Gamma Pi Epsilon () was the women's
honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...
of
Jesuit colleges and universities.
History
When Marquette University went co-ed in 1924, there was a desire for a women's honor society alongside the all-male
Alpha Sigma Nu
Alpha Sigma Nu () is the honor society of Jesuit colleges and universities. ΑΣΝ is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies. Founded in 1915 at Marquette University as Alpha Sigma Tau, it adopted the current name in 1930. The s ...
which had been created only 9 years prior.. Gamma Pi Epsilon was approved in 1924 and the first chapter chartered on April 6, 1925 at
Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
.
Josephine Newell O’Gorman is considered the founder of Gamma Pi Epsilon.
[ It was open to women of every academic discipline in the ]Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) is a consortium of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities and three theological centers in the United States, Canada, and Belize committed to advancing academic excellence by promoting an ...
.
On March 30, 1973, the two societies, Alpha Sigma Nu and Gamma Pi Epsilon, merged under the name of Alpha Sigma Nu, becoming an honor society for both men and women.
Chapters
At the time of the merger in 1973, Gamma Pi Epsilon had chartered 14 chapters:[
*1925 ]Marquette University
Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...
, Milwaukee, WI
*1947 Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University (SLU) is a private Jesuit research university with campuses in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, and Madrid, Spain. Founded in 1818 by Louis William Valentine DuBourg, it is the oldest university west of the Mississip ...
, St. Louis, MO
*1950 Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, th ...
, Spokane, WA
*1951 Le Moyne College
Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college in DeWitt, New York.http://www.ongov.net/planning/haz/documents/Section9.7-TownofDeWitt.pdf It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946 and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. At its ...
, Syracuse, NY
*1952 Creighton University
Creighton University is a private Jesuit research university in Omaha, Nebraska. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate and underg ...
, Omaha, NE
*1953 University of Detroit Mercy
The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Roman Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Catholic univers ...
, Detroit, MI
*1958 University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco (USF) is a private Jesuit university in San Francisco, California. The university's main campus is located on a setting between the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park. The main campus is nicknamed "The ...
, San Francisco, CA
*1959 Wheeling Jesuit University
Wheeling University (WU, formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) is a private Roman Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) and was a Jesuit inst ...
, Wheeling, WV
*1962 Seattle University
Seattle University (SeattleU) is a private Jesuit university in Seattle, Washington. Seattle University is the largest independent university in the Northwestern United States, with over 7,500 students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate p ...
, Seattle, WA
*1963 Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
, Washington, DC
*1964 John Carroll University
John Carroll University is a private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio. It is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts institution accompanied by the John M. and Mary Jo Boler College of Business. John Carroll has an enrollment of ...
, Cleveland, OH
*1966 Santa Clara University
Santa Clara University is a private Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California. Established in 1851, Santa Clara University is the oldest operating institution of higher learning in California. The university's campus surrounds the historic M ...
, Santa Clara, CA
*1971 Regis University
Regis University is a private Jesuit university in Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1877 by the Society of Jesus, the university offers more than 120 degrees through 5 colleges in a variety of subjects, including education, liberal arts, business, ...
, Denver, CO
*1971 Xavier University
Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...
, Cincinnati, OH
See also
*Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) is a consortium of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities and three theological centers in the United States, Canada, and Belize committed to advancing academic excellence by promoting an ...
* List of Jesuit institutions
* Jesuit Ivy
References
{{Authority control
Defunct fraternities and sororities
Student organizations established in 1925
1925 establishments in Wisconsin
1973 disestablishments in Wisconsin