Fraternities and sororities have been “on the banks” at Rutgers since the first fraternity was founded in 1845, but it wasn’t until 1977 that the first NPC sorority at Rutgers, Gamma Phi Beta, came to campus. What took so long? Rutgers College had been an all male institution since its founding in 1766 and it wasn’t until 1970 that the Board of Governors voted to admit women. At the time Rutgers went coed there were 13 RU men for every Rutgers woman.
By 1980 Phi Sigma Sigma and Zeta Tau Alpha opened chapters on campus and the Panhellenic Council formed to bring sorority women, and their organizations together. Four more sororities opened in the 1980’s (Sigma Delta Tau, Sigma Kappa, Delta Gamma and Alpha Chi Omega). Panhellenic grew again with the addition of Phi Sigma Rho in 2012 and Alpha Omega Epsilon and Phi Mu in 2014. Our most recent addition was Alpha Gamma Delta in 2016.
Our Council Executive Board, Recruitment Team and Coalition for Women of Color work together to represent one of the largest women’s organizations on campus. Our chapters recognize scholarship, encourage leadership, serve the community and create friendships to last a lifetime. We are proud of the legacy of support our sororities have provided to women at Rutgers and we hope you’ll want to join us “on the banks” this year.
