Alpha Chi Omega was founded on October 15, 1885, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. At a time when women were just beginning to occupy seats in college classrooms, seven female students were encouraged by Professor James Hamilton Howe, dean of DePauw’s School of Music, to form a women’s society within the school.

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Inspired, our Founders formed the 10th women’s fraternity in the country—the first to be in a music school. Sure they would be the last, the Founders chose "Alpha" and "Omega"—the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet—to form their name, with “Kai” (meaning “and”) in the middle, later changed to the Greek letter "Chi."
 

Dedicated to advancing “the intellectual, social and moral culture” of its members, our Founders’ vision has grown to include our women’s Fraternity, the Alpha Chi Omega Foundation, the National Housing Corporation, and Pearl Stone Partners. Together, they serve more than 230,000 members in more than 140 collegiate chapters and nearly 200 alumnae chapters nationwide.