About

Strengthening friendships and fostering a spirit of love

Zeta Tau Alpha was created to make a difference in the lives of our members by developing the potential of each individual. Our goal is to connect members through a close bond of sisterhood and to build up a purer and nobler womanhood in the world. This womanhood is made of many individual women and it celebrates the uniqueness each sister brings.

ZTA at a Glance

Founded

October 15, 1898

Virginia State Female Normal School

(now Longwood University)

Farmville, Virginia

Member of

National Panhellenic Conference

(second largest of 26 groups)

Initiated Members

more than 270,000

Active Collegiate Chapters

173

Active Alumnae Chapters

234

Established

1954

National Philanthropy

Breast cancer education and awareness

Registered Trademark of Zeta Tau Alpha

Think Pink®

Partnerships

American Cancer Society®

Making Strides Against Breast Cancer® Walks

National Football League

"Crucial Catch"

Bright Pink®

Brighten Up® Educational Workshops

Established

1977

Net Worth

$34 Million

Member Associations

166

Facilities Owned or Managed

113

Our Beliefs

From the charter granted to Zeta Tau Alpha by the State of Virginia, March 15, 1902:

The object of said association shall be to intensify friendship, promote happiness among its members, and in every way to create such sentiments; to perform such deeds, and to mould such opinions as will conduce to the building up of a nobler and purer womanhood in the world.

The Creed of Zeta Tau Alpha

To realize that within our grasp, in Zeta Tau Alpha, lies the opportunity to learn those things which will ever enrich and ennoble our lives; to be true to ourselves, and to those within and without our circle; to think in terms of all mankind and our service in the world; to be steadfast, strong, and clean of heart and mind, remembering that since the thought is father to the deed, only that which we would have manifested in our experience should be entertained in thought; to find satisfaction in being, rather than seeming, thus strengthening in us the higher qualities of the spirit; to prepare for service and learn the nobility of serving, thereby earning the right to be served; to seek understanding that we might gain true wisdom; to look for the good in everyone; to see beauty, with its enriching influence; to be humble in success, and without bitterness in defeat; to have the welfare and harmony of the Fraternity at heart, striving ever to make our lives a symphony of high ideals, devotion to the Right, the Good, and the True, without a discordant note; remembering always that the foundation precept of Zeta Tau Alpha was Love, “the greatest of all things.”

Written by Shirley Kreasan Strout; adopted by the attendees of the 1928 ZTA Convention

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Mission

To make a difference in the lives of our members by developing the potential of each individual through innovative programming, which emphasizes leadership development, service to others, academic achievement and continued personal growth for women, with a commitment to friendship and the future based on the sisterhood, values and traditions of the past.

Purpose

The purpose of Zeta Tau Alpha is the intensifying of friendship, the fostering of a spirit of love, the creating of such sentiments, the performing of such deeds, and the moulding of such opinions as will be conducive to the building up of a purer and nobler womanhood in the world.

Motto

"Seek the Noblest"

Nine Key Values

The Nine Key Values are derived from the mission and The Creed of Zeta Tau Alpha

Lifelong Learning

Leadership

Responsibility

Being Rather than Seeming

Service & Philanthropy

Seeking Understanding that We Might Gain True Wisdom

Humility

Loyalty & Commitment

Love

Nine young women had a vision

More than 257,000 women have been initiated into the sisterhood of Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity since its founding. In 1898, nine young women at the Virginia State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) formalized their friendship by forming Zeta Tau Alpha. Away from home for the first time, these 15- and 16-year-olds longed for companionship while they studied to be teachers. Fearing their unique friendship would fade without a formal bond to sustain it, they met in secret by candlelight in the bathroom of their dormitory. At the start, they used only three question marks as their group name. The first minute book of regular meetings states Zeta Tau Alpha was organized Oct. 15, 1898.

