Kappa Alpha Theta
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Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at
DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...
, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first
Greek-letter fraternity The North American fraternity and sorority system began with students who wanted to meet secretly, usually for discussions and debates not thought appropriate by the faculty of their schools. Today they are used as social, professional, and honora ...
established for women. The main archive URL i
The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage
The fraternity (the term "sorority" had not yet been invented) was founded by four female students, Bettie Locke Hamilton, Alice Allen Brant, Bettie Tipton Lindsey, and Hannah Fitch Shaw. The organization has 147 chapters at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. The organization was the first women's fraternity to establish a chapter in Canada. Theta's total living initiated membership, as of 2020, was more than 250,000. There are more than 200 alumnae chapters and circles worldwide. Kappa Alpha Theta is a member of the
National Panhellenic Conference The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is an umbrella organization for 26 (inter)national women's Fraternities and sororities, sororities throughout the United States and Canada. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek alphabet#Use ...
(NPC), an umbrella organization that encompasses 26 social sororities found throughout North America. The organization's own headquarters are located in
Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...
, Indiana.


History


Founding

The ''Alpha chapter'' of Kappa Alpha Theta was founded at Indiana Asbury College, now
DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is a member of both the G ...
, on January 27, 1870. The university began admitting women in 1867 after 30 years of a male-only student body. However, women were excluded from male-only clubs and societies. In response to the lack of women's organizations, the fraternity's founding members established the first Greek letter women's organization. The Founders were: *Elizabeth McReynolds Locke Hamilton (Bettie Locke) *Alice Olive Allen Brant (Alice Allen) *Elizabeth Tipton Lindsey (Bettie Tipton) *Hannah Virginia Fitch Shaw (Hannah Fitch) Bettie Locke developed the idea for a Greek letter women's society through the encouragement of her father, a professor at Indiana Asbury and a member of
Beta Theta Pi Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, as of 2022 it consists of 144 active chapters in the Unite ...
, and the members of
Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Fiji, is a social fraternity with more than 144 active chapters and 10 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1848. Along with Phi Kappa Psi, Phi ...
(FIJI) at Indiana Asbury, which included her brother. Initially, the collegiate men of FIJI offered Locke their badge as a token of their friendship, but voted against initiating her as a member. Locke refused to wear the badge as she did not know the secrets and purposes the badge represented, since she was unable to become a member. Ultimately, the fraternity gifted her a symbolic silver fruit basket instead to represent their relationship and fondness for her. Upon discovering that there were no Greek letter fraternities for women in existence (only
literary societies A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society that wants to promote one genre of writing or a specific author. Modern literary societies typically promote research, publish newsle ...
for women existed at the time), Locke decided to create her own Greek letter fraternity for women. Kappa Alpha Theta's ritual, organizational structure, badge, and coat of arms were influenced by those of Beta Theta Pi and Phi Gamma Delta due to her familial connections. Locke and her friend Alice Allen wrote a constitution, planned rituals, designed a badge, and sought out women on campus to become members. Along with Hannah Fitch and Bettie Tipton, the first initiation was held in secret on January 27, 1870, establishing the ''Alpha chapter'' of Kappa Alpha Theta.


Expansion

In 1887, Theta became an international organization with the establishment of the ''Sigma chapter'' at The University of Toronto. This became the first Canadian women's fraternity.
G. William Domhoff George William "Bill" Domhoff (born August 6, 1936) is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus and research professor of psychology and sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a founding faculty member of UCSC's Cowell College. He i ...
, writing in ''
Who Rules America? ''Who Rules America?'' is a book by research psychologist and sociologist G. William Domhoff, Ph.D., published in 1967 as a best-seller (#12). ''WRA'' is frequently assigned as a sociology textbook and documents the dangerous concentration of po ...
'', listed Kappa Alpha Theta as one of "the four or five sororities with nationwide prestige" in the mid-1960s.


Symbols

Kappa Alpha Theta's colors are
black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
and
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
. The official symbols are both the
kite A kite is a tethered heavier than air flight, heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air craft with wing surfaces that react against the air to create Lift (force), lift and Drag (physics), drag forces. A kite consists of wings, tethers and anchors. ...
and twin stars, while the official flower is the black and gold
pansy The garden pansy (''Viola'' × ''wittrockiana'') is a type of large-flowered hybrid plant cultivated as a garden flower. It is derived by hybridization from several species in the section ''Melanium'' ("the pansies") of the genus ''Viola'', p ...
. The fraternity does not recognize an official stone. The badge is a black and gold kite with a white chevron in the middle.


Membership


''The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine''

Theta's Grand Convention voted to establish a magazine in 1885 and to place its editorship with ''Kappa chapter'' at Kansas. In the intervening years, Kappa Alpha Theta's magazine has undergone a change of title (from ''The Journal'' to ''The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine''), and a change of publication schedule (from monthly to quarterly). Today, ''The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine'' is published in April, June, September, and December of each year.


Chapters

Kappa Alpha Theta has more than 143 active college chapters and more than 212 alumnae chapters across the United States and Canada. Alumnae chapters are alumnae groups that have been granted charters from Grand Council. The following is a list of the chapters of Kappa Alpha Theta: Active chapters and colonies listed in bold, inactive chapters listed in ''italics''.


