Sigma Omicron Pi () is an Asian American interest sorority. Founded in 1930 at San Francisco State University, the college social organization has active chapters on twelve campuses in the United States. The stated objective of the sorority is to "further the awareness of women in Asian culture" and "to promote unity, lifelong friendships, leadership, and community service".
History In 1930, ten Asian American women came together on the campus of San Francisco State University to form a sorority for women who were interested in teaching. They adopted the Greek letters ΣΟΠ or Sigma Omicron Pi to represent "Sisters of Pedagogy". It was the first Chinese sorority on that campus. Elizabeth Ling-so Hall was a founder and the sorority's first president.
Sigma Omicron Pi expanded to the University of California, Berkeley campus in 1936. The sorority became active in the Asian community. Annually, they held a fashion show to raise scholarship money with the UC Chinese Alumni Association.
However, both chapters were forced to become inactive during World War II. Sigma Omicron Pi was revived at the University of California, Berkeley in 1946. The educational focus fell away, changing to providing fellowship, philanthropy, and cultural awareness for and among Asian American women of many Asian backgrounds.
In 1994, the sorority created an Inter-Chapter Council with six elected officers to help unite the various chapters. By 2025, the sorority had chartered fifteen chapters. Its national office is in La Jolla, California.
Symbols The Greek letters ΣΟΠ or Sigma Omicron Pi were selected to represent "Sisters of Pedagogy". The sorority's colors are green and gold. Its flower is the daisy and its jewel is the pearl.
Chapters Active chapters are in bold. Inactive chapters are in italics.
Chapter Charter date and range Institution Location StatusAlpha Prime (See Beta)1930–194x ?San Francisco State UniversitySan Francisco, CaliforniaReissued Alpha (see Beta Prime) University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California ActiveBeta Prime (see Alpha)1936–194x ?University of California, BerkeleyBerkeley, CaliforniaReissued Beta (see Alpha Prime) San Francisco State University San Francisco, California Active Gamma San Jose State University San Jose, California Active Delta University of California, Davis Davis, California Active Epsilon California State University, Sacramento Sacramento, California Active Zeta University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California Active Eta -2000 University of Maryland, College Park College Park, Maryland Inactive Theta University of California, Irvine Irvine, California Active Iota Pennsylvania State University University Park, Pennsylvania Active Kappa University of California, San Diego San Diego, California Active Lambda Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland Inactive Mu University of California, Riverside Riverside, California Inactive Nu Binghamton University Binghamton, New York Active
Notes
Notable members
Tiffany Lam – Miss Hong Kong 2002, Miss Chinese International 2003 runner up, and TVB actress
See also
List of social sororities and women's fraternities List of Asian American fraternities and sororities Cultural interest fraternities and sororities
References