Alpha Omicron Pi

Infobox Fraternity
letters= ΑΟΠ
name= Alpha Omicron Pi
crest=
founded= Birth date and age|1897|01|02
birthplace= Barnard College, (New York, New York)
type= Social
emphasis=
scope= International
mission=
vision=
motto=
maxim=
colors= Cardinal
symbol=
flower= Jacqueminot Rose
jewel= Ruby
publication= To Dragma
philanthropy= Arthritis Research and Education
chapters= 185
members= 137,000 +
lifetime=
free_label=
free=
address= 5390 Virginia Way
city= Brentwood
state= Tennessee
country= USA
homepage= http://www.alphaomicronpi.org/

Alpha Omicron Pi (ΑΟΠ, AOII) is an international women's fraternity that was founded on January 2 1897 at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in New York. Its founders were Stella George Stern Perry, Helen St. Clair Mullan, Elizabeth Heywood Wyman, and Jessie Wallace Hughan. The four founders met in the Columbia Law Library to begin their fraternity and to forever seal their friendships and the friendships of all future members. Today, Alpha Omicron Pi is an international women's fraternity, with over 180 collegiate chapters and over 130 alumnae chapters in Canada and the U.S.A. Its international headquarters is located in Brentwood, Tennessee and it is a member group of the National Panhellenic Conference, which is the governing council of the 26 member women's fraternities and sororities.

Like many other Greek organizations for women, Alpha Omicron Pi is technically a fraternity, not a sorority, although both terms are often used. The term sorority was not yet in widespread use at the time of Alpha Omicron Pi's founding, and therefore it is officially a "fraternity for women."

History

Alpha Omicron Pi was founded January 2, 1897 by four women; Jessie Wallace Hughan, Helen St. Clair Mullan, Elizabeth Heywood Wyman and Stella George Stern Perry. Within one week of the founding of Alpha Omicron Pi, the four founders used their initiation Ritual for the first time, initiating Anne Richardson Hall.

National Expansion of the women's fraternity began in 1898. The resulting chapter was the Pi Chapter at New Orleans' Sophie Newcomb College (part of Tulane University). Stella Stern, then President of Alpha Omicron Pi, contacted a New Orleans classmate, Evelyn Reed, who expressed compatible ideas about fraternities. Evelyn's sister, Katherine Reed, became the first pledge of Pi Chapter, and after being initiated by Stella, found others to initiate.

Mission statement

"Women Enriched through Lifelong Friendship."cite web|title=About AOII - Ideals |url=http://www.alphaomicronpi.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Ideals&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=32&ContentID=6491 |publisher=Alpha Omicron Pi |accessdate=2008-05-02]

Philanthropy

The philanthropy for Alpha Omicron Pi is Arthritis Research. Arthritis Research was chosen because it is the nation's leading cause of disability. Since adopting Arthritis Research as its international philanthropy in 1967, Alpha Omicron Pi has raised over $1.5 million dollars for grants and research.

Though Arthritis Research is the international philanthropy, chapters often support other local or national causes.

The Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation

Established in 1977, the Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation was created to support the philanthropies and members of the Fraternity. The Foundation provides scholarships, educational grants and aid to sisters while providing the Fraternity with leadership grants and providing arthritis grants. The mission of the foundation is to fund programs that promote intellectual, ethical and leadership development.

The Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation offers support in the following areas:
* Diamond Jubilee Scholarships
* Educational and Leadership Grants
* The Ruby Fund
* Endowment Fund
* Arthritis Research

The Object of Alpha Omicron Pi

"The object of the Fraternity shall be to encourage a spirit of Fraternity and love among its members; to stand at all times for character, dignity, scholarship, and college loyalty; to strive for and support the best interest of the colleges and universities in which chapters are installed, and in no way to disregard, injure, or sacrifice those interests for the sake of prestige or advancement of the Fraternity or any of its Chapters."

