View source for Kappa Alpha Theta

{{Short description|North American collegiate sorority}}
{{Infobox Sorority
| name = Kappa Alpha Theta
| letters = {{lang|grc|ΚΑΘ}}
| crest = Kappa_Alpha_Theta_crest.png
| image_size = 190px
| founded = {{start date and age|1870|01|27}}
| birthplace = [[DePauw University]]
| affiliation = NPC
| status = Active
| type = Social sorority
| scope = North America
| motto = Faith, hope, love--these three, but the greatest of these is love
| member badge = [[File:Kappa Alpha Theta badge.png|90px]]
| colors = {{color box|#000000}} [[Black (color)|Black]] and {{color box|#FFD700}} [[Gold (color)|Gold]]
| symbol = Kite, Twin Stars
| flower = Black and gold [[pansy]]
| jewel = <!--unofficially the diamond as used on badges, however a particular jewel is not recognized.-->
| publication = ''The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine''
| philanthropy = [[Court Appointed Special Advocates]] and The Friendship Fund
| chapters = 212 collegiate, 200+ alumnae
| members = 
| lifetime = 270,000+
| free_label = 
| free = 
| address = 8740 Founders Road
| city = [[Indianapolis]]
| state = [[Indiana]]
| ZIP code = 46268
| country = United States
| homepage = {{URL|http://www.kappaalphatheta.org/|kappaalphatheta.org}}
}}

'''Kappa Alpha Theta''' ('''{{lang|grc|ΚΑΘ}}'''), commonly referred to simply as '''Theta''', is an international [[Fraternities and sororities|sorority]] founded on January 27, 1870, at [[DePauw University]] in [[Greencastle, Indiana]]. It was the first [[Greek-letter fraternity]] established for women.<ref name="Baird's_20th">{{cite book |editor1-first=Jack L. |editor1-last=Anson |editor2-first=Robert F. |editor2-last=Marchenasi |title=Baird's Manual of American Fraternities |edition=20th |year=1991 |origyear=1879 |publisher=Baird's Manual Foundation, Inc. |location=Indianapolis, IN |isbn=978-0963715906 |page=IV-43–46}}</ref><ref name="Baird's Manual Online">{{cite web|editor1=William Raimond Baird |editor2=Carroll Lurding |title=Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive), section showing Kappa Alpha Theta chapters |url=https://uofi.app.box.com/v/womens-pdf-folder/file/459803080846 |website=Student Life and Culture Archives |publisher=University of Illinois Archives |access-date=30 December 2021 |location=University of Illinois |language=English}} The main archive URL is [https://www.library.illinois.edu/slc/welcome/fraternity-sorority-almanac/ The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage].</ref> 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.<ref name="kappaalphatheta.org">{{Cite web|url=https://www.kappaalphatheta.org/about-theta/theta-facts|title=Theta Facts {{!}} Kappa Alpha Theta|date=2018-08-21|website=Kappa Alpha Theta|language=en-us|others=Kappa Alpha Theta|access-date=2018-08-21}}</ref> Theta's total living initiated membership, as of 2020, was more than 250,000.<ref name="kappaalphatheta.org" /> There are more than 200 alumnae chapters and circles worldwide.<ref name="kappaalphatheta.org"/>

Kappa Alpha Theta is a member of the [[National Panhellenic Conference]] (NPC), an umbrella organization that encompasses 26 social sororities found throughout North America. The organization's own headquarters are located in [[Indianapolis]], Indiana.

