Kappa Alpha Theta

Infobox Fraternity
letters= ΚΑΘ
name= Kappa Alpha Theta
crest=
founded= Birth date and age|1870|01|27
birthplace= DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana
type= Social
scope= International
motto=
colors= Black and Gold
symbol= Kite and Twin Stars
flower= Black and Gold Pansy
jewel=
publication=
philanthropy= Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
chapters= 128
members= 210,000
lifetime=
free_label=
free=
address= 8740 Founders Road
city= Indianapolis
state= Indiana
country= USA
homepage= http://www.kappaalphatheta.org/

Kappa Alpha Theta (ΚΑΘ) is an international women's fraternity founded on January 27, 1870 at DePauw University. Kappa Alpha Theta was the first Greek-letter women's fraternity. [cite book | last = Nuwer | first = Hank | title = Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing, and Binge Drinking | publisher = Indiana University Press | date= 1999 | pages = pp. 149 | isbn = 0-253-21498-X] The organization currently has 128 chapters at colleges and universities across the United States and Canada with a total initiated membership of 210,000. Currently, it is one of the five largest sororities.Fact|date=February 2007

History

Kappa Alpha Theta was founded in 1870 and was established to give women a support group in the then mostly male college world at what is now DePauw University. It is the first women's Greek letter fraternity. Indiana Asbury, as the university was known then, officially opened its doors to women in 1867, thirty years after the college was first established. Four women, Bettie Locke (Hamilton), Alice Allen (Brant), Bettie Tipton (Lindsay) and Hannah Fitch (Shaw), sought to create an organization for women that would provide the encouragement and support that would draw women to coeducational colleges and help them attain a degree. It was with these ideals in mind that the four women founded Kappa Alpha Theta, and believed in the Fraternity's strength through its members' lasting loyalty to each other and to the Fraternity ideals.

Kappa Alpha Theta was based in part on two Fraternities with which Bettie Locke had contact; Beta Theta Pi, her father's fraternity, and Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji), her brother's fraternity. Bettie had many friends in Fiji, and when members asked her to wear their badge as a "mascot", Bettie declined. She said she could not wear it as she did not know the secrets and purposes represented by the letters. She followed her father's suggestion to begin her own fraternity for women, and so Kappa Alpha Theta was conceived. Bettie and her friend Alice Allen together wrote a constitution, planned ceremonies, designed a badge, and sought other women on campus worthy of membership. It took these women 3 years to found Kappa Alpha Theta. These four founding members initiated themselves on January 27 1870, becoming the first Greek-letter fraternity known among women.

These four women proudly wore their black and gold badges to Asbury's chapel service on March 14. The Alpha Chapter at Asbury grew to 22 sisters. Soon Kappa Alpha Theta spread to other colleges with Bettie's establishment of the Beta Chapter at Indiana University in May of the same year. After the formation of Theta the men of Phi Gamma Delta presented Bettie with a silver cake basket engraved with their letters as a token of appreciation.

Through the years, Kappa Alpha Theta has grown to its current size of 128 college chapters, 282 alumnae groups, and more than 170,000 members. In 2005, Kappa Alpha Theta celebrated its 135th anniversary.

Some symbols of Kappa Alpha Theta are twin stars, a black and gold pansy, and the kite, which all represent the fraternity ideals of sisterhood.

Facts

* Theta is an international organization with college and alumnae chapters throughout the United States and Canada.
* The Fraternity is a not-for-profit Indiana corporation, with Headquarters in Indianapolis, Indiana.
* The Fraternity's philanthropic arm, the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation, supports the Fraternity's educational programs and Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Theta's international philanthropy.
* The Foundation annually awards more than $300,000 in graduate and undergraduate scholarships to members and has awarded over $6,000,000 since the program's inception.
* The first women admitted to Phi Beta Kappa were Thetas.
* The first women's fraternity to establish a chapter in Canada was Kappa Alpha Theta.
* The first woman elected to the U.S. Senate in her own right was a Theta.

Philanthropy

The Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation, founded in 1960, is the philanthropic arm of the organization. The Foundation annually awards more than $400,000 in graduate and undergraduate scholarships to its members. Theta is among the top of the Greek community in supplying scholarship awards to collegiate members. The foundation also supports the Fraternity's educational programs as well as the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Theta's international philanthropy, adopted in 1989. CASA advocates are community volunteers who serve as the voice for abused and neglected children in court. Their purpose is to ensure all legal actions made are in the child's best interest. To date, the foundation has donated over $770,000 to CASA.

Notable alumnae

Academics
*Mary Ritter Beard (Alpha, Depauw) - noted historian, Campaigner for Women's Suffrage.cite web| url =http://www.kappaalphatheta.org/learnabouttheta/whatistheta/notable_thetas.cfm| title = Kappa Alpha Theta - Notable Thetas | publisher = Kappa Alpha Theta | accessdate =2007-07-27]
*Dian Fossey (Gamma Xi, San Jose State) - zoologist, first female Primatologist, wrote 'Gorillas in the Mist'.
*Margaret Floy Washburn (Iota, Cornell) - the 1st woman to receive a Ph.D. in Psychology.

