The Kappa Alpha Society () is a North American social college fraternity. Founded in 1825, it was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest continuously active national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity
While several fraternities claim to be the oldest, Baird's Manual states that has maintained a continuous existence since its foundation, making it the oldest undergraduate fraternity that exists today. As of 2026, there are five active chapters, three in the United States and two in Canada.
This organization is not to be confused with the Kappa Alpha Order, a completely separate national fraternity founded in 1865.
History
In 1823, John Hart Hunter, Isaac Wilber Jackson, and Thomas Hun, who were students at Union College in Schenectady, New York, established an informal group called The Philosophers. Besides those listed above, its founders were Joseph Anthony Constant, John McGeoch, Orlando Meads, and James Proudfit of the class of , and Arthur Burtis and Joseph Law of the class of .
thumb|Plaque that hangs over a gate at Union College which commemorates the 100th Anniversary of the founding of the Kappa Alpha Society in November 1825.
On June 23, 1827, the society decided to adopted a membership emblem which takes the form of a medal. That same year, they published their first catalog. Clark and Alexander Hyde had traveled to Union College to obtain a charter for Phi Beta Kappa, and instead returned with one for Kappa Alpha.
In 2000, the fraternity agreed to restore the Kappa Alpha gate at Union College.
In September 2025, the 200th anniversary of the fraternity was celebrated at Union College in New York.
Chapters
Following is a list of the active and inactive chapters of the Kappa Alpha Society, with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.
| Williams College
| Williamstown, Massachusetts
| Inactive
|
|-
| New York Beta
| CH
| – ; –;
| Hobart College
| Geneva, New York
| Active
|
|-
| New Jersey Alpha
| CNC
| – ; –
| Princeton University
| Princeton, New Jersey
| Inactive
|
|-
| Virginia Alpha
| VV
| –
| University of Virginia
| Charlottesville, Virginia
| Inactive
|
|-
| New York Gamma
| VC
| – ; –
| Cornell University
| Ithaca, New York
| Inactive
|
|-
| Ontario Alpha
| VT
|
| University of Toronto
| Toronto, Ontario
| Active
|
|-
| Pennsylvania Alpha
| VL
| –
| Lehigh University
| Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
| Inactive
|
|-
| Quebec Alpha
| VM
| – ; –; –
| McGill University
| Montreal, Quebec
| Inactive
|
|-
| Pennsylvania Beta
| VP
|
| University of Pennsylvania
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
| Active
|
|-
| Ontario Beta
| VOO
|
| University of Western Ontario
| London, Ontario
| Active
|
|-
| Connecticut Alpha
| VW
| – ; –
| Wesleyan University
| Middletown, Connecticut
| Inactive
|
|-
| Alberta Alpha
| VA
| –
| University of Alberta
| Edmonton, Alberta
| Inactive
|
|-
| Alberta Beta
| VAC
| –
| University of Calgary
| Calgary, Alberta
| Inactive
|
|-
| Nova Scotia Alpha
| VD
| –
| Dalhousie University
| Halifax, Nova Scotia
| Inactive
|
|}
Notes
Membership
The Kappa Alpha Society has produced a substantial number of notable members in widely varied fields throughout its 200-year history.
A catolog of members was published in 1892 and published under the name Kappa Alpha Record in 1925 and 1941.
The Union and Wesleyan chapters were co-educational, that is, having male and female members in the recent past. There are currently no co-educational chapters.
See also
- List of social fraternities and sororities
- Triad (fraternities)
Further reading
- Kappa Alpha Society. (1881). A biographical record of the Kappa Alpha Society in Williams College, Williamstown, Mass.: From its foundation to the present time. 1831-1881. New York, NY: S. W. Green's Son.
- Kappa Alpha Society. (2002). A directory of Kappa Alpha 2002: 175th anniversary edition. Purchase, NY: Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company.
- Tarleton, Robert S. (1993). The Spirit of Kappa Alpha: The oldest Greek-letter social fraternity in prose, poetry and picture. New York, NY: John Hart Hunter Press.
- The Executive Council of The Kappa Alpha Society. (1950). Directory of the Kappa Alpha Society 1950. St. Albans, VT: The North Country Press.
- The Executive Council of The Kappa Alpha Society. (1960). Kappa Alpha Record 1825-1960. Utica, NY: Thomas J. Griffiths Sons.
- The Executive Council of The Kappa Alpha Society. (1976). Kappa Alpha Record 1825-1976: Sesquicentennial edition. Ithaca, NY: Art Craft Printers.