  • At the State Female Normal School in Farmville, Maud served as the business manager for the school’s annual publication, "The Normal Light."
  • She became ZTA’s first elected Grand President, after presiding over the group during its “???” period.
  • She was responsible for expanding ZTA beyond the Normal, and installing our second chapter, Beta, in 1902.
  • She taught school in Virginia and North Carolina, where she met William Ferebee Horner. They married in 1904 and adopted a son, Lewis.
  • Although raised in Virginia, Della is the only Founder who was not actually born there; she was born in Pennsylvania, but left at an early age.
  • She entered the Normal when she was 15, graduated in 1899, and went directly into teaching.
  • In 1907, she married William M. Hundley, a newspaper editor. They did not have children.
  • Raised on Purtan Island, Alice and her sister Ethel Lee Coleman obtained their early education privately with a governess.
  • In 1898, she served as the first Secretary of ZTA.
  • She graduated from the Normal in 1901, and received a diploma, specializing in music, from Northwestern University in 1907.
  • Known as “Cammie,” she was the only daughter of DuRoc Hughes Jones and Mary Green’s six children.
  • She was the recipient of the now-famous strawberries from an admirer, the town jeweler in Farmville who made our first badges.
  • After graduation in 1902, she taught school for two years and then married S. Basset Batte in 1904. They had two sons.
  • She was one of the first Founders to graduate, in June 1899, with a professional diploma. She went on to work as a financial secretary and administrator at high schools in Richmond, Virginia.
  • She was the first President of Alpha Province when ZTA was divided into provinces in 1925. She also became the first chairman of the National Finance Committee in 1926.
  • She moved to Honolulu, Hawaii, in the early 1930s, and never returned to the mainland.
  • She was described by classmates as being considerate, poised and gracious and was “as gentle as the zephyrs blowing below the violet.”
  • After graduating from the Normal in 1901, she taught school in Virginia and in the Carolinas. After a serious horse and carriage accident in 1906, Ethel left teaching, and went home to Purtan Island to recover and take over housekeeping duties for her father.
  • In 1909, she married Arthur La Grange Van Name and moved to West Point, Virginia. Her son, Arthur Van Name, Jr., became a physician.
  • Most of Helen’s relatives were teachers. She followed in the family’s educational tradition, attending the Normal and specialized in teaching math and science.
  • When her mother died in 1902, she returned home to Warwick County, Virginia, to keep house for her father, three sisters and brother. Her father died in 1907, and she was left to raise her siblings by herself.
  • She went on to be the principal of a high school in Newport News, Virginia, and to run a working farm.
  • She was known as “an excellent horsewoman and a good shot.”
  • She was the daughter of Confederate Captain William Smith and Frances Yancey Mebane.
  • She served as ZTA’s first Grand Vice President and was also president of the YWCA at the Normal.
  • She graduated from the Normal in 1901, receiving one of the first classical diplomas ever conferred by the school. She later received her bachelor of science degree from Columbia University.
  • She served as ZTA’s first Philanthropic Chairman, from 1926 to 1933. She also organized our first national service project, the ZTA Health Center, in Currin Valley, Virginia in 1928.
  • She had two sons and a daughter. Her daughter, Parke Leigh Orgain, was the only daughter of a Founder. She too attended Longwood College and later became a Zeta.
  • She authored "My Pen and I," a publication of her writings and poetry.
  • She lovingly called her home “Themismere.”
  • Ruby served as the secretary and spokesperson for the Founders

Symbols

The insignia of the Fraternity are symbols of great meaning.

Badge

Badge

The badge of the Fraternity is a small, black, enameled shield super-imposed upon a gold or silver shield, bearing a five-pointed crown with the letters ZTA arranged around it, and below it the word “Themis” in Greek.

Banner

Banner

ZTA’s turquoise and gray satin banner bears the letter “A,” the Greek word “Themis” and a burning torch. The banner’s meaning is secret, but it may be hung in a visible place in chapter housing.

