History of Kappa Alpha Theta
"Remember the black dear, remember the gold, and remember the story that's always been told. Remember the friendships so faithful and true. Remember that Theta loves no one but you. "
Established January 27, 1870
In 1837, the Methodist Church established Indiana Asbury (now DePauw University) in Greencastle, Indiana.
Indiana Asbury officially opened its doors to women in 1867, but not without great uproar from the male students. The first women students at Indiana Asbury were looking for ways to make friends and find support and encouragement for their academic pursuits. They were reviled by their teachers, taunted by their classmates, and ignored by their girlhood friends who did the "right" thing and attended conservatories for girls. It took these brave pioneers three years to found Kappa Alpha Theta, the first Greek-letter Fraternity for women.
To be sure, there were societies for women before 1867, and some of these had secret rituals with badges, passwords, mottoes, and other symbols. But in 1870, Theta became the first women's Greek-letter fraternity because its primary founder, Bettie Locke, wanted full membership in a male fraternity. When the men asked her to wear their fraternity badge as a "mascot," she responded, "If you won't initiate me into your fraternity, I'll start my own." Thus, Kappa Alpha Theta was established on January 27, 1870. In 2010, Kappa Alpha Theta celebrated its 140th anniversary.
To visit the National Kappa Alpha Theta website, click here.
To visit the Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation website, click here.
Symbol
Colors
Flower
Kite-Shaped Badge
Black and Gold
The Black and Gold Pansy
Founders
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| Bettie Locke Hamilton | Alice Allen Brant | Bettie Tipton Lindsey | Hannah Fitch Shaw |
Notable Thetas
| Brittany McGee | Glenna Goodacre |
| Wife of Cowboys Quarterback Stephen McGee | Designed Sacagawea Dollar |
| Texas A&M University - Class of 2010 | Colorado College |
| Tory Burch | Amy Grant |
| Fashion Designer | Recording Artist |
| University of Pennsylvania | Vanderbilt University |
| Laura Bush | Marjorie Husted |
| Former U.S. First Lady | Creator of Betty Crocker |
| Southern Methodist University | University of Minnesota |
| Jenna Bush | Katie Lee Joel |
| Daughter of Former U.S. President | Chef & Wife of Billy Joel |
| The University of Texas at Austin | Miami University |
| Barbara Bush | Ann Margaret |
| Daughter of Former U.S. President | Actress in Grumpy Old Men |
| Yale University | Northwestern University |
| Lynne Cheney | Cindy McCain |
| Wife of Former U.S. Vice President | Wife of U.S. Senator John McCain |
| Colorado College | USC |
| Sarah Clarke | Rue McClanahan |
| Actress on 24 | Actress on The Golden Girls |
| Indiana University | Tulsa University |
| Taylor Cole | Whitney Port |
| Cast Member on Laguna Beach | Star of MTV 'The City' |
| University of Arizona | USC |
| Joan Cooney | Kerri Strug |
| Creator of Sesame Street | Olympic Gymnast & Gold Medalist |
| University of Arizona | UCLA |
| Sheryl Crow | Marlo Thomas |
| Recording Artist | Actress |
| University of Missouri | USC |
| Melinda Gates | Koren Zailckas |
| Wife of Bill Gates | Author of Smashed |
| Duke University | Syracuse |
| Dylan Lauren | Kate Snow |
| Owner of Dylan's Candy Bar, Daughter of Ralph Lauren | Anchor for Good Morning America |
| Duke University | Cornell University |
