Delta Sigma Theta Presidents

Dr. Sadie Tanner Mossel Alexander (1919-1923) 1

(4 yrs)

from Philadelphia; first woman to receive a PHD in econ; first woman to be admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar, and helped establish the national bar association;charter member of the Gamma Chapter

-1st National Convention created

-authorized graduate chapters (New York City and Washington DC)

-Grand Chapter created

-May Week adopted

-Established Sinking Fund, Housing Fund, College Tuition Fund, Scholarship Fund

-Kappa Chapter was established at the University of California

(Gabrielle) Dorothy Pelham Beckley (1923-1926) 2

(3 yrs)

from DC and was a teacher

-Introduced the use of printed forms for reports, applications, and other formal documents.

-The Delta Sigma Theta Bulletin was published.

-Delta Hymn adopted (music-Florence Cole Talbert, words-Alice Dunbar Nelson)

-Regional conferences were approved

-new nomenclature system and Established

-Omega Omega as a memorial chapter

-Jabberwok was introduced by the Iota chapter during her presidency

-Emphasis on International Development

Ethel Lamay Calimese (1926-1929) 3

(3 yrs)

-fell ill in the 2nd year of her presidency

-Biennial Conventions approved (2 yrs)

-National Vigilance Committee approve(established to keep in touch with the political and civic activities that affected the Negro race.

-election of Regional Directors began

Dr. Anna Johnson Julian (1929-1931) 4

(2 yrs)

from Maryland but sent to High School in Philadelphia; first African American woman to receive a PhD in sociology from University of Pennsylvania

-Offices of Grand Secretary & Grand Treasurer bonded

-Work of Vigilance Committee continued

-Grand Chapter incorporated under DC laws (January 20 1930)

-creation of the Jubilee Year (1930-reevaluated the values of the organization by allowing inactive members to be rededicated)

-National Pan-Hellenic Council was formed

-Received first Phi Beta Kappa key ever given to a Negro by the University of Pennsylvania

Gladys Byram Shepperd (1931-1933) 5

(2 yrs)

from Memphis; Author ("Mary Church Terrell: Respectable Person")

-First formal Delta Directory published

-National Boards component of organizational structure created

-Central Region established

-compromise for the inclusion of "B" rated schools=have 7 years to become "A" schools

Dr. Jeanette Triplett Jones (1933-1935) 6

(2 yrs)

*PhD from UChicago and was a teacher in the area

-First National Handbook

-National Headquarters was established

-Office of Executive Secretary was created (Edna Johnson)

-Award the Silver Loving Cup

-Revised printed released of the National Constitution

-Membership grew

Vivian Osborne Marsh (1935-1939) 7

(4 yrs)

-Library Project was initiated under her presidency

-Revision of Sorority Ritual

-Study of purchase of a National Headquarters building

-decided to become actively involved in the civil rights movement by working with Walter White to lobby for the anti-lynching bill

-appointed as state supervisor in the Negro Affairs Division of the National Youth Administration--Program under the New Deal

Dr Helen Elsie Austin (1939-1944) 8

(5 yrs)

*first black woman to graduate from University of Cincinnati's College of Law; first Black woman to serve as assistant attorney general of the state of Ohio*

-created a procedure so the treasurer would receive payment of fees and other monies directly

-proposed the job analysis project (1. looked into new job opportunities open to white women but not black women, 2. help secure positions for black women that were open to them, 3. make working conditions better for domestic workers)

-wartime support, the sorority bought $5,000 worth of United States Defense Bonds-local chapters bought bonds as well

-Created the Office of Undergraduate Coordinator(2nd VP)

-Discrimination in the Armed Forces addressed

-Victory Book Drive launched in 1942=collect books for servicemen's use in military camps

-put Delta on the mailing list of all important government initiatives concerning the war"

Mae Wright Downs Allen Peck Williams (1944-1947) 9

(3 yrs)

*a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Tufts University and got a masters from NYU*

-Emphasis on Education

-the organization made its first donation of 1000$ to the United Negro College Fund in 1945

