History

Kappa Alpha Theta was founded at Asbury University (now DePauw University) in Greencastle, Indiana on January 27, 1870, making it the first Greek letter fraternity for women. (The word "sorority" was not coined until after Kappa Alpha Theta was founded.)

Bettie Locke was one of the first women admitted to Asbury in 1867, and she believed that uniting with other female students in pursuit of similar goals would greatly enrich their college experience. She was familiar with the fraternity lifestyle, as her father was a member of Beta Theta Pi and her brother of Phi Gamma Delta. Impressed with the fraternity ideals, Bettie searched for a women's counterpart. Finding none, she shared her vision with Alice Allen, Bettie Tipton, and Hannah Fitch, and the four of them together founded Kappa Alpha Theta. Together, they wrote a constitution, planned ceremonies, designed a badge, and sought other women on campus worthy of membership. These four pioneering women initiated themselves on January 27, 1870, becoming the first Greek-letter fraternity known among women.

Our founders proudly wore their black and gold badges to Asbury's chapel service on March 14. The Alpha Chapter at Asbury quickly grew to 22 sisters. Later that year, Kappa Alpha Theta expanded past Asbury, as they established a Beta chapter at Indiana University.

Today, Kappa Alpha Theta has more than 170,000 total initiated members with over 123 college chapters across the United States and Canada.