History

In 1953, a group of college students in the Zeta Kappa Chapter of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity at Bowling Green State University decided they needed another organization to help them with projects on campus and in the city of Bowling Green, Ohio.

The original thought was to establish another service fraternity at the university; however, after a number of women expressed interest, plans were made to organize a women’s service sorority instead. Since the objectives of the two organizations were the same: service, leadership, and friendship, a similar name was chosen: Omega Phi Alpha.

Membership was initially only open to university women who had been Girl Scouts or Camp Fire Girls.

In 1958, a group of women at Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti formed another Omega Phi Alpha chapter. In late 1962, a group of women at the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut independently formed a third chapter. In the spring of 1966, the Bowling Green chapter registered the sorority as a national organization, and then asked the other chapters to affiliate.

A national organizing convention was scheduled at Bowling Green in June 1967. At the convention, the three groups discussed ideas and agreed to the requirements and structure that formed Omega Phi Alpha National Service Sorority.