Alpha Omicron Pi's Values

Alpha Omicron Pi has the following values:
* "Trusting and respecting each other;
* Building lifelong friendships;
* Contributing time, talent and financial resources;
* Promoting integrity;
* Developing leaders;
* Striving for excellence;
* Encouraging innovation and creativity;
* Using teamwork and collaboration;
* Acting philanthropically;
* And being' a living example."

ymbols

Believing in their beginnings in Greek tradition, ΑΟΠ does not have a coat of arms, but uses a Jacqueminot rose as their symbol. Their single color is cardinal and their single stone is the ruby. Their unofficial mascot is the panda because it is the only animal that does not have any natural enemies. The ΑΟΠ badge comprises the Greek letters, Α (Alpha), Ο (Omicron), and Π (Pi) superimposed on each other with a ruby at the Apex of the A (Alpha). "To Dragma" (meaning "the sheaf"), ΑΟΠ's magazine, is published three times per year, and has won numerous awards since its inception. The wheat sheaf is a prominent symbol in Alpha Omicron Pi. The fraternity teaches its members never to use the abbreviations "AOPi" or "AOTT," but instead to use "AOII" or "ΑΟΠ."

Notable alumnae

*Margaret Bourke-White (Omicron Pi) - photographer and journalist, joined Alpha Omicron Pi while at the University of Michigan. Her works were donated to Alpha Omicron Pi upon her death in 1971, and today are displayed at the international headquarters. [cite web
date = July 20 2005
url =http://library.syr.edu/digital/guides/b/bourke-white_m.htm
title =Margaret Bourke-White Papers
publisher =Syracuse University
accessdate =2007-02-04]
*Wendy Chamberlin (Rho) - Former U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan [cite news|date=May 25, 2007 |title=Alums in politics reflect on NU’s changed political landscape |url=http://www.northbynorthwestern.com/2007/05/3658/nu-alumni-in-politics/ |first=Lara |last=Kattan |publisher=North By Northwestern |accessdate=2008-07-03]
*Aneta Louis Corseaut (Rho) - Actress, Andy Griffith [cite news|date=Summer 2008 To Dragma |url=http://www.alphaomicronpi.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=10393]
*Janis Mackey Frayer (Beta Tau) - ActressFact|date=July 2008
*Angie Goff (Gamma Alpha) - American TV JournalistFact|date=September 2008
*Courtney Kupets (Lambda Sigma) - Olympic and World Champion Gymnast at the University of Georgia. [cite web
url =http://www.got-chalk.com/kupets/courtney/
title = Courtney Kupets: Info: Biography
publisher = Got-Chalk.com
accessdate =2007-02-04]
*Debbie Matenopoulos (Rho Beta) - Actress, TV personalityFact|date=July 2008
*Parvati Shallow (Lambda Sigma) - Survivor: Micronesia winner at the University of Georgia. [cite web
url =http://www.cbs.com/primetime/survivor16/bio/parvati/bio.php
title = Parvati Shallow
publisher = CBS.com
accessdate =2008-06-23]
*Heather Whitestone (Delta Epsilon) - Miss America 1995Fact|date=September 2008

Chapters

Since 1897, Alpha Omicron Pi has had over 137,000 initiates and maintains 185 chapters, with its oldest existing chapter (Omicron) at The University of Tennessee Knoxville (founded 1907). Its Alpha chapter at Barnard College of Columbia University in New York closed in 1914 when Greek Life was abolished at the school.

Naming

AOII's chapter names are unique compared to other Greek groups. Most sororities and fraternities are named sequentially, with the first chapter being Alpha, the second Beta, and so on. Breaking from this tradition, AOII does not dictate its chapter designations. Each colony of the fraternity selects its own chapter name and corresponding sub-motto. In this way, chapter designations have special meaning for the members. For example, AOII's chapter at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology chose the designation "Delta Xi" with the sub-motto meaning "driven to excellence". AOII's oldest operating chapter is Omicron at the University of Tennessee, which was the fraternity's fourth chapter. (The first three chapters were Alpha at Barnard/Columbia, Pi at Sophie Newcomb/Tulane, and Nu at New York University.)

References

[cite url=http://www.alphaomicronpi.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=10393/ AOII Summer 2008 To Dragma]

External links

* [http://www.alphaomicronpi.org/ Alpha Omicron Pi Official Homepage]
* [http://www.alphaomicronpi.ca/ Alpha Omicron Pi - Canada]
* [http://www.aoiifoundation.org/ Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation]
* [http://www.arthritis.org/ Arthritis Foundation]
* [http://www.aoiiemporium.com/ AOII Emporium]
* [http://www.alphaomicronpi.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Summer_20081&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=49&ContentID=10396/ AOII Summer 2008 To Dragma]