Zeta Phi Eta

Zeta Phi Eta
Zeta Phi Eta
ΖΦΗ
Founded	October 10, 1893; 130 years ago; Northwestern University
Type	Professional
Affiliation	Independent
Former Affiliation	PFA; PPA;
Status	Active
Emphasis	Communication Arts and Sciences
Scope	National
Motto	"Achieve! with Wisdom, Integrity and Love"
Colors	Rose and White
Flower	La France Rose
Publication	The Cameo
Chapters	6
Logo
Headquarters	c/o Valerie Glowinski; 2349 North Windsor Dr.; Arlington Heights, Illinois 60004; United States
Website	www.zetaphieta.org

Zeta Phi Eta (ΖΦΗ) is a national professional fraternity for communication arts and sciences. It was founded in 1893, and is recognized as the oldest professional fraternity for women, though membership is now co-ed.^[1]

History

Zeta Phi Eta was founded on October 10, 1893 as the first professional Communications fraternity at Northwestern University in Evanston Illinois. The organization began in when Edith deVore conceived the idea of a club exclusively for students of the School of Oratory (later the School of Communication). DeVore was joined by Molly Connor, Laurine Wright, Maude Newell, and Leila Little, and the group called itself the "F.O.E. Club", vowing to be a Friend of Each, Each Our Friend. The women held secret meetings before receiving formal approval for the Zeta Phi Eta sorority in 1894 from Dean Cumnock of the School of Oratory.^[2]

The fraternity was incorporated on June 25, 1902 under the laws of the State of Illinois.^[3] Reflecting the organization’s status as a professional, rather than an honorary or social, society, the charter proclaims, “This society is to promote a greater excellence in oratorical and dramatic art, and to develop a social interest and a stronger friendship toward each other.”

In 1908, the fraternity began to expand when a Zeta at Northwestern corresponded with a friend at Emerson College of Oratory in Boston, Massachusetts, who belonged to an organization with similar values and goals, Phi Eta Sigma. When the two chapters affiliated under the name of Zeta Phi Eta, Alpha chapter status was bestowed upon the Emerson organization.^[2]

During the 1910s and 1920s, campus and alumnae chapters grew quickly at institutions around the country. The fraternity first published CAMEO in 1913, a national magazine which continues to be published quarterly.^[2]

In 1941, total membership of the fraternity was reported to be approximately 3,000 women across nineteen collegiate chapters and fifteen alumnae chapters.^[4] Since 1950 the fraternity broadened its focus in the speech arts, to include communications arts and sciences.^[5]

In 1955, the Zeta Phi Eta Foundation was established to contribute to "worthy speech and drama projects". One long-term project initiated by the Zeta alumnae in 1960 was a full-scale nationwide tape recording program for the Library of Congress, recording tapes of published works for access by blind patrons.^[6]^[5] Another national project, Graduate Assistantship Opportunities, was designed to provide professional guidance to senior members of campus chapters upon entering graduate school.^[2]

Affiliations over the years have included:

The American Theatre Association
The Professional Panhellenic Association now the PFA
The Speech Communications Association
The Children's Theatre Association^[5]

Purpose

The Fraternity identifies four mission statements which guide its operations:^[3]

To band together individuals committed to high standards in communication arts and sciences;
To provide opportunities for sharing professional interests through participation in worthwhile activities in the fields of communication;
To provide a climate in which members may develop sound professional philosophies; and
To stimulate and encourage all worthy enterprises in the communication fields.

Symbols

The cameo and pearl pin of Alpha became the national fraternity's official badge, and the shield and torch of Beta became its the coat of arms.^[3] The Zeta Phi Eta badge is a rose-colored cameo upon which is carved the letter name of the Fraternity in white, surrounded by 23 pearls. The fraternity's colors are rose and white. Its flower is the "La France Rose." Its magazine is the Cameo, along with occasionally a Prospectus and Pledge Manual.^[5]

Membership

While originally established as a women-exclusive sorority, Zeta Phi Eta began extending its membership to male students in 1975.^[2]Since its founding, Zeta Phi Eta membership has expanded to welcome undergraduate and graduate students focusing on a wide range of communications-related fields. These include:^[7]

Notable members

Collegiate

Isobel Carothers (Beta), co-creator and star of the 1930’s WGN radio program, “Clara, Lu and Em”^[2]
Marcelline Hemingway Sanford (Beta), sister of author Ernest Hemingway^[2]
Helen King (Beta), co-creator and star of the 1930’s WGN radio program, “Clara, Lu and Em”^[2]
Louise Starkey (Beta), co-creator and star of the 1930’s WGN radio program, “Clara, Lu and Em”^[2]
Winifred Ward (Beta), founder of the Children’s Theatre of Evanston^[2]

Honorary

Madge Evans stage and film actress^[8]
Charlton Heston, actor ^[9]
Jessica Tandy, actress^[10]
Ethel Waters, singer and actress ^[11]

Chapters

Collegiate chapters

In 2024, there arefive active collegiate chapters of Zeta Phi Eta.^[5]^[12]^[13] Active chapters noted in bold, inactive chapters in italics:

