Alpha Omicron Pi (, AOII, Alpha O) is an international women's fraternity or collegiate sorority. It was founded in 1897 at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. It has more than 140 active collegiate chapters and 159 active alumnae chapters in Canada and the United States. The fraternity is headquartered in Brentwood, Tennessee, and is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference.
History
thumb|[[Jessie Wallace Hughan, one of four women who founded the first Alpha Omicron Pi chapter in 1897]]
thumb|The Alpha Omicron Pi sorority house at the [[University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois]]
Alpha Omicron Pi was founded January 2, 1897, at Barnard College on the campus of Columbia University in Manhattan, New York City. Its founders were Jessie Wallace Hughan, Helen St. Clair Mullan, Elizabeth Heywood Wyman, and Stella George Stern Perry. They pledged to one another in the Columbia Law Library to begin their fraternity. Within one week of its founding, the four founders used their initiation ritual for the first time to initiate Anne Richardson Hall. In 1905, Alpha Omicron Pi joined the National Panhellenic Conference.
In 1967, the fraternity partnered with the Arthritis Foundation.
Symbols
Alpha Omicron Pi was founded on the ideas or principles of character, dignity, scholarship, and college loyalty.
Members of the fraternity wear three different pins depending on membership status. New members who have not been initiated wear a gold sheaf of wheat pin (the sheaf itself being the official symbol of the fraternity) bound by a ribbon bearing the letters , symbolizing individuals bound together by friendship. The fraternity's jewel is the ruby, while its mascot is the giant panda, which the fraternity unofficially adopted in 1976 but made official in 2017. Its publication is To Dragma.
Philanthropy
Alpha Omicron Pi participates in fundraising and volunteer efforts via its philanthropic arm, the Alpha Omicron Pi Foundation. The foundation allocates grants to the fraternity's philanthropy, arthritis research, as well scholarships, educational grants, and emergency funds for fraternity members. The funds also support conference speakers, training events, and personal development programs for members.
The fraternity is partnered with the Arthritis Foundation. The partnership began in 1967, with the fraternity members contributing volunteer hours and fundraising events to raise money for arthritis research and camps for juvenile arthritis. Stuffed panda bears are collected each year to give to children attending Arthritis Foundation camps and conferences. The fraternity's national campaign for arthritis awareness is “AOII Goes Blue,” with local chapters creating individual chapter events. "Strike Out Arthritis!" (SOA) It is the fraternity's signature fundraising event. SOA Events are held each year at Major League Baseball games, since the fraternity cites "strong relationships [with] Major League Baseball teams."
Chapters
Alpha Omicron Pi has more than 140 active collegiate chapters and 159 active alumnae chapters in Canada and the United States.
Notable members
Since 1897, the fraternity has initiated over 209,000 members in 205 collegiate chapters across the United States and Canada, with 136 active chapters.