Delta Phi Omega
ΔΦΩ
Delta Phi Omega Crest
FoundedDecember 6, 1998 (1998-12-06)
University of Houston
TypeCultural
AffiliationNAPA
EmphasisSouth Asian interest
ScopeNational
Motto“We Dreamt, We Saw, We Conquered”
Colors█ Red, █ Black, and █ Silver
FlowerWhite orchid
JewelRed ruby, diamond
MascotBengal tiger
PhilanthropyChildren’s education and literacy
Chapters25
Colonies26
NicknameDPO
PurposeThe purpose of Delta Phi Omega shall be to foster unity among South Asian women, build community awareness, and gain a greater understanding of oneself and others. The sorority aspires to instill leadership traits, excel in all academic endeavors, to encourage an active relationship between the sorority and its respective university, and shall do so with the utmost compassion, dignity, and fortitude.
Headquarters2020 Bailey Street
Houston, TX 77006
United States
WebsiteOfficial website

Delta Phi Omega (commonly referred to as DPO, or ΔΦΩ) is a nationally-based, South Asian-interest, multicultural sorority in the United States, with over 2,600 sisters in twenty-five chapters and twenty-six colonies across the nation. It is categorized as a social, service and philanthropy-based Greek letter organization whose main focus is to empower women and promote cultural awareness through involvement with their universities and communities. It has joined organizations such as the National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA) to better convey its efforts to promote the greater good alongside other communities.[1] Delta Phi Omega Sorority, Inc. is the largest South Asian interest-based sorority in the nation.

Origin

On December 6, 1998, sixteen South Asian women formed Delta Phi Omega at the University of Houston. The sixteen Honorable National Founding Mothers are:

  • Simran Bakshi-Guiterrez
  • Heena Bhakta-Palmer
  • Leena Cherian-Joseph
  • Bonna Choudhari
  • Rita Dhanani-Rauniyar
  • Anita Jari-Kharbanda
  • Amitha Nikam-Verma
  • Avni Patel
  • Jesika Patel
  • Jolly Patel
  • Shevon Patel
  • Sonal Amit Patel
  • Arati Shah
  • Deepa Swamy-Kurian
  • Manisha Vakharia-Patel
  • Sarika Wadhawan[2]

Delta Phi Omega was envisioned as an organization that would focus on the diverse Indian culture through participation in various community and service projects, promote the advancement of South Asian women, and unite women in the South Asian community. Its pillars are sisterhood, honesty, loyalty, respect, and friendship.[3]

The sorority's annual national initiatives are "Be The Change" National Community Partner and Literacy Through Unity Week.[4] The annual Literacy Through Unity Week raises awareness of children’s education and literacy, along with fundraising at the respective universities and cities to support related charities.[4] Events associated with Literacy Through Unity Week include community service projects, movie nights, books and panel discussions, fundraising nights, and Informationals by nonprofit organizations such as Asha for Education, Pratham, and CARE.

Organization

In 2001, sisters foresaw a rapid expansion of Delta Phi Omega and recognized the need for a central governing body. Therefore they founded the first National Council of Delta Phi Omega on February 1, 2002, which became the administrative entity of the sorority. The National Council ensures the continuity of the original purpose, mission, and ideals of the National Founding Mothers. Its functions also include handling matters of controversy, coordinating national-level programs, and overseeing chapter compliance with national policies. Each year at the national conference women are elected to the National Council, board, and regional director positions.[5]

After National Council the next tier is the National Board, which is made up of positions that are more geared towards expansion and maintaining the sorority on an organizational level, keeping records, and ensuring everything continues to run smoothly and professionally.

Following National Board are Regional Directors. Delta Phi Omega is currently divided into nine regions, with each region consisting of about four to nine schools. The final tier is an Alumna Advisor, which each charter has.

Chapters

These are the chapters and charters of Delta Phi Omega. Active chapters and charters are listed in bold; inactive chapters and charters are in italics.

