Zeta Phi Beta Sorority

The Pi Epsilon Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta sorority was established at UT on October 10, 1974, and rechartered on December 13, 1992. Its 1974 charter was a citywide charter for an undergraduate chapter, since it had been refused recognition by UT because there was no space for the group in the Panhellenic Building. (This rule was cancelled by the board of trustees at its meeting of September 16, 2006, making recognition available to sororities when no space was obtainable in the Panhellenic Building.) The national organization was founded on February 16, 1920, at Howard University, with the assistance of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity. It was the first sorority to be constitutionally bound to a fraternity—Phi Beta Sigma. Its motto is “All is conquered by labor,” and its colors are royal blue and true white. Its flower is the white rose, and its mascots are the dove (official) and the cat (unofficial). Alumnae of the national sorority include Violette Anderson (first woman of color to practice before the US Supreme Court); Rear Admiral Evelyn Fields, NOAA Director; Charlotte Westerhaus, JD, NCAA vice president for diversity and inclusion; Sarah Vaughn, international jazz singer; and Elizabeth D. Koontz, president of the National Education Association.