==History==
The ''Alpha chapter'' of Kappa Alpha Theta was founded at Indiana Asbury University, now [[DePauw University]] in [[Greencastle, Indiana]], 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), and Hannah Virginia Fitch Shaw (Hannah Fitch).<ref name="Baird's_20th" /><ref name="Baird's Manual Online" />

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]], and the members of [[Phi Gamma Delta]] at Indiana Asbury, which included her brother. Initially, the Phi Gamma Delta men 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]] 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.<ref name="Baird's_20th" />

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). ''The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine'' currently is published in April, June, September, and December of each year.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine |url=https://www.kappaalphatheta.org/collegians/resources/thetamagazine/index.cfm?from=CommonQuickLinkToc |access-date=2009-05-08 |publisher=Kappa Alpha Theta}}</ref>

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.<ref name="Baird's Manual Online" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thevarsity.ca/2017/09/25/the-breakdown-the-origins-of-greek-life-on-campus/|title=The Breakdown: the origins of Greek life on campus|date=2017-09-25|work=The Varsity|access-date=2018-08-21|language=en-US}}</ref>

[[G. William Domhoff]], writing in ''[[Who Rules America?]]'', listed Kappa Alpha Theta as one of "the four or five sororities with nationwide prestige" in the mid-1960s.<ref>{{cite book|first=G. William|last=Domhoff|author-link=G. William Domhoff|title=[[Who Rules America?]]|edition=Seventh|page=57|publisher=McGraw Hill College|year=2015|oclc=912380768}}</ref>

==Symbols==
The Kappa Alpha Theta motto is "Faith, hope, love--these three, but the greatest of these is love".<ref>{{cite website |title=Wake Forest University's Panhellenic Council |url=https://www.wfupanhellenic.com/kappa-alpha-theta}}</ref> The badge is a kite-shaped shield with a gold border and a black enamel center with two diamond stars and.a white chevron with the Greek letters '''{{lang|grc|ΚΑΘ}}'''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=January 2018 |title=Manual of Information |url=https://npcwomen.dynamic.omegafi.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2037/2018/01/manual-of-information-2018.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618075328/https://npcwomen.dynamic.omegafi.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2037/2018/01/manual-of-information-2018.pdf |archive-date=2018-06-18 |access-date=2018-06-17 |work=National Panhellenic Conference |page=23 |edition=23rd}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Badge |url=https://www.kappaalphatheta.org/heritage/our-heritage/our-badge |access-date=2021-03-18 |website=Kappa Alpha Theta |language=en-US}}</ref> Its new member pin is a black and gold square.<ref name=":0" />

Kappa Alpha Theta's colors are [[black (color)|black]] and [[gold (color)|gold]].<ref name=":0" /> Its symbols are both the [[kite]] and twin stars. Its flower is the black and gold [[pansy]].<ref name=":0" /> The fraternity does not recognize an official stone.<ref name="Baird's_20th" /> Its publication is ''The Kappa Alpha Theta Magazine''.<ref name=":0" />[[File:Kappa Alpha Theta sorority women in front of an entrance to a building, ca. 1880-1919 (uaic-sor-1880-1919-002~1).jpg|thumb|right|''Omicron chapter'' members at USC circa 1890s]]

== Chapters ==
{{Main|List of Kappa Alpha Theta 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:<ref name="Baird's Manual Online" /><ref name="kappaalphatheta">{{cite web |title=Chapter Listing |url=http://www.kappaalphatheta.org/collegians/aboutourchapters/chapter_listing.cfm |access-date=2014-08-20 |publisher=Kappa Alpha Theta}}</ref> 

== 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'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.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} In order to directly volunteer at CASA you must be 21 years of age or older.

== Notable members ==
{{Main|List of Kappa Alpha Theta members}}
Some notable alumni of Kappa Alpha Theta include [[Agnes de Mille]], [[Laura Bush]], [[Barbara Bush (born 1981)|Barbara Bush]], [[Jenna Bush]], [[Tory Burch]], [[Melinda French Gates]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 1, 2017 |title=The incredible life of Melinda Gates — one of the world's richest and most powerful women |url=https://www.businessinsider.nl/life-of-melinda-gates-2016-3/ |access-date=March 24, 2018 |archive-date=March 25, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180325045442/https://www.businessinsider.nl/life-of-melinda-gates-2016-3/ |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Amy Holmes]], [[Sheryl Crow]], [[Gretchen Whitmer]], [[Kerri Strug]], [[Rue McClanahan]], [[Amy Grant]], [[Jennifer Cook]], [[Tiffany Trump]] and [[Julia Woods]].

