In celebration of Alpha Delta Pi’s 175th anniversary, the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation today announced an $80,000 grant to Wesleyan College to refurbish the Memorial Fountain, a campus landmark that Alpha Delta Pi gave to the college in 1936. The grant supports Wesleyan’s historic
$61 million She Will comprehensive campaign.
The announcement was made during a visit to Wesleyan’s campus as part of Alpha Delta Pi’s 175th Anniversary Come Home Weekend October 9-11, 2026. Funded through the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation’s Forever First Campaign, Steering Committee Co-Chairs Elisse Jones Freeman and Jan Alexander Maisch presented a ceremonial check to Wesleyan College President Meaghan Blight.
“This grant will ensure Memorial Fountain continues to be a centerpiece on campus and a vibrant gathering place for the students attending Wesleyan,” said Tracy L. Garner, past president of the
Alpha Delta Pi Foundation.
Alpha Delta Pi presented the Memorial Fountain to Wesleyan College in May 1936, in honor of the college’s Centennial. The idea came from Annie Bates Haden, Alpha–Wesleyan, national president of the Wesleyan College Alumnae Association, who called alumnae back to Macon for Centennial commencement festivities in 1936.
The fountain cost $1,500, about $36,000 in today’s dollars, and was funded entirely by contributions from active chapters, alumnae groups, and individual members across the country. Chapters with 100 percent member participation had their names carved into the marble rim of the pool, and each member needed to give only 25 cents for her chapter to qualify. General Chairman Addye Williamson Hefner, Lambda–Brenau, encouraged each member to give 85 cents, one cent for each year since
Alpha Delta Pi’s founding in 1851. Donors were recorded in an illuminated book kept in the parlors of Wesleyan, including gifts made in memory of departed sisters.
In 2011, Alpha Delta Pi and the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation jointly gifted the two concrete lions that now flank the fountain, to commemorate the 175th anniversary of Wesleyan’s founding.
This grant is made possible by the generosity of donors to the Alpha Delta Pi Foundation’s $4 million Forever First Campaign. The Campaign also funded the new Alpha Delta Pi History Center and the renovation of Hubbard Memorial Gardens in Atlanta; a traveling history exhibit unveiled at Grand Convention in June 2026; ongoing work on the organization’s digital archives; and the restoration of founder Eugenia Tucker Fitzgerald’s gravesite, as well as marking each founder’s headstone recognizing her role in establishing the Adelphean Society.
Alpha Delta Pi is excited to welcome President Blight as the newest member, joining as an alumna initiate. The 26th President of Wesleyan College, President Blight is committed to strengthening the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women. Since July 2022, she has elevated the College’s reputation, expanded community partnerships, and advanced both domestic and international enrollment growth. Under her leadership, Wesleyan has achieved significant enrollment gains, raised academic standards, and implemented programs centered on student well-being and success — resulting in double-digit increases in retention and academic achievement within a single academic year.
Alpha Delta Pi International President Sarah Davis-Candeto shared, “President Blight embodies what it means to be an Alpha Delta Pi and personifies our core values. She is a lifelong champion of knowledge, dedicated to empowering women through education at the very institution where our Adelphean Society began. Her commitment to service is demonstrated in how she leads Wesleyan, always putting students and the community first. We are honored to welcome her as our newest alumna initiate.”
