Our History
Colby College, in Waterville, Maine, was the first college in New England to admit women on an equal basis with male students. Mary Caffrey Low was the first woman to be admitted to Colby in 1871. She remained the only female student until 1873, when four more young women from Maine, Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Fuller, Frances Mann and Louise Helen Coburn joined her.
During the school year of 1873-74, the five women decided to form a literary and social society. College administrators informed them that they needed to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa Sorority. On Nov. 9, 1874, the five young women received a letter from the faculty approving their petition to create the Alpha Chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority. Thus, this date has since been considered our Founders' Day.
In the original constitution, chapter membership was limited to 25 members, so the Beta and Gamma Chapters were also established on Colby’s campus to accommodate all the female students who wished to join. In 1893, deciding intramural expansion was no longer desirable, they voted to fill Alpha Chapter to the limit of 25 and to initiate no more into Beta and Gamma chapters. The Sigma Kappas realized if the organization was going to continue to grow, it had to expand beyond the walls of Colby College. In 1904, the Delta Chapter was established at Boston University with help from Alpha Chapter member Elydia Foss. This made Sigma Kappa a national sorority and made it eligible to join what was then called the Interfraternity Conference, now known as the National Panhellenic Conference. Learn more in our digital museum.