Gamma Alpha Chi
{{Short description|American women's advertising fraternity (1920–1973)}}
{{Infobox fraternity
| name = Gamma Alpha Chi
| letters = {{lang|grc|ΓΑΧ}}
| coat of arms = The_pin_of_Gamma_Alpha_Chi.jpg
| image_size = 190px
| alt =
| caption =
| founded = {{Start date and age|1920|02|09}}
| birthplace = University of Missouri
| affiliation = Independent
| affiliation2 =
| status = Merged
| merge_date = {{dts|1971|11|02}}
| successor = Alpha Delta Sigma
| type = Professional sorority
| emphasis = Advertising, women's
| scope = National
| mission =
| vision =
| object =
| motto = Truth and Service
| virtues =
| pillars =
| slogan =
| maxim =
| tagline =
| member badge =
| colors = {{color box|#FFD700}} Gold and {{color box|#88540B}} Brown
| symbol = Golden pen, star
| flag =
| flower = Ophelia rose
| tree =
| jewel =
| mascot =
| publication = Gac-O-Grams
| philanthropy =
| chapters = 52
| members =
| lifetime = 8,500+
| nickname =
| address =
| city =
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| country = United States
| website =
}}
Gamma Alpha Chi ({{lang|grc|ΓΑΧ}}) was an American professional advertising fraternity for women. It was founded at the University of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri in 1920 and merged into Alpha Delta Sigma in 1971.
History
Gamma Alpha Chi was formed at the University of Missouri on February 9, 1920.{{cite web|url=http://yearbooks.unl.edu/yearbook.php?year=1928,554#page/371/mode/transcription|title=University of Nebraska-Lincoln Yearbook 1928: Image 371|website=Transcribe UNL|accessdate=2019-08-05}}{{cite book |author=William Raimond Baird |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oT8nPwAACAAJ |title=Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities |publisher=Baird's Manual Foundation, Incorporated |year=1977 |edition=19th |page=817}} It was a professional women's fraternity for advertising. It was founded under the leadership of Ruth Prior Midyette, with the guidance of Walter Williams who was the dean of the Department of Journalism. Its founding members were:{{cite book |author1=Billy I. Ross |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OqvzAAAAMAAJ |title=Advertising Education: Yesterday--today--tomorrow |author2=Anne Cunningham Osborne |author3=Jef I. Richards |author4=Alan D. Fletcher |publisher=Advertising Education Publications |year=2006}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=10em|
- Elizabeth Atteberry
- Frances Chapman
- Lulu Crum
- Betty Etter
- Christine Gabriel
- Lucille Gross
- Alfreda Halligan
- Christine Hood
- Mary McKee
- May Miller
- Ruth Prather
- Rowena Reed
- Allene Richardson
- Mildred Roetzel
- Selma Stein
- Ruth Taylor
- Beatrice Watts
- Ella Wyatt
}}
Mrs. Herbert Smith was the fraternity's founding patroness.[https://www.survivorlibrary.com/library/twenty_years_of_education_for_journalism_1929.pdf Twenty Years of Education for Journalism - A History of the School of Journalism of the University of Missouri Columbia, Missouri, U. S. A. by Sara Lockwood Williams, B.J.]
Gamma Alpha Chi added a second chapter at the University of Texas at Austin in February 1921. A third chapter was established at the University of Washington in 1923. By 1930, the fraternity had chartered seven chapters.Shepardson, Francis Wayland, ed. [https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.b3119647?urlappend=%3Bseq=506%3Bownerid=9007199274501863-542 Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities, 12th edition]. Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press/George Banta Publishing Company, 1930. p. 474. Any female student who was preparing for a career in advertising was eligible for membership.
The first national convention was in May 1926, during Journalism Week. This convention formed the National constitution elected the first National Officers and selected GAC-O-GRAMS, the Alpha chapter publication as the national publication.
Gamma Alpha Chi was affiliated with the Advertising Federation of America and the Advertising Association of the West. Its national officers were president, vice president, secretary, and treasurer.
In May 1967, the women's fraternity had initiated 8,500 members at 52 chapters, 39 of which were active. On {{dts|1971|11|02}}, the fraternity merged with Alpha Delta Sigma, a professional advertising men's fraternity, also formed at the University of Missouri. The new advertising fraternity for men and women was called Alpha Delta Sigma. It merged with American Advertising Federation by 1973, becoming an honor society for advertising.
Symbols
The badge of Gamma Alpha Chi was an octagon-shaped shield with a fountain pen at a diagonal behind the shield. Originally, the pen had been on the horizontal axis, but some time after 1928, it was changed to a diagonal. It was rendered in gold and had a black field. On the face of the badge were a star indicating truth in advertising and the image of the Western Hemisphere indicating universality of advertising behind the letters {{lang|grc|ΓΑΧ}}.{{Google books|qefyAAAAMAAJ|Illustration in Advertising|page=12}} The badge of pledging is simply the fraternity colors, gold and brown.
The colors of Gamma Alpha Chi were gold and brown. Its flower was the Ophelia or yellow rose.{{cite book|title=The Savitar|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DBogAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA370|year=1924|publisher=E. W. Stephens.|page=370}} Its motto was "Truth and Service". The fraternity's publication was Gac-O-Grams.
Chapters
Following is a list of Gamma Alpha Chi chapters.
| class="wikitable sortable"
!Chapter !Charter date and range !Institution !Location !Status !References |
| Alpha
|{{dts|1920|2|9}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Beta
|{{dts|1921|2}}– 1955 |University of Texas at Austin |Inactive |
| Gamma
|{{dts|1923}}–1947; 1955 – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Delta
|1924–1940; 1945 – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Epsilon
|{{dts|1925|3}}–1941; 1949 – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |University of Nebraska–Lincoln |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Zeta
|1927 – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Eta
|{{dts|1928}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |University of Southern California |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Theta
|1929–1945 |Inactive | |
| Iota
|1929–1931 |University of California, Berkeley |Inactive | |
| Kappa
| | | |Unassigned ? | |
| Lambda
|{{dts|1946}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Mu
|{{dts|1947}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Nu
|{{dts|1947}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Xi
|{{dts|1948|1|15}} – 1955 |Inactive |
| Omicron
|{{dts|1948}}–1950 |Inactive | |
| Pi
|{{dts|1948}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Indiana University Bloomington |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Rho
|{{dts|1948|2|4}} – 1954 |Inactive |
| Sigma
|{{dts|1948}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Tau
|1948–1950 |University of California, Los Angeles |Inactive | |
| Upsilon
|{{dts|1949}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Phi
|{{dts|1949}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |University of Colorado Boulder |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Chi
|{{dts|1949}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Psi
|{{dts|1950}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Omega
|{{dts|1950}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Southern Methodist University |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Alpha
|{{dts|1950}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |University of Wisconsin–Madison |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Beta
|1950–1954; 1961 – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Gamma
|{{dts|1951}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Delta
|{{dts|1951}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Epsilon
|{{dts|1953}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Zeta
|{{dts|1956}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Eta
|{{dts|1956}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Theta
|{{dts|1957}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Iota
|{{dts|1958}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Kappa
|{{dts|1958}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Lambda
|{{dts|1959}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Mu
|{{dts|1960}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Nu
|{{dts|1960}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |University of Texas at Austin |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Xi
|{{dts|1961}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |University of Maryland, College Park |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Omicron
|{{dts|1962}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |California State University, Long Beach |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Pi
|{{dts|1964}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |
| Alpha Rho
|{{dts|1966}} – {{dts|1971|11|02}} |California State University, Chico |Merged (ΑΔΣ) | |