Zeta Pi Chapter (Penn State-Altoona)
Zeta Pi Chapter was installed at Penn State Altoona in Altoona, Pennsylvania, on March 29, 2003. Zeta Pi Chapter was closed on February 7, 2018.
The inspirational event marked the culmination of 10 years of effort by Penn State-Altoona's local sorority Zeta Xi Epsilon to bring the first National Panhellenic Conference organization to campus. In the spring of 2002, 14 women from the local sorority, collegians, alumnae and international officers came together with energy and resources to glide through the process of forming a chapter.
In September 2002, resident collegiate leadership consultant Erika Drake (California State-Fullerton) continued this unification by assisting the colony members in their first Panhellenic formal recruitment, after which they welcomed 26 women, marking the largest fall recruitment class on campus.
Zeta Pi Chapter charter members with International President Vicki Carlson Read (Arizona) and their charter, 2003.
Thrilled and filled with questions, the women began their new member education and learned what it means to be and represent Gamma Phi Beta. Members balanced their sorority involvement with student government, community service organizations, musical/vocal lessons and cheerleading activities to complement their academic experience.
Initiation of the charter class took place November 16, 2002. Members of Alpha Upsilon Chapter (Penn State) assisted with Initiation. The installation banquet was held at the Casino in Altoona. More than 200 people attended, including parents, friends and alumnae. Honored alumnae present were International President Vicki Carlson Read (Arizona); Director of Ritual Elizabeth "Kiki" Sloan Phillips (Washington University); New Chapter Director Nina Rodriguez-Bonnet (Rutgers); collegiate leadership consultant Kristy M. Keefe (Wisconsin-Oshkosh); and Zeta Pi advisors. The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the charter by Vicki Read to Nicole Fiorina, chapter president, and the members of Zeta Pi. The next morning the colony and alumnae initiated 10 new members and 15 alumnae initiates. Kiki presided over the ceremony and Vicki assisted in the education of the alumnae initiates who will provide support for the collegiate chapter.
Excerpt from the summer 2003 issue of The Crescent, page 21.