Alpha Epsilon Phi
Boston University
Alpha Epsilon Phi is a national sorority, founded in 1909 by seven Jewish women, dedicated to helping women become the best they can be. We prize individuality, encouraging each member to discover and develop the talents and abilities that make her unique.
But just as we value individuality, we also prize togetherness, fostering friendships and a sense of belonging that last a lifetime. When you're an AEΦ, you'll find there's always a sister to laugh when you laugh, to listen when you talk, to lend a hand and be there for you.
Mission Statement
The mission of Alpha Epsilon Phi Sorority is to inspire and support exemplary women dedicated to friendship and a lifelong commitment to Alpha Epsilon Phi while building on the vision of our Jewish founders.
History
AEPhi was founded by seven Jewish women at Barnard College in New York on October 24, 1909. Helen Phillips, Ida Beck, Rose Gerstein, Augustina "Tina" Hess, Lee Reiss, Rose Salmowitz and Stella Strauss had a dream of forming a sorority where exceptional women of all backgrounds, religions, interests and varying beliefs would be welcomed with open arms. This sorority would endeavor to foster lifelong friendship and sisterhood, academics, social involvement and community service, all the while providing a home away from home for its members. "It was her [Helen Phillips'] idea and her persistence more than anything else that brought Alpha Epsilon Phi into existence," one founder wrote. "I sometimes think that some of those ties were more necessary to Helen than to the others in this group because Helen had no mother and no sisters or brothers, and to her a group of adopted sisters was more of a need and had more significance."
The dream that was born in a dorm room at Barnard College in 1909 continues to succeed, prosper and thrive on over 50 college and university campuses nationwide. AEPhi welcomes with open arms hundreds of new members each year and seeks not only to live up to the ideals and goal of its original founders, but also to exceed them.
