Kappa Delta


Kappa Delta is an American collegiate social sorority. Established in 1897, it was the first sorority founded at the State Female Normal School, 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.
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History

Kappa Delta was founded on October 23, 1897, at the State Female Normal School, 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, 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 Τὰ καλὰ διώκωμεν or "Let us strive for that which is honorable, beautiful and highest".
Kappa Delta's coat of arms 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." 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 "ΚΔ" and "ΑΟΤ" 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 "ΚΔ" 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.
NameChapterNotabilityIndustry
Brooke AndersonSigma Phi Emmy and Peabody award-winning television host for Entertainment TonightEntertainment
Amy Coney BarrettAlpha Delta Justice of the Supreme Court of the United StatesLaw
Kathleen Babineaux BlancoGamma Kappa Governor of LouisianaPolitics
Pearl S. BuckTheta First American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature and Pulitzer Prize winnerLiterature
Jean Carpenter CarnahanEpsilon Alpha United States SenatePolitics
Susie CastilloAlpha Iota Miss USA 2003Arts and Entertainment
Liz CochranAlpha Upsilon Miss Alabama 2009Entertainment
Ruth Johnson ColvinLambda Founder of ProLiteracy Worldwide and recipient of the Presidential Medal of FreedomPhilanthropy and Service
Emily Elizabeth DouglasGamma Nu Founder and executive director of Grandma's GiftsPhilanthropy and Service
Ellen Albertini DowOmega Chi Actress known for The Wedding Singer and Wedding CrashersEntertainment
Bonnie DunbarSigma Iota NASA astronautScience
Taylor DuPriestDelta Lambda Television personality known for Kid NationArts and Entertainment
Lauren ElaineSigma Epsilon Celebrity fashion designer, actress, and television personalityEntertainment
Christine Blasey FordBeta Chi Psychology professor at Palo Alto University and a research psychologist at the Stanford University School of MedicineAcademia
Christine O' Grady GregoireSigma Iota Governor of WashingtonPolitics
Claudia J. KennedyAlpha Delta U.S. Army's first female three-star generalMilitary
Suzanne LambertSigma Phi Comedian, political commentator, social media content creatorEntertainment, Politics
Ali LandryGamma Kappa Actress and Miss USA 1996Entertainment
Jennifer LeeAlpha Sigma Writer and director of the 2013 Disney animated feature FrozenEntertainment
Lane LindellSigma Phi Model and Miss [United States World] 2008Entertainment
Patricia Polito MillerSigma Upsilon Co-owner and president of Vera BradleyBusiness
Megan MoroneySigma Phi Singer/songwriterEntertainment
Cara MundTheta Gamma Miss North Dakota 2017 and Miss America 2018Entertainment
Wendi NixEpsilon Sigma ESPN commentatorEntertainment
Joan Lowery NixonTheta Sigma AuthorLiterature
Georgia O'KeeffeBeta Artist and Presidential Medal of Freedom recipientArt
Lisa PattonZeta Author known for the book RushLiterature
Shelley RegnerEpsilon Actress known for the Pitch PerfectEntertainment
Hannah RobertsBeta Sigma Miss Mississippi 2015Entertainment
Margaret Holland SargentAlpha Iota Portrait artist who painted Tennessee Williams, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Margaret ThatcherArt
Camille SchrierEpsilon Pi Miss America 2020Entertainment
Jacki SorensenPhi Originator of aerobics dance-exercise regimenSports
Suzy SpaffordBeta Rho Cartoonist and creator of the Suzy's Zoo greeting cardsBusiness
Lara SpencerBeta Theta Co-anchor for Good Morning America and correspondent for Nightline and ABC NewsEntertainment
Donna J. StoneLambda Founder of Prevent Child Abuse AmericaPhilanthropy and Service
Leigh Anne TuohyAlpha Mu Interior designer and legal guardian of Michael Oher, as featured in the 2009 film The Blind SideBusiness
Mari WilenskyBeta Pi Miss Florida 2005Entertainment
Debbie Maffett WilsonGamma Rho Miss America 1983Entertainment
Caitlin UptonEpsilon Epsilon Miss Teen South Carolina USA 2007Entertainment
Trischa ZornPi ParalympianSports