Kappa Alpha Society
North American collegiate fraternity
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The Kappa Alpha Society (ΚΑ) is a North American social college fraternity. Founded in 1825, it was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest continuously active national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity[1] and was the first of the fraternities which would eventually become known as the Union Triad (along with Sigma Phi and Delta Phi) that pioneered the North American system of social fraternities.[2]
While several fraternities claim to be the oldest, Baird's Manual states that ΚΑ has maintained a continuous existence since its foundation, making it the oldest undergraduate fraternity that exists today.[3] As of 2026, there are five active chapters, three in the United States and two in Canada.[4]
This organization is not to be confused with the Kappa Alpha Order, a completely separate national fraternity founded in 1865.
History
In 1823, John Hart Hunter, Isaac Wilber Jackson, and Thomas Hun, who were students at Union College in Schenectady, New York, established an informal group called The Philosophers.[2] That group became the Kappa Alpha Society on November 26, 1825.[3][2][5] Besides those listed above, its founders were Joseph Anthony Constant, John McGeoch, Orlando Meads, and James Proudfit of the class of 1826, and Arthur Burtis and Joseph Law of the class of 1827.[2]
The Kappa Alpha Society represents the middle link between secret societies, literary societies, and Greek-letter organizations like Phi Beta Kappa. In the words of founding member Arthur Burtis:
After we were domiciled in our upper chamber, in the fourth story of the south section---South College---northeast corner... we now and then beguiled the long winter evenings and entertained our friends with a few baked potatoes and salt and comforted them with apples. Jackson, Hun, Meads, Constant, and McGeoch were often the genial sharers of our simple meal, which was enlivened with mirth and wit and merry song... It was determined to raise Hunter to an elevated seat on the woodpile, which stood in the corner of the room. When he was exalted to his high eminence, with his pipe in his mouth, he became the leader of this little band. Whereupon I suggested it would be right for us to get our light from this central luminary and that I would carry it to the others... This band was now beginning to assume shape and form and comely order.[6]
On June 23, 1827, the society decided to adopted a membership emblem which takes the form of a medal.[7]
Kappa Alpha unsuccessfully attempted to expand to Hamilton College in fall 1830.[8] That same year, they published their first catalog.[7] KA later successfully expanded to Williams College in 1833, led by Azariah S. Clark of the class of 1834.[9] Clark and Alexander Hyde had traveled to Union College to obtain a charter for Phi Beta Kappa, and instead returned with one for Kappa Alpha.[9]
In 1925, a gate was dedicated at Union College's Jackson Gardens, named after Kappa Alpha co-founder Isaac W. Jackson, Class of 1826, to commemorate the fraternity's 100th anniversary.[10]
In 2000, the fraternity agreed to restore the Kappa Alpha gate at Union College.[1]
In September 2025, the 200th anniversary of the fraternity was celebrated at Union College in New York.[10][11]
Chapters
Following is a list of the active and inactive chapters of the Kappa Alpha Society, with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.[12][4] Chapters are designated with an abbreviation of the institution's Latin name.
| Chapter | Letters | Charter date and range | Institution | Location | Status | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Alpha | CC | November 26, 1825 – 2003; 2011 | Union College | Schenectady, New York | Active | [a] |
| Massachusetts Alpha | CG | October 29, 1833 – 1983[13] | Williams College | Williamstown, Massachusetts | Inactive | [b] |
| New York Beta | CH | November 26, 1844 – 1854; 1879–2003; 2005 | Hobart College | Geneva, New York | Active | [c] |
| New Jersey Alpha | CNC | October 21, 1852 – 1855; 1983–1998 | Princeton University | Princeton, New Jersey | Inactive | |
| Virginia Alpha | VV | January 8, 1857 – 1861 | University of Virginia | Charlottesville, Virginia | Inactive | |
| New York Gamma | VC | November 12, 1868 – 1990; 2007–2018 | Cornell University | Ithaca, New York | Inactive | |
| Ontario Alpha | VT | February 19, 1892 | University of Toronto | Toronto, Ontario | Active | |
| Pennsylvania Alpha | VL | January 2, 1894 – 2018 | Lehigh University | Bethlehem, Pennsylvania | Inactive | |
| Quebec Alpha | VM | April 21, 1899 – 1971; 1987–2006; 2012–2022 | McGill University | Montreal, Quebec | Inactive | |
| Pennsylvania Beta | VP | April 26, 1913 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Active | [d] |
| Ontario Beta | VOO | February 14, 1948 | University of Western Ontario | London, Ontario | Active | [e] |
| Connecticut Alpha | VW | March 18, 1967 – 1993; 1994–1997 | Wesleyan University | Middletown, Connecticut | Inactive | [f] |
| Alberta Alpha | VA | November 5, 1988 – 2011 | University of Alberta | Edmonton, Alberta | Inactive | |
| Alberta Beta | VAC | November 23, 1991 – 1999 | University of Calgary | Calgary, Alberta | Inactive | |
| Nova Scotia Alpha | VD | November 21, 2009 – 2022 | Dalhousie University | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Inactive |
Notes
- The Union chapter was co-ed from 1991 until 2003.
- In 1968, the Williams College Trustees, with the support of the faculty, voted to bar fraternity participation by students. Some chapters operated despite the ban for a time, with Kappa Alpha ceasing operations in 1983.
- New York Beta chapter originated with a local fraternity called Skin & Bones formed in 1842.
- Pennsylvania Beta chapter originated with a local fraternity called the Terwood Society formed in 1909.
- Ontario Beta chapter is unrecognized by its university, a common occurrence in Canada, where most chapters operate fully independently from their institutions.
- Connecticut Alpha chapter originated with a local fraternity called Delta Sigma formed in 1952. This local group was co-educational. The chapter was also co-ed at various times.
Membership
The Kappa Alpha Society has produced a substantial number of notable members in widely varied fields throughout its 200-year history.
A catolog of members was published in 1892[14] and published under the name Kappa Alpha Record in 1925 and 1941.[7]
The Union and Wesleyan chapters were co-educational, that is, having male and female members in the recent past. There are currently no co-educational chapters.
See also
Further reading
- Kappa Alpha Society. (1881). A biographical record of the Kappa Alpha Society in Williams College, Williamstown, Mass.: From its foundation to the present time. 1831-1881. New York, NY: S. W. Green's Son.
- Kappa Alpha Society. (2002). A directory of Kappa Alpha 2002: 175th anniversary edition. Purchase, NY: Bernard C. Harris Publishing Company.
- Tarleton, Robert S. (1993). The Spirit of Kappa Alpha: The oldest Greek-letter social fraternity in prose, poetry and picture. New York, NY: John Hart Hunter Press.
- The Executive Council of The Kappa Alpha Society. (1950). Directory of the Kappa Alpha Society 1950. St. Albans, VT: The North Country Press.
- The Executive Council of The Kappa Alpha Society. (1960). Kappa Alpha Record 1825-1960. Utica, NY: Thomas J. Griffiths Sons.
- The Executive Council of The Kappa Alpha Society. (1976). Kappa Alpha Record 1825-1976: Sesquicentennial edition. Ithaca, NY: Art Craft Printers.