Kappa Delta (, also known as KD or Kaydee) is an American collegiate social sorority. Established in 1897, it was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University), in Farmville, Virginia. Kappa Delta is one of the "Farmville Four", four now national sororities that were established at the university. It is a member of the National Panhellenic Conference.
History Kappa Delta was founded on October 23, 1897, at the State Female Normal School (now Longwood University), in Farmville, Virginia. The founders were college students Lenora Ashmore Blackiston, Mary Sommerville Sparks Hendrick, Julia Gardiner Tyler Wilson, and Sara Turner White.
Blackiston first suggested forming a sorority. She went on to attend Randolph-Macon Woman's College. At 23 years of age Hendrick was the oldest founder and stayed at State Normal until 1902, longer than any of the other founders. Wilson was the chief illustrator of the school's yearbook and designed the Kappa Delta badge. White would frequently host Founders Day festivities at her home later in life.
The sorority expanded in 1902, chartering chapters at Chatham Episcopal Institute (now Chatham Hall), Hollins College, and Gunston Hall School. It joined the National Panhellenic Conference in 1912; however, three of its first four chapters were closed at the time because they were not at colleges.
By 1907, Kappa Delta had initiated 350 members at ten chapters. In 1917, the sorority established a Student Loan Fund to help members complete college. In 1921, the sorority selected the Crippled Children's Hospital in Richmond, Virginia as its philanthropy. It created an endowment in 1923.
By 1927, the sorority had chartered 68 chapters and had initiated 6,758 members. Sixteen chapters owned houses. It also had 48 alumnae associations.
As of 2024, Kappa Delta has initiated more than 309,000 members. It is headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Kappa Delta is one of the "Farmville Four", four now national sororities that were established at the university.
Symbols Kappa Delta's motto is or "Let us strive for that which is honorable, beautiful and highest".
Kappa Delta's coat of arms (often called the crest) is a white Norman shield, surmounted by a lamp of ancient design, against a background of ornamental scroll. A ribbon underneath the shield bears the date of the sorority's founding. Kappa Delta's tagline is "Building Confidence. Inspiring Action.""Kappa Delta Symbols." Kappa Delta Norman Shield. Memphis: Kappa Delta Sorority, 2013. 28. Web. 03 November 2014. Its insignia is a skull, cross bones, skeleton, dagger, and snake.
The Kappa Delta badge is diamond-shaped with a dagger symbol and the Greek letters "" and "" in gold on a black enamel background. The sorority's new member pin is a white enamel Norman shield bearing a green enamel triangle that contains three stars.
The sorority's symbol is the nautilus shell which symbolizes growth, renewal, and expansion. Its mascots are the teddy bear and the katydid. Its colors are olive green and pearl white. Its flower is the white rose. It has three official jewels: the diamond, the emerald, and the pearl. Its flag is a pennant shaped, in white with the Greek letters "" in olive green.
Its publication is The Angelos was started in 1904.
Philanthropies Kappa Delta Sorority's official philanthropies are the Girl Scouts of the USA and Prevent Child Abuse America. Kappa Delta national continues to support is historical philanthropies are the Children's Hospital of Richmond at VCU and Orthopedic Research Awards. Sorority members also host Shamrock events every year to raise money for Prevent Child Abuse America and local child abuse prevention efforts. To date, Kappa Delta has donated more than $23 million to prevent child abuse in the United States.
Chapters
Kappa Delta has 167 active collegiate chapters in North America. It also has more than 150 alumnae chapters around the world.
Local chapter or member misconduct In 2022, Betty Jane Cadle, former treasurer of the sorority chapter at Mississippi State University, was convicted of stealing $2.9 million from the sorority. As a result of Cadle's wrongdoing, the sorority chapter struggled financially. According to court documents, Cadle began to intentionally divert funds from the sorority's bank accounts in 2012. She used handwritten checks to transfer large sums of money into her personal bank account and the account of Belles and Beaus, a downtown Oxford children's clothing store owned by Cadle and her daughter, Cathy Lowe. Prosecutors say the fraud continued until late 2019. Cadle will serve four years in prison and was ordered to pay $2.9 million in restitution to the sorority chapter.
In 2013 and 2014, sorority women from multiple sorority chapters at the University of Alabama – including Kappa Delta, Alpha Gamma Delta, Alpha Omicron Pi, Phi Mu, Alpha Chi Omega, Pi Beta Phi, Delta Delta Delta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and Chi Omega – alleged that either active members or some alumnae had prevented them from offering membership to black candidates because of their race. Students, including Kappa Delta members, held a campus march to integrate Greek life on campus, and following media and national outcry, the university held a second round of recruitment in hopes of offering membership to more women.
Notable members Following are some of the notable members of Kappa Delta.
