Who We Are

Demeter is a service organization established in 1917 and named for the Greek goddess Demeter – the goddess of agriculture and the harvest. It serves the University of Wisconsin-Madison, primarily the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS), and the Madison area community. The original organization was called the Daughters of Demeter, and membership was comprised of wives of faculty members in the then-named University of Wisconsin College of Agriculture. Today, while this group is still prominent in the organization, membership is open to both women and men who are faculty, staff, and friends of CALS, along with their spouses, with an interest in agriculture. Demeter currently has about 120 members.