The newly colonized Delta Gamma sorority is officially on campus after moving into their new three-story, 61-member chapter house shortly before formal sorority recruitment.

“We could not be more excited to finally be moved into our brand new house,” Delta Gamma president Kayla Fields said. “Delta Gamma is thrilled to finally have a place to call home, and this home base will only help our sisterhood grow to produce even more roots at the Capstone.”

The house, located at the corner of Magnolia Drive and Sixth Avenue, is home to 61 members this year. It features an antique grandfather clock from the original Delta Gamma chapter house.

“We are looking forward to having a place that our greek family, as well as UA family, can come to visit with us,” Fields said.

Delta Gamma returned to campus last fall, undergoing a colonization process rather than participating in formal sorority recruitment.

Thirty national Delta Gamma members traveled to Tuscaloosa to help reestablish the sorority. Two hundred seven women were initiated into the Beta Psi chapter on Nov. 12, 2011, making the chapter the 16th National Panhellenic group to colonize on UA’s campus.

The chapter participated in their first formal sorority rush last week since their return to campus, recruiting over 100 new members to the chapter.

“I’m really excited about being part of such a diverse and impressive group of young women,” Katherine Greene, a sophomore member of Delta Gamma, said. “Our youth is such an exciting prospect, as it provides our sorority members with the unique opportunity to create new chapter traditions, while working to maintain and continue older Delta Gamma traditions.”

Although new to campus, Delta Gamma took third place among all sorority houses at homecoming last year, completed over 1,200 hours of community service as a chapter, raised over $7,000 for their house philanthropy Service for Sight and were among the top five Delta Gamma chapters nationally for number of TOMS sunglasses sold last year.

“Delta Gamma is a phenomenal organization because of its distinctiveness, not only within the Panhellenic community, but within the University of Alabama as a whole,” Chloe Crozier, a sophomore member of Delta Gamma, said. “Yes, we have an incredible new house, but I am more impressed by the incredible women I share it with, and I am blessed to call them my sisters.”

Construction is also underway for three additional sorority houses in the Magnolia development. Delta Delta Delta, Alpha Delta Pi and Alpha Gamma Delta, already housed on campus, are expected to move into the new houses upon completion. New sororities wanting to be established on campus will have a chance to bid on the vacated homes along sorority row.