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History 

History of Gamma Tau at SLU
Gamma Tau Chapter was installed at Saint Louis University in Saint Louis, Missouri, on November 11, 1967. Director of Expansion Elna Erickson Simons (Birmingham-Southern) was in charge of the colonization and installation, assisted by Field Secretary Gwen Tolmie Leth (Idaho) and Director of College Programs Jean Cline (Kansas State). On Founders Day, November 11, 1967, Initiation ceremonies were held for 40 women in the new Busch Memorial Student Center by an initiating team from Phi Chapter. At the installation banquet, held in the same building that evening, Chapter President Judy May Cresanta (Saint Louis) accepted the Gamma Tau charter from Grand President. Ardis McBroom Marek (Northwestern, 1934) and was later the recipient of a Gamma Phi Beta badge from Eleanor Garm Hemminger (Northestern, 1931), who made a gift of her personal badge to the new chapter for use as a president’s badge.

Pictured above: Members from Gamma Tau Chapter at their Installation banquet in 1967.

History of Gamma Phi Beta International
 More than 140 years ago, Gamma Phi Beta was humbly founded
 by four collegiate women seeking support in a world that made them
 feel alienated because of their gender. Little did Helen, Frances
Adeline and Mary know that Gamma Phi Beta would become the first-ever “sorority,” impacting the lives of more than hundreds of thousands of sisters to date who have followed in their footsteps. Because our organization’s past plays such an integral role in understanding the importance of membership, Gamma Phi Beta has created a website specifically dedicated to helping users explore the legacy our Founders created. From the Founders’ first meeting in 1874 to the introduction of new initiatives to improve membership experience in the 21st century, GammaPhiBetaHistory.org provides an inside look into our
past and present.

Pictured above: Gamma Phi Beta's four founders: Mary A. Bingham, E. Adeline Curtis, Francis E. Haven, Helen M. Dodge

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