On March 25, 1917, seven young women at Cornell University founded a sorority, Sigma Delta Phi. These women set out to form their own organization because of the discrimination they faced when they tried to join other sororities at Cornell because of their Jewish heritage. The seven founders of Sigma Delta Phi did not want to see other women's hopes and dreams destroyed by discrimination and ignorance. Each one of these amazing women added her own identity to the newly formed sorority. Soon after the sorority was founded, the name was changed from Sigma Delta Phi to Sigma Delta Tau, because another fraternal organization had already worn the letters of Sigma Delta Phi. Today, the membership of over 25,000 women has contributed to its overall success.



The founders, three sophomores and four freshman, were individuals sharing one common interest: belonging to a social, scholastic, and supportive organization of all women.