The Theta Iota chapter of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority will be dissolved at the end of the fall 2007 term.

It will form again during the fall 2008 semester.

Alpha Gamma Delta International made the decision to re-form Western’s chapter because of low membership, said Kathy Kish, executive director of AGD International.

“It is very difficult for a chapter to sustain itself when it has such low membership numbers,” Kish said. “They can’t have a strong Panhellenic experience.”

The amount of members chapters are required to have varies from college to college.

The re-formation of a sorority is called recolonization. The recolonization of AGD was approved by six sorority presidents, the Panhellinic Conference adviser and the Panhellenic president on Sept. 19.

Sorority membership totals from Student Activities and Organizations indicate that AGD had 15 members during spring 2007.

The sororities under the governance of the National Panhellenic Conference usually have about 100 members, said Greek Life Coordinator Gary Wiser.

Not all sororities have such high membership expectations, he said. The historical sororities under the governance of the National Panhellenic Council have smaller membership totals.

Chapter President Ashley Turner declined to comment in late September. She was unavailable to comment on new information Monday.

Wiser said he supported AGD’s decision to recolonize. There are women who want to be part of a sorority, and this is one way to reach them because recolonization draws new members, he said.

The women currently in AGD will be placed into a transitional alumnae program, Wiser said.

A September letter from AGD International Council to Wiser and Charley Pride, director of student activities and organizations, stated that the alumnae would continue to experience sisterhood through participation in an alumnae chapter.

Reactions from within the sorority could vary, Pride said.

“They will be released from paying dues,” Pride said. “But they will probably miss the sisterhood and activities.”

In previous recolonizations, the core group has stayed together, regardless of their sorority status, Pride said.

Panhellenic President Diane DeRosa-Reynolds said she completely supported AGD and its re-formation.

“Some of the current members may be sad for now, but they’ll also be excited for the future,” said Derosa-Reynolds. “They’ll be appreciative of support they get from the other Greeks.”

The chapter was founded in 1990.

Reach Chris Byrne at news@chherald.com.