• History of our Founding

• Nov. 9, 1874; Colby College; Waterville, Maine.

    Sigma Kappa Sorority was founded by five incredibley dedicated and spirited women; Mary Low Carver, Louise Helen Colburn, Francis Mann Hall, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, and Ida Fuller Pierce. The five young women decided to form a literary and social society. They were told by the college administration that they needed to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form what is today, Sigma Kappa Sorority. They began work during that year with an eager glow of enthusiasm. Their purpose at the outset was that the sorority should become what it is now, a national organization of college women. On November 9, 1874, the five young women received a letter from the faculty approving their petition. Thus, this date has since been considered our Founders' Day.

    The original group was known as Alpha chapter and as our sorority grew, Beta chapter and Gamma chapter were also established at Colby College. Early records indicate that the groups met together; but in 1893, the Sigma Kappa members decided intramural expansion was not desirable. They voted to fill Alpha chapter to the limit of 25 and to initiate no more into Beta and Gamma chapters. Eventually, the second and third chapters would vanish from Colby campus. Finally Sigma Kappas realized if the organization was going to continue to grow, it had to expand beyond the walls of Colby College.

    In 1904, Delta chapter was installed at Boston University. Elydia Foss of Alpha chapter had transferred to Boston and met a group of women who refused to join any of the other groups on campus. When asked if Sigma Kappa was a national organization, Elydia replied, "No, but it is founded on a national basis." Elydia then took the necessary steps to make Sigma Kappa a national sorority and it was incorporated in the state of Maine on April 19, 1904. The new status as a national sorority made Sigma Kappa eligible to join what was then called the Interfraternity Conference, now known as the National Panhellenic Conference.

Today Sigma Kappa Sorority has 105 chartered collegiate chapters in 35 states and 131 alumnae chapters in 40 states. Over 141,800 women are members of this outstanding organization.

The symbols and insignia of Sigma Kappa are outward signs of the special feeling we have for each other that comes from within ourselves.
Members of Sigma Kappa are obligated to uphold her high standards and ideals, remembering that Sigma Kappas all over the country are bound by the same tenets.

Open Motto
"One Heart, One Way "
      
Colors
Maroon and Lavender

Symbols
 Heart and Dove

Flower
Violet

Jewel
Pearl

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