About Us

Fraternity Purpose

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.

Black and Gold Pansy

Kite and Twin Stars

Black and Gold

 

Administrational Executive Officers

Madolyn Hollowed

Vice President Administration

Maddy is a Sophomore Biology major from Mercer Island, Washington. She loves being outdoors, especially to ski, hike, and run. She enjoys coffee ice cream, bird watching, and Saturday morning cartoons. Maddy also loves to be with her family and friends both near and far. As the Vice President of Administration, Maddy hopes to watch as the chapter grows with each new member.
 

 

 

Cassidy Merriam

Vice President Finance

Cassidy is a Sophomore and an English major. In her free time she enjoys marathoning, tennis, photography, walking her lovely dog, and singing. She loves being a member of Kappa Alpha Theta and is excited to see the growth of the chapter over the next few years.

 

 

 

All Other Officers

Lisa Mori

Recording Secretary, Attendance Deputy and Assistant Membership Chair

Amy Mahanay

Archivist/Historian and Scholarship Chair

Aviva Kaufman

Technology Chair and Convention Awards Chair

Piper Rastello

Social Chair

Alexina Shaber

Risk Management

Callie Burke

Ritualist

Leana Napoles

Music Chair and Service Chair

Kelly Gajewski

Finance Deputy and Editor

Katie DeMocker

Recruitment Chair

Allegra Palmer

Alumnae Relations Chair, Small Philanthropy Chair and Reference Chair

History

Founded in 1870 at Asbury University (now DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana), Kappa Alpha Theta is the first Greek letter fraternity for women. Bettie Locke Hamilton was one of the first women admitted to the newly co-ed Asbury in 1867. She was familiar with the fraternity lifestyle, as her father was a member of Beta Theta Pi and her brother of Phi Gamma Delta. When a Phi Gamma Delta friend asked her to wear his badge, she responded that she could not wear it if she did not know the secrets and purposes of the letters represented. Though there was some talk of initiating Bettie into the fraternity, they instead presented her with a silver fruit basket engraved with their letters.

Impressed with the fraternity ideals, Bettie searched for a woman's counterpart. Finding none, she followed her father's suggestion to begin her own. And so, Kappa Alpha Theta was conceived. Bettie and her friend, Alice Allen, together wrote a constitution, planned ceremonies, designed a badge, and sought out other women on campus worthy of membership. Along with Bettie Tipton and Hannah Fitch, the four 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 Theta spread to other colleges with Bettie's establishment of the Beta chapter at Indiana University in May of the same year.