappa were asked to vote to relinquish their charter. The women voted against relinquishing their charter, and instead submitted an action plan for Council’s review. Ultimately, Council did not accept the action plan, and Council voted to close the Epsilon Kappa chapter in October of 2003. In 2019 the university opened for extension. Delta Gamma was selected to present and in 2020 and Delta Gamma was ultimately selected to reestablish Epsilon Kappa. The reestablishment of Epsilon Kappa chapter included events led by {NAMES OF CDCs}, Collegiate Development Consultants assigned to support the chapter. “Infoviews” between potential members, Fraternity staff and volunteers, and a preference event with sisters from {COLLEGIATE CHAPTER(S)} chapters were held in the fall of 2021. The establishment events culminated in October of 2021 with the pledging of the founding new members class of Epsilon Kappa and a Bid Day celebration. Since Bid Day, the chapter elected its first president, {NAME OF OFFICER}, and participated in many on-campus events including {LIST ANY EVENTS OF SPECIAL ACTIVITIES}. Epsilon Kappa chapter and its {NUMBER OF NEW MEMBERS} charter members join the sisterhood of over 250,000 living members with their {DATE OF INSTALLATION} Initiation and Installation. This day Epsilon Kappa celebrated rejoining the sisterhood by becoming the 152th active chapter of Delta Gamma on college campuses.