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	Reference
Beta	October 10, 1893 – 19xx ?	Northwestern University	Evanston, Illinois	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha	1908	Emerson College	Boston, Massachusetts	Active	^[5]^[a]
Delta	1914–19xx ?	Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	Inactie	^[5]
Epsilon	1917–19xx ?	Brenau University	Gainesville, Georgia	Inactive	^[5]
Zeta	1919–19xx ?	Southern Methodist University	University Park, Texas	Inactive	^[5]
Eta	1921–19xx ?	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, California	Inactive	^[5]
Gamma	1921–19xx ?	Drake University	Des Moines, Iowa	Inactive	^[5]
Theta	1924–1937	Coe College	Cedar Rapids, Iowa	Inactive	^[5]
Iota	1926–1942	University of North Dakota	Grand Forks, North Dakota	Inactive	^[5]
Kappa	1928–1936	Washington University in St. Louis	St. Louis County, Missouri	Inactive	^[5]
Lambda	1930–1968	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Inactive	^[5]
Mu	1930–1974	University of Washington	Seattle, Wasington	Inactive	^[5]
Nu	1930–19xx ?	University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, California	Inactive	^[5]
Xi	1931–1951	University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	Inactive	^[5]
Omicron	1932–19xx	University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison, Wisconsin	Inactive	^[5]
Pi	1934–1969	University of Minnesota	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Inactive	^[5]
Rho	1934–1972	Alabama State University	Montgomery, Alabama	Inactive	^[5]
Sigma	1936–19xx ?	University of Iowa	Iowa City, Iowa	Inactive	^[5]
Tau	1937–19xx ?	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign	Urbana/Champaign, Illinois	Inactive	^[5]
Upsilon	1937–19xx ?	Florida State University	Tallahassee, Florida	Inactive	^[5]
Phi	1939–19xx ?	University of Arizona	Tucson, Arizona	Inactive	^[5]
Chi	1941–19xx ?	Ohio State University	Columbus, Ohio	Inactive	^[5]
Psi	1943–19xx ?	University of Georgia	Athens, Georgia	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Alpha	1945–1974	University of Science and Arts	Chickasha, Oklahoma	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Beta	1945–19xx ?	University of Denver	Denver, Colorado	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Gamma	1945–19xx ?	University of Utah	Salt Lake City, Utah	Inactive	^[5]
Omega	1945–19xx ?	Texas Woman's University	Denton, Texas	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Delta	1947–19xx ?	University of South Dakota	Vermillion, South Dakota	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Epsilon	1947–19xx ?	Occidental University	Los Angeles, California	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Zeta	1950–19xx ?	Wichita State University	Wichita, Kansas	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Eta	1951–19xx ?	University of Mary Washington	Fredericksburg, Virginia	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Theta	1952–19xx ?	Marquette University	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Iota	1956–19xx ?	Southern Illinois University	Carbondale, Illinois	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Kappa	1958–19xx ?	University of Miami	Coral Gables, Florida	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Lambda	1958–19xx ?	University of Florida	Gainesville, Florida	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Mu	1959–19xx ?	American University	Washington, D.C.	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Nu	1959–19xx ?	University of Oklahoma	Norman, Oklahoma	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Xi	1962–19xx ?	University of Portland	Portland, Oregon	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Omicron	1966–1975 ?	Southern Illinois University Edwardsville	Edwardsville, Illinois	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Pi	1967–19xx ?	Oregon State University	Corvallis, Oregon	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Rho	1968–19xx ?	West Virginia University	Morgantown, West Virginia	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Sigma	1969–19xx ?	Western Kentucky University	Bowling Green, Kentucky	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Tau	1970–19xx ?	Baylor University	Waco, Texas	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Upsilon	1972–1974	University of Missouri–Kansas City	Kansas City, Missouri	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Phi	1974–19xx ?	University of Wisconsin, Whitewater	Whitewater, Wisconsin	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Chi	1975–19xx ?	University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington, Texas	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Psi	1975–19xx ?	Texas Southern University	Houston, Texas	Inactive	^[5]
Alpha Omega	1978–19xx ?	University of Wyoming	Laramie, Wyoming	Inactive	^[13]
Beta Alpha	1980–19xx ?	Monmouth College	West Long Branch, New Jersey	Inactive	^[13]
Beta Beta	1981–19xx ?	Rider University	Lawrenceville, New Jersey	Inactive	^[13]
Beta Gamma	1992–19xx ?	Edgewood College	Madison, Wisconsin	Inactive	^[13]
Beta Delta	1993–19xx ?	Clarion University	Clarion, Pennsylvania	Inactive	^[13]
Beta Epsilon	2005–202x ?	Slippery Rock University	Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania	Inactive	^[13]
Beta Zeta	2005–20xx ?	University of Texas	Austin, Texas	Inactive	^[13]
Beta Eta	2013	Hofstra University	Hempstead, New York	Active	^[13]
Beta Theta	2014	University of Toledo	Toledo, Ohio	Active	^[13]
Beta Iota	2015	University of Central Florida	Orlando, Florida	Active	^[13]
Beta Kappa	2015–201x ?	Morehead State University	Morehead, Kentucky	Inactive	^[13]
Beta Lambda	2017	Jacksonville State University	Jacksonville, Alabama	Active	^[13]

^ Originated as Phi Eta Sigma (local)

Professional chapters

Professional chapters are located in:

Chaptar	Location	Status	Reference
Boston	Boston, Massachusetts	Active	^[12]
Chicago North Shore	Chicago, Illinois	Active	^[12]
Oklahoma City	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Active	^[12]
Porland	Portland, Oregon	Active	^[12]
Southern California	Los Angeles, Californa	Active	^[12]