In 1912, at the University of Michigan a band of Catholic women came together under the guidance of Father Edward D. Kelly with the ideals of sisterhood, society, scholarship, friendship and service to form Theta Phi Alpha. At this time, there were already pre-existing women fraternities, but Catholic women were not always welcomed into the Greek community.
The ten founding sisters consisted of seven alumni and three undergraduates. They were: Dorothy Caughey Phalen, Katrina Caughey Ward, Mildred Connely, Selma Gilday, Otilia Leuchtweis O'Hara, Amelia McSweeney, Camilla Ryan Sutherland, Helen Ryan Quinlan, May C. Ryan, and Eva Stroh Bauer Everson.