Zeta Phi Eta


Zeta Phi Eta is an American professional fraternity for communication arts and sciences. It was founded in 1893 at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It is recognized as the oldest professional fraternity for women, although its membership is now co-educational.
WWW zetaphieta.org𝕏 ZetaPhiEtaNC

History

Zeta Phi Eta was originally formed as the F.O.E. Club at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, on October 10, 1893, as the first professional oratory arts fraternity. Edith deVore conceived the idea of a club for students of the School of Oratory. DeVore was joined by Molly Connor, Lelia LIttle, Maude Newell, and Laurine Wright. The group called itself the F.O.E. Club, vowing to be a "Friend of Each, Each Our Friend". The women met in secret before receiving formal approval for the Zeta Phi Eta fraternity from the dean of the School of Oratory in 1894.
The fraternity was incorporated on under the laws of the State of Illinois. Reflecting the organization’s status as a professional, rather than an honorary or social, society, the charter proclaims, “This society is to promote a greater excellence in oratorical and dramatic art, and to develop a social interest and a stronger friendship toward each other.”
In 1908, the fraternity merged with Phi Eta Sigma, a similar organization at Emerson College of Oratory in Boston, Massachusetts, as Zeta Phi Eta. When the fraternities merged, Phi Eta Sigma became the Alpha chapter and the Northwestern group became the Beta chapter. During the 1910s and 1920s, campus and alumnae chapters grew quickly at institutions around the country. The fraternity first published The Cameo in 1913, a quarterly national magazine.
In 1941, the fraternity had initiated 3,000 women across nineteen collegiate chapters and fifteen alumnae chapters. Since 1950, the fraternity broadened its focus in the speech arts to include communications arts and sciences.
Zeta Phi Eta's affiliations over the years have included the American Educational Theatre Association, the American National Theatre and Academy, the American Theatre Association, the Children's Theatre Association, the Speech Association of America, and the Speech Communications Association. It is a former member of the Professional Panhellenic Association now the Professional Fraternity Association.

Symbols

The cameo and pearl pin of Alpha became the national fraternity's official badge, and the shield and torch of Beta became its coat of arms. The Zeta Phi Eta badge is a rose-colored cameo upon which is carved the Greek letters "ΖΦΗ" in white, surrounded by 23 pearls.
The fraternity's colors are rose and white. Its flower is the "La France" rose. Its magazine is The ''Cameo, along with occasionally a Prospectus and Pledge Manual''.

Activities

In 1955, the Zeta Phi Eta Foundation was established to contribute to "worthy speech and drama projects". One long-term project initiated by the Zeta alumnae in 1960 was a full-scale nationwide tape recording program for the Library of Congress, recording tapes of published works for access by blind patrons. Another national project, Graduate Assistantship Opportunities, was designed to provide professional guidance to senior members of campus chapters upon entering graduate school.

Membership

While originally established as a women-exclusive sorority, Zeta Phi Eta began extending its membership to male students in 1975. Since its founding, Zeta Phi Eta membership has expanded to welcome undergraduate and graduate students focusing on a wide range of communications-related fields. These include creative writing, drama, English literature, graphic design, journalism, language studies, marketing, photography, political science, public relations, and speech pathology.

Chapters

In 2025, Zeta Phi Eta has six active collegiate chapters and five active professional chapters; although it has chartered 59 collegiate chapters.

Notable members

Collegiate

Honorary