Kappa Gamma Delta () is a professional college sorority for women studying medicine and biomedical-related professions.
History Founding Kappa Gamma Delta began during the winter quarter of 1993 at the University of California, Davis when students Charlene Tran and Marge Lee envisioned a professional sorority that would provide support for women during their premedical studies and graduate school. Tran and Lee were supported in their efforts by Sigma Mu Delta, a pre-health fraternity.
The first meeting was held on March 3, 1994, in the lounge of Temescal apartments in Davis. With its founding, Kappa Gamma Delta became the first premedical sorority in the United States of America.
The founding group included these twelve women: Maricris Belisario, Chong Choe, Mindy Compton, Pamela Hy, Marge Lee, Kathy Pham, Jennifer Skinkle Schwartz, Charlene Tran, Gwen Tran, Aileen Tieu, Carolyn Trieu, and Julie Tse.
Its constitution was affirmed on May 30, 1994. The sorority song and oath were adopted on June 10, 1994.
Expansion In the Spring of 2002 Kappa Gamma Delta formed its Epsilon chapter at the University of California, Berkeley. In the winter of 2006 Zeta chapter was formed at the University of California, Santa Cruz.Santa Cruz Kappa Gamma Delta web site
In April 2023 the Eta chapter of Kappa Gamma Delta was formed at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, marking the organization's first expansion outside of California.The University of Miami Kappa Gamma Delta web site This milestone, achieved by Haley Gross, appears to have reignited Kappa Gamma Delta's ambition for growth and expansion, as, building on this momentum, the sorority soon established two additional chapters outside of California: the Theta chapter at Michigan State University founded by Rachel Roberts and the Iota chapter at DePaul University founded by Elise Villwock and Wafa Choubkha.
In 2025, the sorority continued to grow. With new chapters forming at Florida State University and University of North Carolina, Kappa Gamma Delta expanded its national footprint even further, demonstrating a renewed commitment to bringing pre‑health leadership, service, and community to campuses across the country. These additions signaled not only steady organizational growth but also a widening recognition of the sorority’s mission beyond its West Coast origins, positioning Kappa Gamma Delta as an emerging national presence within the pre‑health Greek community.
Symbols The Kappa Gamma Delta motto is "Service to Humanity". Its pillars are Sisterhood, Professionalism, and Service to Humanity. Its colors are burgundy and forest green. Its symbols are the caduceus, wings, and the female symbol. Its flower is the white rose. The sorority's nickname is KGD.
Kappa Gamma Delta's first Coat-of-Arms consisted of an open book, a haystack, the sorority flower, the female symbol, and an Oil lamp. The haystack was later replaced by a torch surrounded by several rings.
Activities As stated in the individual chapter's constitutions, the chapters all focus on hosting social, service, and academic events to support members throughout their undergraduate studies.
The sorority participates in service projects such as the Bay to Breakers and various symposia such as "Life During and After Medical School. Its philanthropies vary by chapter and include Relay for Life and the Bone Marrow National Registry.
Chapters Chapter list from the national website. Active chapters are noted in bold, and inactive chapters are noted in italics.
Chapters Charter date and range Institution Location Status Alpha University of California, Davis Davis, CaliforniaActive Alpha chapter portal at UC Davis, accessed 27 Mar 2021. Beta Unassigned 's website had previously noted a Beta chapter at Berkeley, without further information, but this information has been removed. According to a good-faith edit on 3 Oct 2024, an Anon editor clarified that the Beta name was skipped, as was the Gamma and Delta, citing the fact that these latter two letters were in the sorority's name. Thus the second chapter founded was Epsilon chapter. They noted this information was found in the Epsilon chapter website. Gamma Unassigned Delta Unassigned Epsilon University of California, Berkeley Berkeley, California Active Epsilon chapter portal at UC Berkeley, accessed 27 Mar 2021. Zeta University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, California Active Zeta chapter listed among the other Greeks at UC Santa Cruz , accessed 27 Mar 2021. Eta University of Miami Coral Gables, Florida Active Theta Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan Active Iota DePaul University Chicago, Illinois ActiveLambda2025Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FloridaActiveMu2025University of North CarolinaChapel Hill, North CarolinaActive
See also
Professional fraternities and sororities
References
External links