Gamma Phi Beta is an international college sorority. It was founded in Syracuse University in 1874, and was the first of the Greek organizations to call itself a sorority. The term "sorority" was coined for Gamma Phi Beta by Dr. Frank Smalley, a professor at Syracuse University.
Delta Zeta is an international college sorority founded on October 24, 1902, at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.
Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. (ΖΦΒ) is an international, historically African American sorority. In 1920, five women from Howard University envisioned a sorority that would raise the consciousness of their people, encourage the highest standards of scholastic achievement, and foster a greater sense of unity among its members. These women believed that sorority elitism and socializing overshadowed the real mission for progressive organizations. Since its founding Zeta Phi Beta has historically focused on addressing social causes.
Professional fraternities, in the North American fraternity system, are organizations whose primary purpose is to promote the interests of a particular profession and whose membership is restricted to students in that particular field of professional education or study. This may be contrasted with service fraternities and sororities, whose primary purpose is community service, and social fraternities and sororities, whose primary purposes are generally aimed towards some other aspect, such as the development of character, friendship, leadership, or literary ability.
Service fraternity may refer to any fraternal public service organization, such as the Kiwanis or Rotary International. In Canada and the United States, the term fraternal organization is more common as "fraternity" in everyday usage refers to fraternal student societies.
Cultural interest fraternities and sororities, in the North American student fraternity and sorority system, refer to general or social organizations oriented to students having a special interest in a culture or cultural identity.
Delta Phi Epsilon is an international sorority founded on March 17, 1917 at New York University Law School in Manhattan. It is one of 26 social sororities that form the National Panhellenic Conference. It has 110 active chapters, three of which are located in Canada, making the sorority an international organization.
While most of the traditional women's fraternities or sororities were founded decades before the start of the 20th century, the first ever specifically Christian-themed Greek Letter Organization formed was the Kappa Phi Club, founded in Kansas in 1916. Kappa Phi was a women's sisterhood that developed out of a bible study and remains one of the largest nationally present Christian women's collegiate clubs today. Later organizations added more defined social programming along with a Christian emphasis, bridging the gap between non-secular traditional sororities and church-sponsored bible study groups, campus ministries and sect-based clubs and study groups.
East Carolina University is home to sixteen social fraternities, ten social sororities, five historically African-American fraternities, and four historically African-American sororities. There are also sixteen honor fraternities, and twelve service or religious fraternities/sororities.
Alpha Pi Omega Sorority, Inc. (ΑΠΩ) is the oldest historically American Indian sorority. It is also the largest Native American Greek letter organization, with 24 chartered chapters across nine states and the District of Columbia.
Gamma Zeta Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (ΓΖΑ) was founded on December 3, 1987 at California State University, Chico in Chico, California. It is a Latino Interest fraternity that emphasizes Latino culture and the success of Latino males in higher education. Although Gamma Zeta Alpha Fraternity, Inc. is Latino by tradition, membership in the fraternity is open to all college males and includes members from various ethnicities including Black, Asian, Middle Eastern, White, European, and others. Following its founding principles, the fraternity encourages and creates programs that assist disadvantaged and low-income communities. Its goals are to promote scholarship for Latinos in higher education while instilling a sense of pride in Latino heritage.
The expansion of Greek letter organizations into Canada was an important stage of the North American fraternity movement, beginning in 1879 with the establishment of a chapter of Zeta Psi at the University of Toronto. In 1883 the same fraternity established a chapter at McGill University. Other early foundations were Kappa Alpha Society at Toronto in 1892 and at McGill in 1899, and Alpha Delta Phi at Toronto in 1893 and at McGill in 1897. The first sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, was established at Toronto in 1887. In 1902, the first international chapter of Phi Delta Theta was established at McGill University as the Quebec Alpha. The development of the fraternity system in Canada has made great progress in these two universities. In 1927 Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities reported the existence of 42 chapters at the University of Toronto and of 23 chapters at McGill University. A few chapters were also reported from the University of British Columbia, University of Calgary, Carleton University, Dalhousie University, University of Manitoba, Queen's University, University of Western Ontario, McMaster University, Wilfrid Laurier University, University of Waterloo, Brock University and University of Alberta.
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is host to 17 national fraternity and sorority chapters. The Greek system at North Carolina A&T is very selective, with roughly 1.4% of undergraduate male students and 1.2% of undergraduate female students involved in fraternities and sororities.
Fraternities and sororities at the University of Virginia include the collegiate organizations on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. First founded in the 1850s with the establishment of a number of fraternities, the system has since expanded to include sororities, professional organizations, service fraternities, honor fraternities, and cultural organizations. Fraternities and sororities have been significant to the history of the University of Virginia, including the founding of two national fraternities Kappa Sigma (ΚΣ) and Pi Kappa Alpha (ΠΚΑ).
The National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA) is an umbrella council for twenty Asian, Pacific Islander, and Desi American fraternities and sororities in universities in the United States.