Chapter Chartered/Range Institution Location Region Status Reference
Alpha December 6, 1998 University of Houston Houston, Texas Gulf Coast Active [3][6]
Beta May 17, 1999 University of Texas at San Antonio San Antonio, Texas Gulf Coast Active [3][6]
Gamma March 17, 2000 Philadelphia Citywide Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Northeast Active [3][6][lower-alpha 1]
Delta November 4, 2001 DePaul University Chicago, Illinois Midwest Active [3][6]
Eta November 11, 2001 Florida International University Miami, Florida Florida Active [3][6]
Epsilon April 13, 2002 University of Texas at Austin Austin, Texas Gulf Coast Active [3][6]
Zeta May 4, 2002 University of Maryland, College Park College Park, Maryland Mid Atlantic Active [3][6]
Theta September 14, 2002 University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Southeast Active [3][6]
Kappa January 11, 2003 Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia Mid Atlantic Active [3][6]
Iota January 25, 2003 Northeastern University Boston Massachusetts Northeast Active [3][6]
Pace University charter May 10, 2003 Pace University Pleasantville, New York New England Active [3][6]
New York City, New York
Sigma April 13, 2003 University of Florida Gainesville, Florida Florida Active [3][6]
University of Texas at Arlington charter July 12, 2003 University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, Texas Southwest Active [3][6]
University of Washington charter September 21, 2003 University of Washington Seattle, Washington Pacific Active [3][6]
Stony Brook University charter April 14, 2004 Stony Brook University Stony Brook, New York New England Active [3][6]
Penn State University charter May 6, 2004 Penn State University University Park, Pennsylvania Northeast Active [3][6]
University of North Texas charter August 28, 2004 University of North Texas Denton, Texas Southwest Active [3][6]
Texas Women's University charter Texas Women's University
Lambda October 17, 2004 University of South Florida Tampa, Florida Florida Active [3][6]
Mu April 17, 2005 University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, Illinois Midwest Active [3][6]
New Jersey Institute of Technology charter July 11, 2005 New Jersey Institute of Technology Newark, New Jersey Northwest Active [3][6]
University of Maryland, Baltimore County charter July 27, 2005 University of Maryland, Baltimore County Baltimore, Maryland Mid Atlantic Active [3][6]
University of California, San Diego charter December 3, 2005 University of California, San Diego San Diego, California Pacific Active [3][6]
Nu May 28, 2006 Oregon State University Corvallis, Oregon Pacific Active [3][6]
Pi October 2, 2006 Texas A&M University College Station, Texas Gulf Coast Active [3][6]
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill charter October 20, 2006 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North Carolina Mid Atlantic Active [3][6]
Purdue University charter March 3, 2007 Purdue University West Lafayette, Indiana Midwest Inactive [3][6]
Xi July 28, 2007 University of Tennessee Knoxville, Tennessee Southeast Active [3][6]
Omicron July 14, 2009 University of Georgia Athens, Georgia Southeast Active [3][6]
Indiana University at Bloomington charter April 15, 2009 Indiana University Bloomington Bloomington, Indiana Midwest Active [3][6]
Boston University charter May 8, 2009 Boston University Boston Massachusetts New England Active [3][6]
Baylor University charter September 30, 2009 Baylor University Waco, Texas Guld Coast Active [3][6]
Emory University charter November 21, 2009 Emory University Atlanta, Georgia Southeast Active [3][6]
University of California, Davis charter February 24, 2010 University of California, Davis Davis, California Pacific Active [3][6]
University of Rochester charter April 25, 2010 University of Rochester Rochester, New York New England Active [3][6]
Upsilon August 2, 2010 Rutgers University–New Brunswick New Brunswick, New Jersey Northeast Active [3][6]
Rho January 8, 2011 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, Alabama Southeast Active [3][6]
Phi January 30, 2011 Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan Midwest Active [3][6]
University of Miami charter March 30, 2011 University of Miami Coral Gables, Florida Florida Active [3][6]
Alpha Alpha May 1, 2011 University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Midwest Active [3][6]
George Mason University charter November 11, 2011 George Mason University Fairfax, Virginia Mid Atlantic Active [3][6]
Tau October 23, 2011 Georgia State University Atlanta, Georgia Southeast Active [3][6]
East Carolina University charter April 14, 2012 East Carolina University Greenville, North Carolina Mid Atlantic Active [3][6]
Psi September 7, 2012 University of Central Florida Orlando, Florida Florida Active [3][6]
Alpha Gamma February 18, 2013 Texas Tech University Lubbock, Texas Southeast Active [6]
Chi April 20, 2013 Rutgers University-Newark Newark, New Jersey Northeast Active [3][6]
Alpha Beta April 21, 2014 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Urbana, Illinois Midwest Active [3][6]
College of William & Mary charter November 6, 2016 College of William & Mary Williamsburg, Virginia Mid Atlantic Active [3][6]
Binghamton University charter November 12, 2016 Binghamton University Binghamton, New York Northeast Active [3][6]
University of Connecticut charter November 11, 2017 University of Connecticut Storrs, Connecticut New England Active [6]
University of South Carolina charter March 8, 2019 University of South Carolina Columbia, South Carolina Mid Atlantic Active [6]
Ohio State University charter November 17, 2019 Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Midwest Active [6]
Hofstra University charter May 1, 2020 Hofstra University Hempstead, New York Northeast Active [6]
Adelphi University charter April 11, 2021 Adelphi University Garden City, New York Northeast Active [6]
Saint Louis University charter April 30, 2021 Saint Louis University St. Louis, Missouri Midwest Active [6]
City College of New York charter May 23, 2021 City College of New York New York City, New York Northeast Active [6]
Syracuse University charter November 16, 2022 Syracuse University Syracuse, New York New England Active [6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Includes Drexel University, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Pennsylvania, University of the Sciences, and University of the Sciences.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "About - National APIDA Panhellenic Association". National APIDA Panhellenic Association. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  2. ↑ "History". Delta Phi Omega. 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 William Raimond Baird; Carroll Lurding, eds. (December 29, 2022). "Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive), section showing Delta Phi Omega chapters". Student Life and Culture Archives. University of Illinois: University of Illinois Archives. Retrieved January 25, 2023. The main archive URL is The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage.
  4. 1 2 "Philanthropy". Delta Phi Omega. 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  5. ↑ "National Council and Board". Delta Phi Omega. 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 "Chapters". Delta Phi Omega. November 2022. Retrieved 2023-01-26.
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