Laura Bush was a member of the ''Beta Sigma chapter'' at [[Southern Methodist University]] in [[University Park, Texas]]. Her daughters Barbara and Jenna Bush were members at [[Yale University]] and the [[University of 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]], an [[Ivy League]] university in [[Philadelphia]]. 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]] in [[Columbia, Missouri]]. Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan's current governor, was a Theta at [[Michigan State University]] in [[East Lansing, Michigan]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Alberta |first1=Tim |title=The Woman in Michigan' Goes National |url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/04/09/gretchen-whitmer-governor-michigan-profile-2020-coronavirus-biden-vp-177791 |website=Politico |publisher=Politico LLC |access-date=21 June 2020}}</ref> Amy Grant, an American singer, was a member of the ''Alpha Eta chapter'' at [[Vanderbilt University]] in [[Nashville, Tennessee]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.collegefashion.net/fashion-tips/designer-spotlight-tory-burch/|title=Designer Spotlight: Tory Burch|last1=Stony|first1=Fatima|website=collegefashion|date=12 October 2016|access-date=8 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="kappaalphatheta" />

The first women admitted to [[Phi Beta Kappa]] honor society were Thetas.{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

{{wide image|Student groups--fraternities and sororities, Kappa Alpha Theta, Phi chapter.jpg|800px|align-cap=center|Members of [[Stanford University]]'s ''Phi chapter'' in [[Stanford, California]], circa 1897. From top left to right: 1) Hume, M., 2) Green, P., 3) Hill, Edith, 4) Webb, Winnifred, 5) Demming, Daisy, 6) Avery, C., 7) Fry, W., 8) Green, Ruby, 9) Haven, Martha, 10) Edwards, Ada, 11) [[Edith Jordan Gardner|Jordan, Edith]], 12) Markham, M., 13) Pitcher, L., 14) Hogue, Elizabeth, 15) Patterson, Letitia, 16) Moody, Ora, 17) Fielder, Ortha Belle, 18) Patterson, Frances, and 19) Carey, A.}}

==Local chapter misconduct==
In 2000, the chapter at the [[University of Cincinnati]] in [[Cincinnati]] was temporarily suspended for [[hazing]]. 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://enquirer.com/editions/2000/02/20/loc_uc_sorority.html|author=Jeff Carlton|title=UC sorority suspended over hazing complaints |work=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]]|date=2000-02-20|access-date=2015-11-07}}</ref>

In 2000, the chapter at [[Rollins College]] in [[Winter Park, Florida]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2000/04/12/sorority-chapter-is-shut-down-at-rollins/|author=Scott Powers|title=Sorority Chapter Is Shut Down At Rollins|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=2000-04-12|access-date=2015-11-08}}</ref>

In 2008, the chapter at [[Colgate University]] in [[Hamilton, New York]] was suspended for four years after an alcohol-hazing related incident.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thecolgatemaroonnews.com/news/article_52fbe151-4b67-50ae-a1bf-083eeb4a2a35.html|title=Kappa Alpha Theta Receives 4-Year Suspension|work=The Colgate-Maroon News|access-date=2015-11-07|archive-date=2018-05-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180501030732/http://www.thecolgatemaroonnews.com/news/article_52fbe151-4b67-50ae-a1bf-083eeb4a2a35.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2014, the chapter at [[Columbia University]] in [[New York City]] 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.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/24/columbia-sorority-party-offensive-olympics_n_4847827.html|author=Tyler Kingkade|title=Columbia Sorority Criticized For Offensive Olympics Party|work=[[The Huffington Post]]|date=2014-02-24|access-date=2015-11-08}}</ref>

