# Gamma Alpha Chi

Gamma Alpha Chi (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. 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:
* 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.
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. 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 November 2, 1971, 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 ΓΑΧ. 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. Its motto was "Truth and Service". The fraternity's publication was Gac-O-Grams.

## Chapters

Following is a list of Gamma Alpha Chi chapters.
| Chapter | Charter date and range | Institution | Location | Status |
| Alpha | February 9, 1920 – November 2, 1971 | University of Missouri | Columbia, Missouri | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Beta | February 1921– 1955 | University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas | Inactive |
| Gamma | 1923–1947; 1955 – November 2, 1971 | University of Washington | Seattle, Washington | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Delta | 1924–1940; 1945 – November 2, 1971 | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign | Urbana, Illinois | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Epsilon | March 1925–1941; 1949 – November 2, 1971 | University of Nebraska–Lincoln | Lincoln, Nebraska | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Zeta | 1927 – November 2, 1971 | University of Oregon | Eugene, Oregon | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Eta | 1928 – November 2, 1971 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, California | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Theta | 1929–1945 | Washington State University | Pullman, Washington | Inactive |
| Iota | 1929–1931 | University of California, Berkeley | Berkeley, California | Inactive |
| Kappa | | | | Unassigned ? |
| Lambda | 1946 – November 2, 1971 | University of Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Mu | 1947 – November 2, 1971 | University of Oklahoma | Norman, Oklahoma | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Nu | 1947 – November 2, 1971 | University of Kansas | Lawrence, Kansas | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Xi | January 15, 1948 – 1955 | Syracuse University | Syracuse, New York | Inactive |
| Omicron | 1948–1950 | Roosevelt University | Chicago, Illinois | Inactive |
| Pi | 1948 – November 2, 1971 | Indiana University Bloomington | Bloomington, Indiana | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Rho | February 4, 1948 – 1954 | Butler University | Indianapolis, Indiana | Inactive |
| Sigma | 1948 – November 2, 1971 | City College of New York | New York City, New York | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Tau | 1948–1950 | University of California, Los Angeles | Los Angeles, California | Inactive |
| Upsilon | 1949 – November 2, 1971 | San Jose State University | San Jose, California | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Phi | 1949 – November 2, 1971 | University of Colorado Boulder | Boulder, Colorado | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Chi | 1949 – November 2, 1971 | Ohio State University | Columbus, Ohio | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Psi | 1950 – November 2, 1971 | University of Miami | Coral Gables, Florida | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Omega | 1950 – November 2, 1971 | Southern Methodist University | Dallas, Texas | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Alpha | 1950 – November 2, 1971 | University of Wisconsin–Madison | Madison, Wisconsin | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Beta | 1950–1954; 1961 – November 2, 1971 | University of Houston | Houston, Texas | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Gamma | 1951 – November 2, 1971 | University of Florida | Gainesville, Florida | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Delta | 1951 – November 2, 1971 | Florida State University | Tallahassee, Florida | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Epsilon | 1953 – November 2, 1971 | Fordham University | New York City, New York | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Zeta | 1956 – November 2, 1971 | University of Georgia | Athens, Georgia | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Eta | 1956 – November 2, 1971 | Temple University | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Theta | 1957 – November 2, 1971 | Marquette University | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Iota | 1958 – November 2, 1971 | Arizona State University | Tempe, Arizona | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Kappa | 1958 – November 2, 1971 | Michigan State University | East Lansing, Michigan | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Lambda | 1959 – November 2, 1971 | Texas Tech University | Lubbock, Texas | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Mu | 1960 – November 2, 1971 | University of Arizona | Tucson, Arizona | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Nu | 1960 – November 2, 1971 | University of Texas at Austin | Austin, Texas | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Xi | 1961 – November 2, 1971 | University of Maryland, College Park | College Park, Maryland | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Omicron | 1962 – November 2, 1971 | California State University, Long Beach | Long Beach, California | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Pi | 1964 – November 2, 1971 | New York University | New York City, New York | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |
| Alpha Rho | 1966 – November 2, 1971 | California State University, Chico | Chico, California | Merged (ΑΔΣ) |