-implemented book baskets project

-Purchase of war bonds and 3 ambulances($2000 ea)

-Focus on voting and equal rights for women and minorities and fair employment practices

Dorothy Irene Height (1947-1956) 10

(9 yrs)

*won the presidential medal of freedom in 1994*

-longest serving president of DST

-American Council on Human Rights was created (1948)

-Delta 5 Point Project(5 Point Programmatic Thrust)

-1st foreign chapter-part-au-prince, haiti (1950)

-Purchased National HQ building-1814 M Street in Washington DC

-funded the maternity wing renovation at the Thika Memorial Hospital in Nairobi Kenya

-Revision of Nomenclature

-First Executive Director hired (Patricia Roberts Harris)

-Graduate chapters renamed as alumnae chapters

-Members at Large category proposed

Dorothy Penman Harrison (1956-1958) 11

(2 yrs)

*from Ohio; married to the president of Langston University and received an honorary doctorate from there*

-first delta newsletter was sent out in 1957

-initiated the delta christmas part as a philanthropy initiative (started with the christmas party of '57 that raised funds fro the little rock nine, the children responsible for first integrating little rick high school)

-initiated the "burn the mortgage" campaign

Dr. Jeanne Laveta Noble (1958-1963) 12

(5 yrs)

**went to Howard for undergrad, masters and PhD from Columbia University;

-first AA woman to receive tenure at NYU;

-appointed by President Nixon and President Ford to National Education commissions**

-Golden Anniversary of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority celebrated

-established the social action commission

Geraldine Pittman Woods (1963-1967) 13

(4 yrs)

*attended Howard Radcliffe and Harvard University; helped develop the minority access to research careers of the National Institute of health; helped start Project Head Start*

International Projects Donation

-Job Opportunities and Human Relations

-Delta Teen Lift was established during her presidency

-establish the Center for Research on African American Women, in Washington at the Delta Sigma Theta Research and Educational Foundation, (it is a repository for information on the social and economic characteristics of African American women) 1967

Frankie Muse Freeman (1967-1971) 14

(4 yrs)

**author "A Song of Faith and Hope: The Life of Frankie Muse Freeman"; the first woman to serve on the United States Civil Rights Commission in 1964; lead attorney on the case that ended legal racial discrimination in public housing in STL"

-established the Unwed Mothers Project

-Project Discover Scholastic Talent

-Teen-Lift was restructured

-sponsored a women's conference in East Africa

-Appointed to civil rights commission by Lyndon B Johnson.

Lillian Pierce Benbow (1971-1975) 15

(4 yrs)

*graduated from LeMoyne Owens College*

-HQ moved to 1705-1707-1709 New Hampshire Ave NW Washington DC in 1972

-there were 65K members, 455 chapters with a staff of 10 at the National HQ

-implemented the Delta Arts and Letters Commission

-Right to Read program was established

-Sought to change the membership intake activities (eliminate brutality and abuse)

-Osceola Award for artistic excellence was established

Dr. Thelma Thomas Daley (1975-1979) 16

(4 yrs)

*from Annapolis Maryland; received her Ed.D in counseling from George Washington University*

-"Fortitude" commissioned and presented to Howard University as a tribute to the Founders

-established the Distinguished Professor Endowed Chair for HBCU's (designed to bring in outstanding

-established life development centers (transform sorority houses into community centers that would become the focus of Delta's public service programs in the area)

Mona Humphries Bailey (1979-1983) 17

(4 yrs)

*attended FAMU and was deputy superintended of the Seattle Public Schools*

-Deltas called a "Black Women's Summit" entitled "Delta Impacts on the 1980s: Black Youth and Women in Washington, D.C. in January of 1981

-delta towers was created--a 150 unit apartment complex for the elderly and handicapped

- established the Capital Fund

Hortense Golden Canady (1983-1988) 18

(5 yrs)

*first AA elected to the Lansing Board of Education*

-initiated delta leadership academy (for members)

-1984 Summitt II was a call to action to support single parenting

-held an international conference in Nassau Bahamas called "woman to woman" single parenting from a global perspective"

Dr. Yvonne Kennedy (1988-1992) 19

(4 yrs)

*first AA appointed to the presidency of Bishop State Community College and the first and only AA woman elected to the House of Representatives from Mobile COunty Alabama*

-established SCHOOl America

-1st Delta Days in the Nation's Capital was held (DC 1990)

-launched three global health initiatives: Delta ADACE (Alcohol, Drug Abuse and AIDS Community Education) Project; Delta Immunization Project; and Project SMART (Seniors Medication and Record Tracking).