In 2016, the 137-year old chapter at the [[University of Michigan]] in [[Ann Arbor, Michigan]] 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.<ref name="bn-2016feb24">{{cite news |url=https://www.mlive.com/news/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2016/02/disbanded_u-m_sorority_faced_d.html |title=Disbanded U-M sorority chapter faced discipline problems for years, national president says |website=[[Booth Newspapers]] |date=2016-02-24 |first=Darcie |last=Moran}}</ref><ref name="dfp-2016feb23">{{cite news |url=https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2016/02/23/university-of-michigan-sorority-kappa-alpha-theta/80794710/ |title=University of Michigan's oldest sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta, disbanded |newspaper=[[Detroit Free Press]] |date=2016-02-23 |first=David |last=Jesse}}</ref>

In 2018, chapters at the [[University of Mississippi]] in [[Oxford, Mississippi]] and [[Clemson University]] in [[Clemson, South Carolina]] 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]] (NPC) sororities on campus, and not for risk management or academic issues.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oxfordeagle.com/2018/11/05/kappa-alpha-theta-to-close-ole-miss-chapter-at-semesters-end/|title = Kappa Alpha Theta to close Ole Miss chapter at semester's end|date = 5 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independentmail.com/story/news/2018/11/15/kappa-alpha-theta-clemson-chapter-delta-phi/2011585002/|title = Clemson sorority Kappa Alpha Theta told to shut down}}</ref>

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, who reportedly sent anti-Asian and anti-Black messages in a private group chat among friends in a December 2020 incident that did not surface until two years later.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://theoccidentalnews.com/news/2022/03/16/occidentals-chapter-of-kappa-alpha-theta-disbands-in-wake-of-racist-text-messages/2905647 | title=Occidental's chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta disbands in wake of racist text messages | date=16 March 2022 }}</ref>

In February 2022, the chapter at [[Southern Methodist University]] (SMU) was placed on a two-year suspension by the university for pressuring pledges to drink large amounts of alcohol and other hazing activities that endangered their safety and mental health.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://smudailycampus.com/1061852/hilltop-happenings/parents-from-anti-hazing-coalition-speak-to-smu-greek-community-as-yet-another-organization-faces-hazing-allegations/ | title=Parents from Anti-Hazing Coalition speak to SMU Greek community as yet another organization faces hazing allegations }}</ref> The chapter was sanctioned for a similar violation in 2020. After being suspended in 2022, members of the chapter created an off-campus based organization known as "The Society" to continue to recruit new members and uphold the chapter's legacy.  SMU officials stated "The Society" was another violation of the Student Code of Conduct and worked to disband the organization and penalize fraternities seen socializing with them. Also the CEO of Kappa Alpha Theta, Jennifer Schmaltz,  delayed the return of the chapter an additional year because she did not like its similarities to the sorority.  Parents of "The Society" members hired lawyers on behalf of their daughters to fight to keep the organization until the official return of Kappa Alpha Theta at SMU.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://smudailycampus.com/1063328/news/thinking-theta-think-again/ | title=Thinking Theta? Think again }}</ref>

==See also==

* [[List of social sororities and women's fraternities]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.kappaalphatheta.org Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity]
*[http://www.kappaalphathetafoundation.org Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514030410/http://www.kappaalphathetafoundation.org/ |date=2018-05-14 }}
*[http://heritage.kappaalphatheta.org/ Kappa Alpha Theta Heritage]

{{National Panhellenic Conference}}
{{Fraternities and Sororities|collapsed}}
{{DePauw University}}

[[Category:Kappa Alpha Theta| ]]
[[Category:1870 establishments in Indiana]]
[[Category:DePauw University]]
[[Category:Fraternities and sororities in the United States]]
[[Category:National Panhellenic Conference]]
[[Category:Student organizations established in 1870]]
[[Category:Student societies in the United States]]
[[Category:Women's organizations based in the United States]]
[[Category:Sororities]]
[[Category:Women in Indianapolis]]