Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi was founded October 1, 1998, at the University of California - Davis. There was a void left at UC Davis from the early 1990's when another national Jewish sorority closed its chapter.  This left the Jewish women on campus without a social organization for them to connect with one another.

 

The Eternal Mothers of our organization were extremely important to our formation. Our Eternal Mothers are the 6 women who were part of the founding class and continued to graduate as alumni: Alycia Seaman, Erin Glick, Leah Dansker, Rachel Rothfarb, Erin Barker, and Dana Miller. These women were integral to the foundation of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Pi and created the values that each sister still holds true today.

 

In 1998, with the help of the Jewish fraternity AEPi, the idea of starting a Jewish woman's group (not necessarily a formal sorority) was conceived and executed.  Several informational meetings were held at the AEPi's house and at the Hillel House.  The response was extremely positive, and thus, SAEPi was born with the help our six Eternal Mothers.  

 

The "Sigma" in our name is meant to represent "sisters of," making us the sisters of AEPi to honor their contributions in creating this sorority.  The letter Sigma is also the 18th letter of the Greek alphabet, and in Jewish tradition, the number 18 means chai (life) adding extra meaning to our name.