history

Founding
Alpha Delta Pi was founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia. It was the first secret society for college women and was originally called the Adelphean Society (from the Greek word for "sister"). It was even more fitting that ADPi should be founded at Wesleyan since Wesleyan was the first institution to grant college degrees to women.

Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald founded the Adelphean Society along with her close friends Octavia Andrews Rush, Mary Evans Glass, Ella Pierce Turner, Elizabeth Williams (not pictured), and Sophronia Woodruff Dews. The Adelphean Society had as its object the betterment of one another and themselves "morally, mentally, and socially." They took for their open motto "We live for each other," which we still live by today.

Going National
In 1904, the Adelpheans voted to expand beyond Wesleyan and establish chapters throughout the country. With this decision, they changed their name to Alpha Delta Phi, and then again to Alpha Delta Pi (in order to avoid confusion with a men's fraternity by the same name). Expansion continued throughout the twentieth century and to date, Alpha Delta Pi has initiated over 182,000 women and has over 130 collegiate chapters and 150 alumnae associations throughout the United States and Canada, making it one of the largest sororities in the world.

Delta Kappa Chapter
The foundation of the Delta Kappa chapter was laid in the spring of 1956, when a group of students, faculty women, and women from State College met to consider the possibility of founding a new sorority at Penn State. After several months of thought, work, and preparation, the group applied for a charter from the University. On March 14, 1957 the request was granted and a new local sorority called Pyrose was founded at Penn State. On October 1, 1957 the Panhellenic Council at Penn State accepted Pyrose as a full-fledged member.

Pyrose did not remain a local sorority for long. After a year of increasing activity and membership, Pyrose petitioned Alpha Delta Pi for membership. The petition was granted, and on March 17, 1958 Pyrose became a colony of Alpha Delta Pi. On September 20, 1958 the sisters of Pyrose became the sisters of the Delta Kappa chapter, the first active ADPi chapter at Penn State University.

The Delta Kappa chapter closed in the early 1970's along with many other Greek organizations because of decreasing participation. Some twenty years later, due to a growing demand for more sororities at the University Park campus, Penn State's Panhellenic Council invited Alpha Delta Pi to recolonize. On October 5, 1991 the Delta Kappa chapter recolonized at Penn State and on February 1, 1992, 117 sisters were initiated into Alpha Delta Pi. The initiation ceremony was followed by a banquet where the charter was presented by Grand President, Beth Mannie, and the gavel was presented by Grand Vice President of Development and Expansion, Lindy Lutz. The chapter President at the time was Cara Strohmer.

Delta Kappa has continued to grow since then, winning the Chapter of the Year and Greek Woman of the Year awards two years in a row (2007 & 2008) and consistently being recognized by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life as a Chapter of Excellence. This September, we are planning a special 50th anniversary event for active sisters and alumnae to celebrate ADPi's rich history at Penn State.