Arts and entertainment
*Ann-Margret (Tau, Northwestern) - actress, ("State Fair", "Viva Las Vegas", "Grumpy Old Men").
*Sarah Clarke (Beta, Indiana) - actress, ("24").
*Joan Ganz Cooney (Beta Delta, Arizona) - founder of the Children's Television Workshop and creator of "Sesame Street".
*Sheryl Crow (Alpha Mu, Missouri) - Grammy Award winning singer.
*Agnes de Mille (Beta Xi, UCLA) - Broadway choreographer.
*Amy Grant (Alpha Eta, Vanderbilt) - singer, Grammy Award winner.
*Jennifer Jones (Tau, Northwestern) - Academy Award-winning American actress.
*Rue McClanahan (Gamma Tau, Tulsa) - actress, ("The Golden Girls").
*Julie Moran (Gamma Delta, UGA) - former host of Entertainment Tonight; first female host of ABC's "Wide World of Sports"; current host of "Insiders List" on the Fine Living channel.
*Mary Kay Place (Gamma Tau, Tulsa) - actress, ("Being John Malkovich", "The Rainmaker").
*Marlo Thomas (Omicron, USC) - actress and spokeswoman for St. Jude's Children's Hospital.
*Jenna von Oÿ (Omicron, USC) - actress.
*Kate Voegele (Gamma Upsilon, Miami of Ohio) - singer/songwriter and "One Tree Hill" actress.
*Liz Meyer (Beta Pi, Michigan State) - singer/songwriter
*Maurine Dallas Watkins (Gamma, Butler) - playwright, ("Chicago (1926)").
*Ashley Zais (Zeta Eta, Wofford College, SC) - Miss South Carolina USA 2007. [cite web|date=January 30, 2007 |title=House Resolution 3367 |url=http://www.schouse.org/sess117_2007-2008/bills/3367.htm |publisher=South Carolina Legislature Online |accessdate=2008-04-23]
*Koren Zailckas (Chi, Syracuse) - author of "Smashed" [cite web|date=|title=Under the influence| url=http://media.www.dailyorange.com/media/storage/paper522/news/2005/03/01/News/Under.The.Influence-880694.shtml |first=Dana |last=Moran |publisher="The Daily Orange"|accessdate=2008-10-02]

Politics
*Karen Koning AbuZayd (Alpha, Depauw) - Deputy Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Administration.
*Nancy Kassebaum Baker (Kappa, Kansas) - former United States Senator.
*Anna Elizabeth Dickinson (Alpha, Depauw) - influential abolitionist and suffragist.
*Mary Fallin (Beta Zeta, Oklahoma State) - 1st woman to be elected Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma; U.S. House of Representatives.
*Tillie K. Fowler (Delta Zeta, Emory) - United States Representative from Florida.
*Barbara Hackman Franklin (Beta Phi, Penn State) - 29th U.S. Secretary of Commerce; CEO of Barbara Franklin Enterprises.
*Nancy Hanks (Beta Rho, Duke) - 1st woman to serve as the Chairman of the United States National Endowment for the Arts.
*Claire McCaskill (Alpha Mu, Missouri) - U.S. Congress as Senator from Missouri.

Sports
*Pauline Betz (Gamma Gamma, Rollins) - American female tennis player. [cite web|date= July 2, 2000| url = http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:jd8GCmYq_NYJ:findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4196/is_20000702/ai_n10628005+%22Kappa+Alpha+Theta%22+%22Pauline+Betz%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=10&gl=us&client=firefox-a| title = Wimbledon belatedly honors past champion| publisher = The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | accessdate =2007-08-27]
*JoAnne Carner (Delta Epsilon, Arizona State) - American professional golfer.
*Helen Jacobs (Omega, UC Berkeley) - American female tennis player.
*Melissa Stark (Delta Chi, Virginia) - newsreporter, "Monday Night Football".
*Kerri Strug (Beta Xi, UCLA) - Olympic gymnast.

Miscellaneous
*Barbara Pierce Bush (Epsilon Tau, Yale University) - daughter of President George W. Bush.citation|date=August 30, 2004 |title=Party Girls |url= http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/rnc/9699/ |first=Vanessa |last=Grigoriadis |publisher=New York Magazine |accessdate=2008-01-05]
*Jenna Bush (Alpha Theta, University of Texas) - daughter of President George W. Bush. [cite web|date=2007 |title=History of Kappa Alpha Theta |url=http://www.texastheta.org/History.html |publisher=Kappa Alpha Theta - Alpha Theta Chapter |accessdate=2007-12-07]
*Laura Bush (Beta Sigma, Southern Methodist) - wife of President George W. Bush.
*Lynne Cheney (Beta Omega, Colorado College) - wife of Vice President Dick Cheney.
*Melinda Gates (Beta Rho, Duke) - wife of Bill Gates; Co-founder of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
*Cindy Hensley McCain (Omicron, USC) - wife of 2008 presidential candidate John McCain. [citation|date=February 25, 2008 |title=Cindy McCain: A Profile |url=http://www.gjsentinel.com/news/content/shared/news/stories/2008/02/CINDY_MCCAIN24_COX.html |first=Bon |last=Dart |publisher=GJSentinal |accessdate=2008-04-15]
*Julia Morgan (Omega, UC Berkeley) - architect.
*Neilia Hunter Biden (Chi, Syracuse) - first wife of US Senator Joe Biden; married Biden in 1966, killed in car accident, Dec. 18, 1972, just prior to Biden taking oath as US Senator, Delaware. [citation|date=August 24, 2008|title=Biden's Ties to CNY are Bittersweet | url=http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf?/base/news-15/121956823017620.xml&coll=1&thispage= |publisher=Syracue.com |accessdate=2008-08-24]

Media
*Mary Margaret McBride (Alpha Mu, Missouri) - widely followed radio commentator, journalist, author (1935-1955).
*Kate Millett (Upsilon, Minnesota) - American feminist and author.
*Judith Miller (Alpha Gamma, Ohio State) - American journalist.
*Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (Psi, Wisconsin) - author, ("The Yearling").
*Kate Snow (Iota, Cornell) - anchor for "Good Morning America".

References

ee also

*Epsilon Kappa Theta, former Epsilon Kappa chapter at Dartmouth College.

External links

* [http://www.kappaalphatheta.org Kappa Alpha Theta Headquarters]