Kappa Alpha Theta (), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international women's fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. 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.

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. By 1907, Kappa Alpha Theta had initiated 3,500 members at 27 college chapters and thirteen alumnae chapters.

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.

Symbols

The Kappa Alpha Theta motto is "Faith, hope, love--these three, but the greatest of these is love". 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 . Its new member pin is a black and gold square.

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. In order to directly volunteer as a CASA you must be 21 years of age or older.

Notable members

Some notable alumni of Kappa Alpha Theta include Agnes de Mille, Laura Bush, Barbara Bush, Jenna Bush, Tory Burch, Melinda French Gates, Amy Holmes, Sheryl Crow, Gretchen Whitmer, Kerri Strug, Rue McClanahan, Amy Grant, Jennifer Cook, and Tiffany Trump.

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. Amy Grant, an American singer, was a member of the Alpha Eta chapter at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

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.

In 2008, the chapter at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York was suspended for four years after an alcohol-hazing related incident.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 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.

See also

  • List of social sororities and women's fraternities

References

  • Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity
  • Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation
  • Kappa Alpha Theta Heritage