History

Bettie Locke and her friends (Alice Allen, Bettie Tipton, and Hannah Fitch), some of the first female students at Indiana Asbury (now DePauw University), were looking for ways to make friends and find support and encouragement for their academic pursuits. Locke sought full membership in a male fraternity, but was denied. Instead, the men asked her to wear their fraternity badge as a "mascot". Her response, "If you won't initiate me into your fraternity, I'll start my own," led to the three year process of founding Kappa Alpha Theta, and on January 27, 1870, Theta became the first Greek-letter Fraternity for women.

Delta Omicron Chapter History

When Thetas gathered in Tuscaloosa in the mid-1950s to discuss colonizing at the University of Alabama, Hannah Fitch Shaw's granddaughter, Miss Ella Shaw, was a luncheon guest. Unfortunately Miss Shaw passed away before the Delta Omicron Chapter became a reality in 1967, but Fraternity heritage was represented. Professor John Ramsey presented his mother's vintage 1896 badge to the chapter and spoke of her own chapter friendships, which lasted over 65 years. In this light the Delta Omicron chapter was formed and strives not only to uphold the ideals of Kappa Alpha Theta, but to also to embody the charge given by Miss Ella Shaw - one of lasting friendship and unceasing commitment to the first Greek letter fraternity for women.

Famous Thetas

• First Lady Laura Welch Bush is the wife of President George W. Bush, and is both a teacher and a librarian. She has focused her energies as an advocate for children's literacy, teacher education, and early childhood preparation for learning.
• Lynne Vincent Cheney is the wife of Vice President Richard Cheney and was also the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 - 1993.
• Sarah Clarke is an actor who plays Agent Nina Myers in the television show "24".
• Sheryl Crow is a Grammy Award winning vocalist and songwriter.
• Melinda French Gates directs the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (along with her husband, Bill Gates) which focuses on world health issues and access to education and technology. She was named Time Magazine's 2005 Person of the Year.
• Amy Grant is a Grammy award-winning vocalist and songwriter.
• Katie Lee Joel is the anchor of the television series Top Chef and wife of Billy Joel.
• Rue McClanahan is an actor who played Blanche in the television series, "The Golden Girls".
• Kerri Strug is a gymnast who won the Bronze medal in the 1992 Olympics, the Silver medal in the 1994 World Championship, and the Gold medal in the 1996 Olympics.
• Ida Tarbell is the groundbreaking journalist whose work, "The History of the Standard Oil Company", was ranked #5 in a list of the top works of journalism in the 20th century.