COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (Feb. 9, 2005) – Tennessee Tech University has launched a new chapter of the nationally recognized Delta Sigma Theta sorority for African-American women this semester with a total of 10 charter members.

They are Jia Barr, Nakesha Tumlin, LaToya Frierson, Carmen Tucker, Phoebe Ablakwa, Carol G. Smith, Nadia Saint-Louis, JoAnna Vaughn, Kimberly Tuggle and Sonya Murphy.

For its exceptional commitment to implementing minority recruitment programs, TTU was awarded the Tennessee Board of Regents’ first ever Spirit of Geier Award in December 2002, and the launch of its Delta Sigma Theta chapter includes the university within the network of the largest African-American women’s organization in the world.

Among the note-worthy people from across the nation who are past members of the sorority are singer Aretha Franklin, poet Nikki Giovanni, U.S. Senator Carol Moseley-Braun and Olympic gold medal runner Wilma Rudolph.

The sorority was founded by 22 college women at Howard University in 1913, and its focus was to provide public service for meaningful contributions to society and to promote positive socio-economic principles and physical wellbeing.

Today, the organization’s ideology for social conscience is governed by the Five Point Thrust, which promotes educational and economic development, political and international awareness and mental and physical health.

More than 200,000 women in the United States and abroad are members of the organization today.

--Tracey LeFevre
This information posted 9 February 2005