History

The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International owes its existence primarily to the dream and determination of one very powerful woman educator, Dr. Annie Webb Blanton. Before becoming the moving force of the Society, Dr. Blanton of Austin, Texas, had achieved statewide recognition among educators as a woman of distinction and, for a woman of the early twentieth century, had exerted unusual influence in educational circles. She had written a grammar textbook, had been the first woman president of the Texas State Teachers’ Association, had served as State Superintendent of Public Instruction, and had become a member of the faculty of the University of Texas. The highly respected teacher resolved, in 1929, “to form an organization to help remove barriers limiting the advancement of women educators.”

The founding group of twelve women educators wanted the organization to stimulate women educators in their personal and professional growth and to motivate them to become leaders in positions that had always been given to men. The founders represented a cross-section of the teaching profession. There was a grade school teacher, a dean of women, three high school teachers, three elementary school principals, and four college professors—Dr. Blanton was a professor of rural education at the University of Texas.

Dr. Blanton greeted her Austin friends and those who had come by train on the veranda of the University Faculty Women’s Club to help her found Kappa Gamma Delta, later to be renamed The Delta Kappa Gamma Society. The National Society they founded has grown from the twelve members to the present International organization of over 106,000 members. Membership in the Society consists of women with a wide diversity of interests who are steadfast in fulfilling the purposes and mission of Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.