Kappa Upsilon Chapter

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is the oldest Greek letter organization established by African American college women. She was founded on January 15, 1908 in Minor Hall on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D. C. Alpha Kappa Alpha chronicles itself in the growth from a group of nine college women in 1908.

The idea for formation was conceived by Ethel Hedgeman Lyle of St. Louis, Missouri. She viewed the sorority as an instrument for enriching the social and intellectual aspects of college life by providing mental stimulation through interaction with friends and associates. Established during the academic school year of 1907-1908, the original nine founders were Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, Beulah Burke, Lillie Burke, Margaret Flagg Holmes, Marjorie Hill, Lucy Diggs Slowe, Marie Woolfolk Taylor, Anna Easter Brown, and Lavinia Norman. In February of 1908, seven sophomores were admitted. Those members were Joanna Berry, Norma Boyd, Ethel Jones, Sarah Merriweather, Alice Murray, Carrie Snowden, and Harriett Terry.

The movement for incorporation led by one of the sorority's incorporators, Nellie Quander. Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority became incorporated in 1913. The sorority is committed to serve in every community in which she is located with 403 undergraduate and 556 graduate chapters; with over 260,000 members in the United States, the Caribbean, Europe, and Africa.

Through the years, however, Alpha Kappa Alpha's function has become more complex. After her incorporation as a perpetual body in 1913, Alpha Kappa Alpha gradually branched out and became the channel through which selected college-trained women improved the socioeconomic conditions in their city, state, nation, and the world.