Chapter History
Our alumnae chapter was chartered March 30, 1963, but our history dates from 16 years earlier when the University of Florida became co-educational in the fall of 1947. Zetas living in the Gainesville area organized an alumnae club in April 1947. Assisted by National officers, other ZTA alumnae and ZTA collegians who transferred to UF, the club oversaw the colonization of Gamma Iota, the fourth Zeta Tau Alpha collegiate chapter in the state following Stetson’s Beta Psi (chartered 1934) and Miami’s Gamma Alpha (chartered 1938). A majority of the club members was alumnae of Florida State’s Beta Gamma Chapter, the first ZTA collegiate chapter in the state dating from 1924.
For two years, the alumnae club’s activities were directed towards the colonization of the collegiate chapter. This included the purchase and furnishing of the first women’s fraternity chapter house at the University in August 1947, recruitment of collegians, and the initiation of the charter members of Gamma Iota in April 1949. Alumnae served as Gamma Iota advisors and on the House Corporation. The article detailing the colonization was published in Themis in 1949 and appears on the Gamma Iota’s website history.
By 1955, Gamma Iota had grown from the original fifteen to sixty members and moved into a new, larger house at its current location on Panhellenic Drive. Financial support of this enormous project was accomplished due to the efforts and leadership of Zeta Tau Alpha alumna Helen Phifer Glass (born 1896 – 1969). A longtime resident of Gainesville and a Zeta Tau Alpha (Pi) at Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia, she served as the Financial Advisor for the Gamma Iota House Corporation.
With the alumnae club’s growth in numbers and stability, it became an alumnae chapter in 1963. Members continued their activity as fundraisers and advisors for the collegians as well as being civic leaders. According to Ruthie Cunningham Graybill (Beta Gamma, 1953), House Corporation President and General Advisor to Gamma Iota during the sixties and seventies, the alumnae gave fashions shows and bridge parties for fundraisers and often hosted Gamma Iota members for events in the homes of alumnae. The alumnae membership numbers were not large as compared to today’s standards but it included a core group who were relentless and generous in giving of their time and their talents to support Gamma Iota. Running a residential facility required frequent, personal oversight.
In the late seventies, the alumnae chapter welcomed a newcomer to Gainesville, Kay Ridout Galm (Florida Southern, Delta Beta 1961), who served as General Advisor to Gamma Iota, President of the Gamma Iota House Corporation, Director of the ZTA National Housing Corporation, District President and Province President. She was awarded the Louise Kettler Helper Memorial Award and the Honor Ring.
Following her death in 2008 her contributions as an advisor to the collegians, as an active alumnae chapter member, and as a community leader were recognized.
The Gainesville, FL ZTA Alumnae Chapter has remained an active organization since its beginnings in 1947 embracing the role of supporting the Zeta Tau Alpha Gamma Iota Chapter as well having social and philanthropic activities. Today, we pride ourselves on being a diverse group of women. We are recent graduates, career women, retirees, mothers, and grandmothers. We provide support to the collegians, as well as to each other. The membership comes from over 15 different Zeta collegiate chapters with about 50 % of the alumnae from the University of Florida. We welcome new members to help us continue to make history.