Notable alumnae

Some notable alumni of Kappa Alpha Theta include Laura Bush,
Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously was ...
,
Jenna Bush Jenna Welch Bush Hager (born November 25, 1981) is an American news personality, author, and journalist. She is the co-host of ''Today with Hoda & Jenna'', the fourth hour of NBC's morning news program ''Today.'' Hager and her fraternal twin sist ...
,
Tory Burch Tory Burch (née Robinson; born June 17, 1966) is an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist. She is the Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of her own brand, Tory Burch LLC. She was listed as the 88th most powerf ...
,
Melinda French Gates Melinda French Gates (born Melinda Ann French; August 15, 1964) is an American philanthropist and former multimedia product developer and manager at Microsoft. French Gates has consistently been ranked as one of the world's most powerful women ...
, Amy Holmes,
Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...
,
Gretchen Whitmer Gretchen Esther Whitmer (born August 23, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 49th governor of Michigan since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, she served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2001 to 2006 a ...
,
Kerri Strug Kerri Allyson Strug (born November 19, 1977) is a retired American gymnast from Tucson, Arizona. She was a member of the Magnificent Seven, the victorious all-around women's gymnastics team that represented the United States at the 1996 Summer ...
,
Rue McClanahan Eddi-Rue McClanahan (February 21, 1934 – June 3, 2010) was an American actress and comedian best known for her roles on television as Vivian Harmon on '' Maude'' (1972–78), Aunt Fran Crowley on ''Mama's Family'' (1983–84), and Blanche De ...
,
Amy Grant Amy Lee Grant (born November 25, 1960) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began in contemporary Christian music (CCM) before crossing over to pop music in the 1980s and 1990s. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christia ...
, and
Jennifer Cook O'Toole Jennifer Cook (formerly O'Toole) (born October 24, 1975) is an American author and speaker. She is known for her six ''Asperkids'' books, which have been translated into six languages and include the winner of the Autism Society of America's ' ...
. Laura Bush was a member of the ''Beta Sigma chapter'' at Southern Methodist University. Her daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush were members at Yale University and University at Texas at Austin, respectively. Tory Burch, an American fashion designer, businesswoman, and philanthropist was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at the University of Pennsylvania. Amy Holmes, an American journalist and political commentator was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta at Princeton University. Sheryl Crow was a member at the University of Missouri. Gretchen Whitmer, Governor of Michigan, was a Theta at Michigan State University. Amy Grant, a famous American singer, was a member of the ''Alpha Eta chapter'' at Vanderbilt University. The first women admitted to
Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...
honor society were Thetas.


Philanthropy

The Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation was founded in 1960 and is the philanthropic arm of the organization. The Theta Foundation awards annual undergraduate and graduate scholarships to its members, awarding more than $1.1 million per year. In addition to scholarships, the Theta Foundation also supports the sorority's educational programs as well as its international philanthropy,
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is a national association in the United States that supports and promotes court-appointed advocates for abused or neglected children. CASA are volunteers from the community who complete training that has ...
. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA's) are community volunteers who serve as the voice for abused and neglected foster care children who are going through the court system. CASA's are appointed by a judge and their purpose is to ensure all legal actions made are in the child's best interest. In order to directly volunteer at CASA you must be 21 years of age or older.


Local chapter misconduct

In 2000, the chapter at the
University of Cincinnati The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
was temporarily suspended for
hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...
. The pledges were forced to endure several demeaning tasks, one of which included crawling up the steps of the sorority house for the amusement of their big sisters. In 2000, the chapter at
Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...
was shut down after a drinking party sent newly pledged members to the hospital. One member passed out and was placed on a respirator that night. In 2008, the chapter at
Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...
was suspended for four years after an alcohol-hazing related incident. In 2014, the chapter at
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
was under national scrutiny after hosting a racially and ethnically insensitive event that went viral. Some of the costumes worn by sorority members were based on stereotypes meant to represent Mexico, Japan, the Netherlands, Ireland, Jamaica and other countries. The sorority publicly apologized for the event. In 2016, the 137-year old chapter at the
University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
was suspended by the university for underage drinking and hazing. The chapter was disbanded by the national organization a few weeks later for violating the suspension. In 2018, the University of Mississippi and Clemson's chapters were closed for failure to meet quota. There was a great deal of opposition, since members felt they were being unfairly punished, simply for being less popular than other
National Panhellenic Conference The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) is an umbrella organization for 26 (inter)national women's Fraternities and sororities, sororities throughout the United States and Canada. Each member group is autonomous as a social, Greek alphabet#Use ...
(NPC) sororities on campus, and not for risk management or academic issues. In 2019, the Randolph-Macon chapter's new president was found to have hazed members of the organization living within the chapter facility. In February 2022, the members of the Eta Mu chapter at Occidental College in Los Angeles voted to disband the chapter following a controversy with a member. This said member sent anti-Asian and anti-Black messages in a private group chat among friends in December 2020 but it did not surface until 2 years later


References


External links


Kappa Alpha Theta FraternityKappa Alpha Theta FoundationKappa Alpha Theta Heritage
{{DePauw University Kappa Alpha Theta, Student organizations established in 1870 National Panhellenic Conference Student societies in the United States DePauw University Fraternities and sororities based in Indianapolis 1870 establishments in Indiana