Our Mission Statement
Yesterday, today, and tomorrow, Kappa Alpha Theta exists to nurture each member throughout her college and alumnae experience and to offer a lifelong opportunity for social, intellectual and moral growth as she meets the higher and broader demands of mature life.

The intellectual ambition of the Fraternity shall be the attainment of highest scholarship. The social aim of the Fraternity shall be to exercise the widest influence for good. The moral aim of the Fraternity shall be the standard of love.

Flower: The Black and Gold Pansy                Symbols: The Kite and Twin stars                Colors: Black and Gold

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.

• 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.
• 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.
• Kappa Alpha Theta was the first greek lettered fraternity for women.
• Kappa Alpha Theta was the first women's fraternity to establish a chapter outside the USA.
• If you see pansy flowers at Disneyland, it is because Walt Disney had them planted for his two Theta daughters.