Theta History
In 1837, the Methodist Church established Indiana Asbury (now DePauw University) in Greencastle, Indiana.
Indiana Asbury officially opened its doors to women in 1867, but not without great uproar from the male students. The first female students at Indiana Asbury were looking for ways to make friends and find support and encouragement for their academic pursuits. They were reviled by their teachers, taunted by their classmates, and ignored by their girlhood friends who did the “right” thing and attended conservatories for girls. It took these brave pioneers three years to found Kappa Alpha Theta, the first Greek-letter Fraternity for women.
To be sure, there were societies for women before 1867, and some of these had secret rituals with badges, passwords, mottoes, and other symbols. However in 1870, Kappa Alpha Theta became the first women’s Greek-letter fraternity because its primary founder, Bettie Locke, wanted full membership in a male fraternity. When male classmates asked her to wear their fraternity badge as a “mascot,” Bettie refused. She responded to them by saying, “If you won’t initiate me into your fraternity, I’ll start my own.” Thus, Kappa Alpha Theta was established on January 27, 1870. In 2008, Kappa Alpha Theta celebrated its 138th anniversary.
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Bettie Locke
Alice Allen
Bettie Tipton
Hannah Fitch