Alpha Epsilon Chapter of Kappa Delta sorority was established at UT on September 25, 1925. Kappa Delta was founded in Farmville, Virginia, at State Female Normal School (now Longwood University) on October 23, 1897.
The open motto of Kappa Delta is Ta Kala Diokomen (Let us strive for that which is honorable, beautiful, and highest). The symbols and mascots of Kappa Delta are nautilus shell, dagger, teddy bear, and katydid. Colors of the sorority are olive green and pearl white; jewels are diamond, emerald, and pearl; the flower is the white rose.
Among distinguished alumnae of the national organization are Pearl Sydenstricker Buck, first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature and Pulitzer Prize winner; Georgia O’Keeffe, artist; Lt. General Claudia Kennedy, the army’s first female three-star general; Bonnie Dunbar, astronaut; Patricia Wood Barnes, founder of Sister Schubert’s Rolls; Joan Lowery Nixon, award-winning children’s book author; and Kathleen Blanco, first female governor of Louisiana.
The local chapter is involved in philanthropic work with Girl Scouts and Prevent Child Abuse America. The annual Christmas Seals program, providing for purchase of decorative additions to packages or envelopes by collegiate and alumnae members, is a mainstay of national fundraising. The local chapter holds a Golf Classic and the War of the Wings.
The architectural firm for the $4,260,000 Kappa Delta house in Sorority Village was McCarty Holsaple McCarty. The contractor, Jolley Building, defaulted, and the project was completed by Landmark Development Company.