Chain of Chapters

Chain of Chapters

A gold link inscribed “Alpha” begins Zeta Tau Alpha’s Chain of Chapters. Each time a new collegiate chapter is installed, a silver link, etched with the chapter’s Greek-letter name, is added to the chain.

Colors

Colors

The colors of Zeta Tau Alpha are turquoise blue and steel gray. The significance of these colors is explained in the Initiation Service.

Coat of Arms (Crest)

Coat of Arms (Crest)

Only initiated members may use the crest in any manner, which must be dignified and in good taste. The secret, ritualistic meaning of the Coat of Arms is revealed to each member during her Initiation.

Official Logo

Official Logo

Zeta Tau Alpha’s logo, unveiled at Convention 2014, is an important piece of the ZTA brand. The logo features the crown as the prominent, identifying symbol of the Fraternity.

Crown

Crown

The significance of the crown’s five points is revealed to each member upon her Initiation. Members may use the crown from the official logo or the one found atop the ZTA Coat of Arms.

Fraternity Flag

Fraternity Flag

The official flag of the Fraternity was adopted at the 1950 Convention and is in the Fraternity colors with a Coat of Arms surrounded by the words Zeta Tau Alpha.

Chapter Flag

Chapter Flag

For ZTA’s Centennial in 1998, a gray and turquoise flag was produced to honor each Chapter, bearing the college name plus Greek letter Chapter name. Flags for every Installed chapter are housed at International Office.

Flower

Flower

Founder Ruby Leigh Orgain chose the white violet as the flower of the Fraternity. The flower’s significant meaning is explained in the Initiation Service.

Honor Ring

Honor Ring

The Fraternity’s highest individual honor is presented to alumnae for outstanding, sustained post-collegiate ZTA service. The ring is silver with the Coat of Arms on a turquoise stone, flanked by an open Bible and crown.

Mother's Pin

Mother's Pin

Featuring a white violet embossed upon a turquoise and silver crown, this pin may be presented to mothers of initiated members and to ZTA house directors.

Official Seal

Official Seal

The circular seal with fluted edges bears the Fraternity’s name and year of founding. It is used on official Fraternity documents. Replicas of the official seal may be used for decorative purposes.

Patron Goddess

Patron Goddess

The Founders chose Themis, goddess of divine justice and law, to represent ZTA. Themis is one of the mythical Greek Titans, daughter of Gaea (Earth) and Uranus (Heaven) and mother of the Fates and Seasons.

New Member Pin

New Member Pin

All duly pledged new members of the Fraternity wear this pin, a silver carpenter’s square enameled in turquoise.

The Purple of the Fraternity

The Purple of the Fraternity

The National President wears this purple regalia, adorned with the torch and Coat of Arms, as a symbol of her office at all official ZTA functions, including Convention Business Meetings and Chapter Installations.

Recognition Pin

Recognition Pin

New and initiated members may wear the gold “ZTA” recognition pin.

Recognition Pin

Recognition Pin

Only initiated members may wear the gold crown recognition pin.

Strawberry

Strawberry

A gift of strawberries inspired Mary Campbell Jones (Batte) and her group of eight friends to host their first social gathering and officially become a campus-recognized organization.

25-Year Pin

25-Year Pin

To commemorate a quarter century of membership, Zetas who have been initiated for 25 years may purchase this special piece of jewelry from the Fraternity’s authorized jeweler.

White Violet Pin

White Violet Pin

Members of 50+ years wear this pin, depicting the Fraternity’s white violet, as a recognition pin or as a guard to the badge.

White Violet Charm

White Violet Charm

Members of 75+ years wear this charm in the shape of a white violet.

Notable Zetas

Zeta Tau Alpha is proud of its alumnae members who have achieved excellence in their fields.

