In 1837, Indiana Asbury College (now DePauw University) was established by the Methodist Church in Greencastle, Indiana. Typical of most colleges at the time, the Asbury student body was all-male. Thirty years later, the college's board of trustees opened Asbury's doors to women. But the coeds admitted in 1867 were not readily welcomed by all students. Many feared acceptance of females would diminish the college's reputation. Initially, the women were taunted by male students and met disapproval from friends and townspeople.

 

    The women persevered. They proved to hold their own academically, and gradually gained greater respect. But the first coeds were excluded from membership in the clubs or societies that existed at the college in the 1860s. Theirs was a lonely existence.

​

    Bettie Locke, Alice Allen, Hannah Fitch, and Bettie Tipton decided to change that. These four women desired membership in an organization that offered friendship, support, and equality to women unconditionally. Unable to find that on their campus, they set to work formally creating the first Greek-letter fraternity known among women. They wrote a constitution and bylaws, designed badges, and encouraged like-minded women to join.

 

    After months of hard work, the first official meeting of Kappa Alpha Theta was held on January 27, 1870. It’s safe to say that things went really well—Kappa Alpha Theta spread from coast to coast, and is now a sisterhood with over 170,000 initiated members.