First. Finest. Forever.

National Heritage

Founded on May 15, 1851 at Wesleyan Female College in Macon, Georgia, Alpha Delta Pi holds the distinction of being the first secret society in the world for college women. As the mother of today's sorority system, it is only fitting that our founding took place at the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women.
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The sorority was originally organized under the name The Adelphean Society. The word Adelphean is derived from the Greek word meaning sister. Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald was elected as their first president and noted in her diary:

"The Society shall be called Adelphean, and shall have for its object the mental, moral, social, and domestic improvement of its members."

The other five women who founded The Adelphean Society were, Ella Pierce Turner, Octavia Andrew Rush, Mary Evans Glass, Sophronia Woodruff Dews, and Elizabeth Williams Mitchell.

Within two weeks of the founding of The Adelphean Society these six young women were joined by thirteen others to form what is now known as the Alpha chapter of Alpha Delta Pi. The Adelphean Society flourished through the years and in 1904 the members voted to become national and in 1905 changed their name to Alpha Delta Phi. In 1913 it was changed to Alpha Delta Pi to avoid confusion with a men's fraternity of the same name. The original chapter at Wesleyan was known as the Alpha chapter

Today, there are over 170,000 initiated members of the sorority worldwide and more than 130 collegiate chapters throughout the United States and Canada. The qualifications for membership remain unchanged through the years: scholarship, high principles of behavior, and true friendships.