Sigma Kappa (, also known as SK or Sig Kap) is a North American college sorority. It was founded in 1874 at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. The sorority has initiated 226,000 members, has 119 collegiate chapters, and has over 98 alumnae chapters. The sorority is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC).
History
thumb|left|Sigma Kappa Founders
In 1871, Mary Caffrey Low Carver became the first and only female student at Colby College in Maine until Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce, Frances Elliott Mann Hall, and Louise Helen Coburn were admitted and enrolled in 1873. As the only women, they associated frequently and decided to form a society. They were instructed by the college administration that they would need to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa. On November 9, 1874, the faculty approved their petition. Sigma Kappa annually celebrates November 9 as its Founders' Day. and in 1905, Sigma Kappa joined the National Panhellenic Conference. In 1907, Sigma Kappa had initiated 400 members and had established six chapters. The sorority first published its magazine, the Sigma Kappa Triangle, in 1907. In 1912, its Seattle Mu chapter's first-year student, Dorothy Louise Anderson, who Lake Dorothy is named after, died of illness. Her parents, Ada Woodruff and Oliver Perkins Anderson, gave a lodge to the chapter on Puget Sound, used up until 1919.
In 1918, the sorority adopted the Maine Sea Coast Missionary Society as its first philanthropy interest. Its second philanthropy, begun in the aftermath of WWII in 1946, had an international focus, supporting the American Farm School of Thessaloniki, Greece. Its mission is complete; the Farm School effort has been discontinued. In 1924, Sigma Kappa established its first national headquarters in Reading, Massachusetts, which would move to Indianapolis, Indiana, in 1936. In 1937, it began sending out field consultants for collegiate chapters. In 1962, it established a separate branch, the Sigma Kappa Foundation, to manage its philanthropy funds, and added Alzheimer's disease as a focus for its gerontology philanthropy in 1984.
In 1992, it began another program as part of its gerontology initiatives, "Inherit the Earth". In 1993, Sigma Kappa established a housing corporation. Adopted in 1911,
Badges
The current membership badge is a one-inch jeweled triangle with Greek letters "" and "". Chapters raise funds for the Foundation, which then grants the funds towards: scholarships for leadership and tuition for its collegiate members, alumnae chapter funds, alumnae and collegiate crisis relief, The first letter of Sigma Kappa's five philanthropies spell out the word "Sigma;" the philanthropies are the Sigma Kappa Foundation, Inherit the Earth, Gerontology, Maine Sea Cost Mission, and the Alzheimer's Association.
Many collegiate chapters of Sigma Kappa participate in The Walk to End Alzheimer's to raise money for the Alzheimer's Association. This money does not go through the Sigma Kappa Foundation but directly to the Alzheimer's Association. According to the Foundation's website: "Since becoming a Platinum National Walk team in 2016, Sigma Kappa has consistently raised more than $1,000,000 annually. In 2019, Sigma Kappa became a Diamond Level National Walk Team, the highest level for a national team for the Alzheimer's Association." Some chapters may also participate in hosting a variety of fundraising events called "Ultra Violet", a concept introduced in 2008, Prospective members must meet the fraternity's national minimum GPA requirement (3.0/4.0) as well as the chapter's requirement. Alternatively, women past college-age may be invited or may apply to join via alumnae initiation if they are not already a member of another NPC sorority, a process which 20 of the 26 NPC members also participate in. Due to NPC agreements, no woman who has been initiated into another NPC sorority may join another one, although no NPC member is restricted from joining a professional or service Greek letter organization.
Chapters
Sigma Kappa has 119 collegiate chapters and 98 alumnae chapters. ensuring that the Alpha chapter will probably never be resurrected.
Chapter houses
In 2005, Sigma Kappa's Mu Chapter House at the University of Washington obtained City of Seattle Landmark status, becoming the only sorority or fraternity in Seattle to achieve Historic Landmark status both at the City of Seattle and on the National Historic Register.
Notable members
According to the sorority, it has initiated more than 185,000 women.