Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. was organized on November 12, 1922, in Indianapolis, Indiana, by seven young educators: Mary Lou Allison Gardner Little, Dorothy Hanley Whiteside, Vivian Irene White Marbury, Nannie Mae Gahn Johnson, Hattie Mae Annette Dulin Redford, Bessie Mae Downey Rhoades Martin, and Cubena McClure. The group became an incorporated national collegiate sorority on December 30, 1929, when a charter was granted to the Alpha chapter at Butler University. Since its inception, the dynamic women of Sigma Gamma Rho have built and sustained a well-known and well-respected reputation for leading positive change to help uplift the community through sisterhood, leadership, and service.

Sigma Gamma Rho has welcomed more than 100,000 collegiate and professional women from every profession. The sorority has more that 500 chapters in the United States, Bahamas. Bermuda, Canada, Ghana, Germany, Japan, South Korea, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the United Arab Emirates. The organization also has active affiliate groups devoted to the empowering women at different stages in life. The Rhoer Club Affiliates (teenage girls) and Philos Affiliates (friends of the sorority) also assist alumnae chapters with various services efforts and programs.

Sigma Gamma Rho’s commitment to service is expressed in its slogan, “Greater Service, Greater Progress.” The sorority has a proud history of providing positive and proactive community outreach nationally and internationally. The programs, partnerships, and sponsorships represent Sigma Gamma Rho’s commitment to promoting the greater good in education, service, and leadership development. In 2004, the National Headquarters moved from Chicago, Illinois to Cary, North Carolina. Sigma women are dedicated to helping each other, and their personal success is recognized in The AURORA and through various awards.

*On May 6, 2022, Butler University posthumously conferred the Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters upon all seven Founders of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., formally recognizing a century of visionary leadership, intellectual excellence, and unwavering service.

The distinguished honor affirmed what history has long declared; that seven pioneering Black women, in the face of segregation and systemic exclusion, forged an enduring sisterhood rooted in scholarship, service, and social action. Their collective legacy-spanning 100 years-has advanced educational equity, strengthened communities, and expanded opportunities for generations across the globe.

Conferred during the sorority’s Centennial Celebration, this milestone was more than ceremonial recognition; it was institutional acknowledgment of transformative impact. It symbolized the elevation of women who refused to be confined by the limitations of their era and instead authored a blueprint for leadership, resilience, and communal empowerment that continues to shape our work today.

Visit www.sgrho1922.org to learn more about Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. global impact.