Kappa Alpha Theta is an international organization with over 120 chapters in the USA and Canada. We are the first Greek letter organization for women, founded in 1870. Our purpose is the following: 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. In the region you can find Theta Chapters at the University of Washington, Washington State University, the University of Puget Sound, Whitman College, the University of Idaho, and Albertson College. For more information please go to the Headquarters site.

The History of Kappa Alpha Theta

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 2005, Kappa Alpha Theta celebrated its 135th anniversary.