NameChapterNotabilityIndustryBrooke AndersonSigma Phi (University of Georgia)Emmy and Peabody award-winning television host for Entertainment TonightEntertainmentAmy Coney BarrettAlpha Delta (Rhodes College)Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesLawKathleen Babineaux BlancoGamma Kappa (University of Louisiana - Lafayette)Governor of LouisianaPoliticsPearl S. Buck Theta (Randolph College)First American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature and Pulitzer Prize winner LiteratureJean Carpenter Carnahan Epsilon Alpha (Missouri University of Science and Technology)United States SenatePoliticsAddie CarverDelta Omega (Mississippi State University)Miss Teen USA 2024EntertainmentSusie Castillo Alpha Iota (University of California, Los Angeles)Miss USA 2003Arts and EntertainmentLiz CochranAlpha Upsilon (Birmingham Southern College)Miss Alabama 2009EntertainmentRuth Johnson ColvinLambda (Northwestern University)Founder of ProLiteracy Worldwide and recipient of the Presidential Medal of FreedomPhilanthropy and ServiceEmily Elizabeth Douglas Gamma Nu (Miami University of Ohio)Founder and executive director of Grandma's GiftsPhilanthropy and ServiceEllen Albertini DowOmega Chi (Cornell)Actress known for The Wedding Singer and Wedding CrashersEntertainmentBonnie DunbarSigma Iota (University of Washington)NASA astronaut ScienceTaylor DuPriestDelta Lambda (Georgia Southern University)Television personality known for Kid NationArts and EntertainmentLauren ElaineSigma Epsilon (University of Texas)Celebrity fashion designer, actress, and television personalityEntertainmentChristine Blasey FordBeta Chi (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill)Psychology professor at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of MedicineAcademiaBlasey Ford is notable for offering unsubstantiated testimony as an alleged sexual assault survivor during the hotly politicized confirmation hearings for Justice Kavanaugh of the US Supreme Court.Christine O' Grady GregoireSigma Iota (University of Washington)Governor of WashingtonPoliticsClaudia J. KennedyAlpha Delta (Rhodes College)U.S. Army's first female three-star general MilitarySuzanne LambertSigma Phi (University of Georgia) Comedian, political commentator, social media content creator Entertainment, PoliticsAli LandryGamma Kappa (University of Louisiana - Lafayette)Actress and Miss USA 1996EntertainmentJennifer LeeAlpha Sigma (University of New Hampshire)Writer and director of the 2013 Disney animated feature FrozenEntertainmentLane Lindell Sigma Phi (University of Georgia)Model and Miss United States World 2008EntertainmentSam MacugaEta Xi (Dartmouth College) Ski jumper SportsPatricia Polito MillerSigma Upsilon (Indiana University)Co-owner and president of Vera BradleyBusinessMegan Moroney Sigma Phi (University of Georgia) Singer/songwriter EntertainmentCara Mund Theta Gamma (Brown University)Miss North Dakota 2017 and Miss America 2018EntertainmentWendi Nix Epsilon Sigma (Wofford College)ESPN commentatorEntertainmentJoan Lowery NixonTheta Sigma (University of Southern California)AuthorLiteratureGeorgia O'KeeffeBeta (Chatham Episcopal)Artist and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipientArtLisa PattonZeta (University of Alabama)Author known for the book Rush LiteratureShelley RegnerEpsilon (Louisiana State University)Actress known for the Pitch Perfect EntertainmentHannah RobertsBeta Sigma (University of Southern Mississippi)Miss Mississippi 2015EntertainmentMargaret Holland SargentAlpha Iota (University of California, Los Angeles)Portrait artist who painted Tennessee Williams, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Margaret ThatcherArtCamille SchrierEpsilon Pi (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University)Miss America 2020EntertainmentJacki Sorensen Phi (University of California, Berkeley) Originator of aerobics dance-exercise regimenSportsSuzy Spafford Beta Rho (San Diego State University) Cartoonist and creator of the Suzy's Zoo greeting cardsBusinessLara SpencerBeta Theta (Pennsylvania State University)Co-anchor for Good Morning America and correspondent for Nightline and ABC NewsEntertainmentMusette Dunn SteckSigma Delta (Duke University)Politician, activist, historian, and educatorPoliticsDonna J. StoneLambda (Northwestern University)Founder of Prevent Child Abuse AmericaPhilanthropy and ServiceLeigh Anne Tuohy Alpha Mu (University of Mississippi)Interior designer and legal guardian of Michael Oher, as featured in the 2009 film The Blind SideBusinessMari WilenskyBeta Pi (University of Florida)Miss Florida 2005EntertainmentDebbie Maffett WilsonGamma Rho (Sam Houston State)Miss America 1983EntertainmentCaitlin UptonEpsilon Epsilon (Appalachian State University)Miss Teen South Carolina USA 2007EntertainmentTrischa Zorn Pi (University of Nebraska)ParalympianSports
See also List of social sororities and women's fraternities
References
External links Kappa Delta Website