  • Alumna of Gamma Iota Chapter, University of Florida
  • Lead NFL sideline reporter for FOX Sports
  • Co-host of ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”
  • First host of FOX’s “College Football” studio show (2012)
  • Former host of “College GameDay” and reporter for ESPN, covering Major League Baseball, NCAA football, basketball and baseball
  • Third place on ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” Season 10 (2010)
  • Alumna of Beta Omicron Chapter, University of South Carolina
  • Member of the first-ever U.S. Women’s Rugby Sevens Team at the 2016 Rio Olympics

 

  • Alumna of Theta Tau Chapter, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
  • Managing editor of USA Today
  • Previously a breaking news reporter for USA Today for more than 15 years
  • One of just 11 women to be elected President of the National Press Club in its 109-year history
  • Member of the Board of Advisers for UNC’s School of Media and Journalism
  • Recipient of ZTA’s Outstanding Alumna Award in 2016
  • Alumna of Gamma Pi Chapter, The University of Georgia
  • Co-founded Bar Code Systems (1983), which sold camera-ready bar codes to help companies like Home Depot Inc., Sara Lee Corporation, Saks Fifth Avenue Inc. and Coca-Cola Co. track products; the company later became Stratix
  • Former CEO of Stratix, which had 160 employees and more than $150 million in revenue when she retired in 2011 Recipient of ZTA’s Outstanding Alumna Award in 2014
  • Special Initiate of Alpha Upsilon Chapter, Oklahoma State University
  • Daughter of former President Gerald R. Ford
  • Dedicated breast-cancer advocate and former spokesperson for National Breast Cancer Awareness Month for more than a decade
  • Co-chairman of the Capitol Council for Early Detection, a group of 11 wives and daughters of former Presidents and Vice Presidents


