Founding Date

Feb 2nd, 2002

The University of Nevada, Reno was founded in 1874 as the State University of Nevada in Elko, Nevada, about 300 miles northeast of its present-day campus in Reno. The site for the university preparatory school in eastern Nevada (where no state institutions had previously been located) proved to be impractical, as nearly half of the state's residents lived in the Reno-Carson City area. In 1885, the legislature approved the move of the University from Elko to Reno. Delta Gamma was invited to the Nevada, Reno campus on April 9, 2001 to make an expansion presentation. Members of university administration, campus Panhellenic, and other representatives loved the presentation, and Delta Gamma was officially invited to establish in September of 2001. Eta Iota chapter established the week of September 19-22. Although the week was overshadowed by the horrific events of September 11, the establishment was successful with the pledging of 107 women and the Installation events were planned for Saturday February 2, 2002. The Initiation ceremony saw 74 women join the sisterhood as the charter members of Eta Iota chapter. The ceremony took place in the Jot Travis Student Center on the Nevada, Reno campus. That evening, a banquet was held that the Silver Legacy Resort Casino in Reno to celebrate Eta Iota’s Installation as the 142nd chapter of Delta Gamma. Eta Iota chapter has received the Patricia Peterson Danielson Award five times from 2003 to 2014. Its House Corporation was recognized in 2008 as an Outstanding House Corporation-HC Managed with a House. In the mid 2000’s, Eta Iota’s chapter house was located on the corner of West 9th Street and North Sierra Street. This location was not ideal, however, because the location was not near the other Panhellenic groups and the house was not as presentable as the other chapters’. By December of 2011, Eta Iota chapter began renting a house from the university. Eta Iota’s currently call two locations home: the main house known by women of the chapter as “Delta Grande” located across the street from their original house and an annex located on Evans Avenue.