About Us
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Zeta Tau Alpha was founded October 15, 1898, by nine women at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) in Farmville, Virginia. Only 14 - 15 years of age, these young women desired permanence to their friendships and hoped to perpetuate their sisterhood long after college.
Though dedicated to the formation of a Greek-letter group, the band of nine delayed selecting a formal name. A temporary name of "???" was taken when, as legend has it, a member of another group met with the Founders. Raising her eyebrows and forming her fingers in the shape of a question mark, she asked "Who are you?" Thus, the group came to be know an "???" while they sought an appropriate Greek name and symbols.
During this time, the group received valuable assistance from two of the members' brothers - Maud's brother, Plummer Jones, and Frances Yancey Smith's brother Giles Mebane Smith. Both were students at the college of William and Mary, members of men's Greek-letter organizations and knowledgeable of Greek lore. After a year of careful contemplation, the group chose the formal name, the patron goddess and the badge. The Creed of Zeta Tau Alpha, written by Shirley Kreason Strout, came later.
Our Founders
Maud Jones Horner,
Died 1920
Della Lewis Hundley,
Died July 12, 1951
Alice Bland Coleman,
Died June 11, 1956
Mary Jones Batte
Died December 3, 1957
Alice Grey Welsh,
Died June 21, 1960
Ethel Coleman Van Name,
Died January 24, 1964
Helen M. Crafford,
Died September 17, 1964
Frances Yancey Smith,
Died April 23, 1977
Ruby Leigh Orgain,
Died October 22, 1984
Links
National History
Zeta Tau Alpha is known as a fraternity, not as a sorority. The Founders intended Zeta Tau Alpha be designated a "fraternity" to distinguish the organization from the sisterhoods organized in connection with men's fraternities, called "sororities."
From its founding in 1898, the innermost meanings of Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity have remained unchanged through the preservation of and respect for our rituals.
Members and chapters celebrate the founding of Zeta Tau Alpha on October 15 each year. The Founder's Day service offers remembrance, while turquoise and gray ribbons worn under the badge show each member's commitment to our founding ideals. The "Zeta Prayer" is sung before dinner in chapter houses and at other appropriate times when ZTAs are gathered.
Zeta Tau Alpha has several symbols. The motto of Zeta Tau Alpha is "Seek the Noblest." The crown with five-points denotes special significance to all ZTAs. The flower is the White Violet. The colors are Turquoise Blue and Steel Grey. As well, ZTAs have a special liking to Strawberries. In the late 1800s, an admirer of one of ZTA's founders sent a gift of strawberries. The scrumptious present prompted the group of nine friends to host their purely social gathering and to become officially recognized as a campus organization.
Traditions
The mission of Zeta Tau Alpha is to make a difference in the lives of our membership by developing the potential of each individual through visionary programming which emphasizes leadership development, service to others, academic success, and continued personal growth for women with a commitment to friendship and the future based on the values and traditions of our past.
The Mission of Zeta Tau Alpha
