Our Mission

Delta Zeta: Developing women of integrity & influence.

What Sisterhood Looks Like

Many thanks to Lee Ann Luxenberger for assembling photos and memories from many Delta Chapter alums into the following video! Note that in order to protect our sisters' privacy, your newsletter login/password are required in order to view the file.

Collegians Speak Out

Delta Chapter alumnae support all of our sisters in Delta Zeta. The collegians released the following statement on February 28:

GREENCASTLE, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the active members of Delta Zeta at DePauw University, we feel as though we, the National Organization, and the Delta Zeta chapter at DePauw University have been misrepresented. In the New York Times, our side of the story was not included. In fact, one of our members was interviewed by the paper. She disagreed with the reporter and he chose not to include her statements in his story.

We decided to remain active members because of our dedication to the future of our chapter through the reorganization process. The accusations that race, weight, and academic majors were used as criteria in the membership review process are completely false and detract from the reasoning behind the reorganization. Furthermore, the image of this chapter was never created by its members; rather, it was perpetuated by the campus climate at DePauw University. We value the diversity of our sisters, both the current actives and our alumnae. As members of the DePauw community, we believe that Delta Zeta has a place on this campus. We continue as active members with the hope that future sisters will benefit from the opportunities provided by Delta Zeta. Without the negative effects of stereotyping, the true Delta Zeta experience will shine through.

This statement, as well as media contacts for Delta Zeta, can be found on Business Wire.

Please also read Delta Zeta's official statement on the events at Delta Chapter.

Congratulations Sonja!

Delta Chapter Association congratulates our very own Sonja Nay Wise, Past National Officer and Trustee, on her appointmen to the Delta Zeta Foundation Board of Trustees.

New Furniture for the Formal!

Many thanks to everyone who coordinated and funded the beautiful new furniture in the formal and sun room! Take a look:

Ionic Column Goes to Julia Shumaker

On June 11, Julia Shumaker was awarded the Ionic Column for service to Delta Zeta at the Chapter House.

Julia was initiated in Delta chapter of Delta Zeta on March 8, 1930.

While living in Iowa where her husband Arthur was doing graduate work, she worked with the Delta Zeta chapter there. When they returned to DePauw Julia immediately began working with the Greencastle alumnae chapter and Delta chapter. She was the CCD and has served on the advisory board in most of the offices.

She has held practically every office of the Greencastle alumnae chapter and currently serves as secretary. Julia served as Province President (equivalent to today's Regional Collegiate Coordinator) working with all the Delta Zeta chapters in Indiana and she worked with the Alpha Beta chapter at the University of Louisville. She has also served on the Delta Zeta House Corporation.

Julia was recognized with the Acoth Award at Delta Zeta's Diamond Jubilee (75th Anniversary) Convention in Columbus, Ohio in 1977. She has done all this while being a wife and mother and while teaching both at DePauw and at Greencastle High School. She is a marvelous example of what Delta Zeta can mean for the rest of our lives.

We are honored to have you as part of our sisterhood, not just for the 75 years of being a member of Delta Zeta, but for your love and devotion to Delta Zeta. Congratulations Julia!

See past Ionic Column honorees.

Delta Zeta Foundation Receives $1M

The Delta Zeta Foundation announced at the 46th National
Convention of Delta Zeta Sorority held in Tampa, Florida, that the
Foundation had received $1 million from the charitable trust of television
producer and motion picture actress Gail Patrick Velde. This is the largest gift that the Foundation has received since its inception in 1961.

The endowment established The Woman of Distinction Program, which will provide undergraduate and graduate scholarships for qualified Delta Zeta members and a Woman of Distinction honorarium for the Delta Zeta Woman of the Year, the Sorority's highest honor.

Gail Patrick Velde (née Margaret Fitzpatrick) was a member of the Alpha Pi
Chapter at Howard College in Birmingham, Alabama (now Samford University).
She was a popular movie personality in the 1930s and 1940s, starring in
films such as "My Man Godfrey" (1936), "Stage Door" (1937), and "My Favorite Wife" (1940) with stars such as William Powell, Katherine Hepburn, and Cary
Grant.

In the 1950s and 1960s, she was one of the few female producers in the
television industry, producing the "Perry Mason" television series. In
1962, she was named as Delta Zeta's Woman of the Year. She was very active
in charitable and civic projects, was vice president of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences from 1960-62, and was honorary national
chairman of the Christmas Seal campaign in 1970.

The Gail Patrick Velde Scholarship was first established from a bequest by
her estate after her death in 1980.

Ruth W. Patterson, Delta Zeta Foundation President, said of the gift, "Gail
Patrick's bequest epitomizes the love she had for Delta Zeta, and her
trustees are dedicated to ensuring that her love lives on in The Woman of
Distinction Program. Sisters who weren't even born when Gail Patrick was
alive will have the opportunity to achieve and excel as she did because of
her foresight and generosity."

This year's winner will be announced online at http://www.deltazeta.org/foundation/schol.asp.

Centennial Committee Needs You!

The year 2009 marks Delta Chapter's centennial and we need your help! To commemorate 100 years of sisterhood at DePauw University, we're forming a committee to coordinate fundraising, capital improvements, and programming around the Centennial celebration.

Take a look at your Fall 2003 Delta Association newsletter for more details, or email your name, preferred method of contact (phone or email), and the year you graduated from DePauw to Julie Artz (webmaster AT dzdelta.org) if you're interested in volunteering.

Thank you to everyone who's volunteered so far! We still have a lot of pledge class unrepresented, however, so consider whether you have a few hours to contribute to this historic anniversary.

Help Us Locate "Lost" Deltas!

Did you know that there are 427 women who initiated into Delta Chapter of Delta Zeta, but for whom Delta Zeta National has no contact information? Some of the "missing" are as recent as class of 2001, so take a look and see if you can help us locate them.

Site last modified June 27, 2007 . For questions or comments, email the webmaster.