-Theme " Every Delta in the Delta House "

Dr. Bertha Maxwell Roddey (1992-1996) 20

(4 yrs)

*Co-founder of the Afro-American Culture Center in NC*

-established relationship btwn DST and Habitat for Humanity (in 1992, first AA org to be associated with them), building 22 homes in honor of the founders. One home was build in each region and fifteen homes at the site of the National Convention in St. Louis, Missouri in 1994.

-Delta Habitat Partnership also committed to build 40 houses in Ghana.

-Ritual and Ceremonies Commission was established

-Focused on increasing the number of registered voters through partnership with NAACP

Marcia Louise Fudge (1996-2000) 21

(4 yrs)

*Congresswoman for Ohio's 11th District--House of Reps*

-Established Sisterhood, Scholarship and Service as the biennial theme.

-established the Dr. Betty Shabazz Delta Academy

-renovated 1703 New Hampshire Ave NW (archives, Delta Research and Educational Foundation and the Center for Research on African American Women)

-encouraged chapters to implement programs that promoted voter rights and advocated for the disenfranchised

-implemented Summit V: focus on health and healing, let it begin within (addressed clinical protection as well as other health issues)

Gwendolyn Elizabeth Boyd (2000-2004) 22

(4 yrs) Technology

*1st AA to receive an MS in Mechanical Engineering from an Ivy League institution (Yale)*

-transitioned to use technology in all facets of sorority activities

-created the Technology Task Force to enhance the Sorority technology use.

-received NGO statues with the united nations

-built the DELTA HOUSE for AIDS orphans in South Africa

-created Science in Everyday Experiences (SEE) for girls interested in math and science (girls K-8);

- online registration implemented for Regional and National conferences

Dr. Louise Allen Rice (2004-2008) 23

(4 yrs)

*on the Board of Directors for the Department of Family and Child Services in Augusta-Richmond County*

-established a Delta Hurricane Katrina Relief Task Force to assist those affected

-provided assistance to the NAACP legal defense fund

-established Delta Academy II-GEMS program

Cynthia Marie Antoinette Butler McIntyre (2008-2013) 24

(5 yrs)

*received honorary doctorate of divinity in religious education from Louisiana Christian Bible College*

-Theme: "Delta Sigma Theta - A Sisterhood Called to Serve: Transforming Lives, Impacting Communities."

-Charitable Partnerships Task Force - Project 13

-EMBODI(Empowering Males to Build Opportunities for Developing Independence)

-Impact Day of Service

-Collegiate Transition Taskforce

-Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Elementary School, Cynthia M.A. Butler McIntyre Campus, Ch'rette, Haiti

-Centennial Celebration

-Suffrage March Reenactment (22 members marched in the Tournament of Roses Parade in honor of the Founders

Dr. Paulette Camille Walker (2013-2017) 25

(4 yrs) Mathematics

*Dr. Walker is the co-author of the book, "We Can Have Better Urban Schools." Also, she has served as a classroom teacher, middle school and high school counselor, director of counseling, assistant principal and district wide supervisor of state/federal projects*

-established the Hazing Prevention Task Force

-Presented the Hazing Prevention Summit

-Her theme was "Uncompromising Commitment to Communities: Service, Leadership, and Empowerment.

Beverly Evans Smith (2017-present) 26

Beverly Evans Smith was initiated into Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. through the Epsilon Omicron Chapter at Bowling Green State University on October 21, 1967. She has held several leadership positions in the Sorority, including serving as the Executive Director.

-first CEO of the organization

-theme for the Sorority is "Joy in our sisterhood...power in our voice...service in our heart".