On Oct. 1, the Delta Kappa Gamma Society International, a professional honorary society of women educators, will be taking a bold step by instating a new statewide chapter, Alpha Meta. The DKG “promotes professional and personal growth of its members and excellence in education,” according to its website, and the new chapter will help increase representation and participation in the organization across the state.
The organization, originally founded as a secret society in 1929, now has 100,000 members in 2,600 chapters throughout 17 countries.
“Women used to have to choose between a family and a career and took a second place to men,” said Phyllis VanBuren, who serves the DKG as Tau State Minnesota president and is a professor of Spanish, German, and foreign language education at SCSU.
Some of the world’s foremost female educators, ranging from kindergarten to college, comprise the society and membership is by nomination only.
“I remembered my own school teachers being in this organization and found it to be one of the greatest honors that I could have received,” said Mary Snorek, who was invited to join DKG in 1978 and served as state president from 2005 to 2007.
The new Alpha Meta chapter is a first for the DKG.
“Alpha means first, and meta means to go beyond,” VanBuren said.
Instead of members meeting face to face, the chapter plans to use technology such as Skype and GoToMeeting to bring together female teachers across the state, whereas most chapters’ membership is only 30 miles away.
“This will allow those with limited mobility or blindness to participate without relying on someone else for a ride,” VanBuren said.
Another motive behind the new chapter’s formation is that many others have been disbanded due to various reasons.
“These dedicated key women educators were not content to be members only on lists; they wanted an active, regular-functioning chapter,” wrote VanBuren in her column at the St. Cloud Times.
“My local chapter dissolved a few years ago and I know the feeling of being just a ‘card carrying’ member of the Society,” said Snorek, who will lead the new chapter. “When I was asked to look into organizing this group, I was excited for the possibilities that existed.”
Besides engaging inactive members of DKG, the new chapter will pursue the original goals of the organization. “We will focus on helping those people interested in becoming educators and support educators, as well as helping through various forms of philanthropy,” wrote VanBuren in her St. Cloud Times column.
The DKG donates approximately $3 million each year to support education across the globe. The organization’s international project this year is UNICEF schools in Africa, and the money is also used to provide scholarships and grants to educators within and outside the society.
Members are very excited for the transition.
“As times change, the Society must adapt. This chapter will serve as a model for other states,” Snorek said, adding, “all eyes will be focused on Tau State and Alpha Meta. This can be the beginning of a new age in The Delta Kappa Gamma Society International.”
