ΓΦΒ: Laura Margaret

Founded at Syracuse University in 1874, Gamma Phi Beta was the first Greek organization to use the term “sorority.” Laura Margaret Mellette, granddaughter of Maggie Wylie Mellette, joined Gamma Phi Beta as a part of the University of Kansas class of 1927. The KU chapter of Gamma Phi Beta was started in 1915, and the IU chapter was started in 1957.

Laura Margaret continued as an active member of the sorority after graduation. She contributed regularly to the sorority’s publication, The Crescent, gave talks on her speciality of children’s literature, and became the Riverside, California, alumnae chapter president in 1964.