In 1902 Dr. Guy Potter Benton was inaugurated as the new President of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. During his first few months as President, Dr. Benton accomplished two acts of great importance to the University. The first act was the creation of a regular news-bulletin to keep the citizens in touch with the university's activities. The second act was the decision to allow young women to enroll in the full academic course offered at the University.
In the fall of 1902 six of the newly admitted female students decided to organize themselves in a sorority.Miami University had already been the founding site for three fraternities: Beta Theta Pi (1839), Phi Delta Theta (1848), and Sigma Chi (1855) so, the idea for the new sorority was readily accepted.
Unfamiliar with the planning and organization needed to form a Greek-letter organization, the six women had no hesitancy about going to Dr. Benton with the matter. A member of Phi Delta Theta himself, Dr. Benton proved an invaluable source of guidance. Thus, under the date of October 24, 1902, the Department of Sate of Ohio issued formal articles of incorporation to Delta Zeta Sorority. The Articles of Incorporation established the location of the Sorority at Oxford University and stated its founding members as Alfa Lloyd, Mary Collins, Anna Keen, Julia Bishop, Mabelle Minton and Anne Simmons.
To find out more about Delta Zeta, please visit Delta Zeta Nationals.
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