Alpha Iota was founded on October 21, 1925, by Elsie M. Fenton at the American Institute of Business in Des Moines, Iowa.

A significant driver of this trend was the closure of many early business schools as junior, technical, and four-year colleges displaced them.

[17] Today, the sorority is divided into five districts, composed mostly of alumnae chapters, with groups throughout the United States and Canada.

The shield is plain or surmounted with seven seed pearls, six more of which mark the border between the three fields, and an emerald or a ruby at the center.

Alpha Iota also had a gold scholarship key or charm, presented annually to students with the highest grade point average.

[22][23][24] The Alpha Iota coat-of-arms includes these symbols: a sphinx, a rose, the Ionic column, two stars, an open book, and a Roman fasces.

[4][28] In 1934, the sorority published the song, "The Sweetheart of Alpha Iota", written by Margaret D. O'Connor with music by Mary Alice Mullin.

[29] The Alpha Iota ritual includes each member placing a lit candle, symbolizing friendship, on an altar.

[21] Heartspring (formerly known as the Institute of Logopedics) in Wichita, Kansas was adopted as the Alpha Iota international service project in 1949.

In 1967, the sorority started Operation Green Thumb, a project to help children with disabilities explore nature and grow plants.

[33] They raised $1,227,161 ($21,239,860 in 2022 money) in November and December 1944, which paid for a $600,000 B-29, a $250,000 heavy bomber, and an additional $377,161 to help rehabilitate wounded servicemen.

[33] The sorority and its alumnae chapters also donated 95 radios to Army, Navy, and veteran hospitals across the United States.