Where: Colby College

When: November 9, 1874

By Whom: Elizabeth Gorham Hoag Mary Caffrey Lowe Carver Francis Elliot Mann Hall Louise Hellen Coburn Ida Mabel Fuller Pierce

Zeta Chapter Founding: 1906

Our Story:

Colby College in Waterville, Maine, was the first college in New England to admit women on an equal basis with men students. The first woman student was admitted in 1871, and for two years Mary Caffrey Low was the only woman student at Colby College. In 1873, four more young women from Maine, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Fuller, Frances Mann, and Louise Helen Coburn were admitted to Colby and the five young women found themselves frequently together. During the school year of 1873-74, 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 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.

In our first constitution, chapter membership was limited to 25. 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.

Significant Sigma Kappas 

Margaret Chase Smith, Alpha, was the first U.S. woman senator, first woman to sit in both houses of Congress, recipient of the U.S. Air Force's most prestigious award, among others. She has been presented with 96 honorary degrees and presented with a Presidential Medal of Freedom Award by President George Bush in 1989.

Susan Eisenhower, Epsilon Epsilon, became an honor initiate in 2006 with the Epsilon Epsilon chapter. Susan is the president of the Eisenhower Group, Inc. and the granddaughter of former United States President Dwight Eisenhower. She has consulted for Fortune 100 and Fortune 500 companies, is the chairman of Leadership and Public Policy Programs, and Chairman Emeritus of the Eisenhower Institute. Susan is also the author of three books and has been involved in the editing of four others. She has and is leading a life of great leadership and political awareness.

 Rhea Seddon, Lambda, mission specialist for NASA. Her first flight into space was aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery in 1985. She took her Sigma Kappa badge on her flight into space.

Ashley Henderson Huff, Epsilon Epsilon, a First Lieutenant in the United States Army was the first known sorority casualty in the current conflict in Iraq.

Anna McCune Harper, Lambda, was inducted into the California Women Athletes Hall of Fame. She was a Wimbledon tennis champion in 1931 and has won other numerous state and national tennis championships. Anna served as national president of Sigma Kappa from 1939-1942.

Theresa Grentz, Theta, has been the women's head basketball coach at the University of Illinois since 1995. Prior to her career at the University of Illinois, she had a decorated history at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. She was the head coach from 1976-1995 where she earned six Atlantic 10 titles and four Atlantic 10 tournament titles. At the University of Illinois, Theresa lead her team to 50 wins in 76 games in her first year. Her success earned her back-to-back Big Ten Coach of the Year honors in 1997 and 1998.