  • Alumna of Alpha Gamma Chapter, University of Michigan
  • First woman to hold the position of general in the U.S. Marine Corps
  • Appointed as brigadier general by President Jimmy Carter with the approval of both houses of Congress in 1978
  • Broke through the glass ceiling in the military and paved the way for equality in the Marine Corps
  • Developed the Corps’ Division of Public Affairs
  • Received the Outstanding Achievement Award from University of Michigan in 1979 and two Legion of Merit awards from the Marine Corps 
  • Recipient of ZTA’s Outstanding Alumna Award in 1984
  • Alumna of Gamma Psi Chapter, Texas Christian University
  • Known as “The Voice of Broadway,” released 16 solo albums and garnered two Grammy nominations
  • Won a Tony Award in 1983 for her performance as Grizabella in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Cats”
  • Received a Tony nomination for her performance as Hesione in “Triumph of Love” and an Olivier Award nomination for her role as Norma Desmond in the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Sunset Boulevard”
  • Recently appeared in the Freeform series “Pretty Little Liars” and the HBO series “Oz;” played the role of Abby Bradford in “Eight Is Enough” and appeared in many other television shows and movies
  • Received the Texas Medal of Arts Award for Theater in 2009 and was inducted in the Texas Film Hall of Fame in 2007
  • Inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame at the Gershwin Theater on Broadway in 2012
  • Honored with three Lifetime Achievement Awards for her contributions to theater in New England, Connecticut and NYC
  • Alumna of Theta Chapter, Bethany College
  • Former reporter for “48 Hours” and “CBS Sunday Morning”
  • Served as a news anchor for NBC’s “Today” show and “CBS Morning News”
  • Hosted the daily talk show “A Closer Look” on NBC
  • Alumna of Gamma Phi Chapter, University of North Texas; transferred to Texas Christian University and affiliated with Gamma Psi Chapter
  • Miss America 1971
  • Debuted as network television’s first female sportscaster in 1974
  • Co-hosted “NFL Today” for eight seasons, earning an Emmy
  • Founded the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1981
  • Entrepreneur and founder of “Chicken By George” chicken fillets (now a division of Hormel Foods) and “Phyllis George Beauty” cosmetics and skincare line
  • Former First Lady of Kentucky (1979–1983)
  • Author or co-author of five books
  • Convention 2006 Special Initiate of Theta Xi Chapter, Rutgers University
  • Author of “Why I Wore Lipstick to My Mastectomy,” which become an Emmy-nominated Lifetime television movie
  • Member of Lifetime’s “Stop Breast Cancer for Life” initiative
  • Alumna of Delta Omega Chapter, Westminster College
  • Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of Proctor & Gamble
  • Former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (2004–2008)
  • Appointed principal deputy (November 2002) and deputy assistant attorney general for the U.S. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division (April 2001)
  • Juris Doctorate from University of Virginia (1989)
  • Recipient of ZTA’s Outstanding Alumna Award in 2006
  • Alumna of Kappa Chapter, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Current anchor for “Early Today” and “First Look,” correspondent for the “Today” show and fill-in anchor for “Weekend Today”
  • Previous news anchor for “CBS This Morning Saturday,” “CBS Morning News,” “The Early Show” and “CNN Newsroom”
  • Co-founder of Help the Hungry, a non-profit organization that provides aid to poverty-stricken families
  • Inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame (2015); honored by The Smithsonian Institute for her work as the first Vietnamese-American to anchor a national television news program in the U.S. (2007)
  • Recipient of ZTA’s Outstanding Alumna Award in 2010
  • Alumna of Theta Psi Chapter, Texas State University
  • Owner and designer of Naomi Gray Jewelry
  • Appeared in Hallmark Channel’s “Undercover Bridesmaid” (2012)
  • Appeared on “90210” (2008), “Rizzoli & Isles” (2010) and “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” (2000)
  • Starred as Sydney Shanowski on the TV series “Hope & Faith” (2003–2004)
  • Played Britney in the TV series “Providence” (2002)
  • Convention 2012 Special Initiate of Nu Chapter, The University of Alabama
  • Former head coach of the Alabama Crimson Tide women’s gymnastics team (1979–2014)
  • Led the team to six NCAA Women’s Gymnastics national championships
  • Named Coach of the Year four times by both the Southeastern Conference and NCAA Women’s Gymnastics
  • Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (2003)
  • Created the Power of Pink gymnastics meet, which has raised more than $1.5 million for the DCH Foundation in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, to provide breast cancer screenings to underprivileged women
  • Alumna of Kappa Chapter, The University of Texas at Austin
  • Daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson
  • Serves as Vice President of the LBJ Holding Company and on the Board of Directors of the radio station KLBJ
  • Former Chairman of the Board of Reading Is Fundamental (1996–2001); continues to serve as Chairman Emerita
  • Former First Lady of Virginia (1982–1986)
  • Wrote for McCall’s Magazine and worked as a contributing editor for Ladies’ Home Journal (1969–1981)
  • Recipient of ZTA’s Outstanding Alumna Award in 1998
  • Alumna of Gamma Iota Chapter, University of Florida
  • Co-host of "SEC Nation” on the SEC Network
  • Former sideline reporter for ESPN and SEC Network, covering college football, basketball, softball and baseball
  • Alumna of Iota Delta Chapter, Towson University
  • Founder of the Shade Foundation of America, which supports children’s skin cancer education and prevention, and The Curt & Shonda Schilling Melanoma Research Fund
  • Selected Towson University’s Outstanding Alumna 2007
  • Author of “The Best Kind of Different: Our Family’s Journey with Asperger’s Syndrome”
  • Recipient of ZTA’s Outstanding Alumna Award in 2004
  • Alumna of Beta Gamma Chapter, Florida State University
  • First female composer to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music (1983) for “Three Movements for Orchestra (Symphony No. 1)”
  • First appointment to the Carnegie Hall Composer’s Chair, where she collaborated with the staff on all of the Hall’s activities
  • Composed “Peanuts® Gallery,” a lively six-part character study for piano and orchestra, with the blessing of cartoonist Charles Schulz, who was an avid fan who mentioned her twice in his comic strips
  • First woman to earn a doctorate in musical arts for composition from The Juilliard School 
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