The Alpha Delta Chapter of Sigma Kappa was installed at UT on April 16, 1921. The charter was granted to the local Omega sorority, which Sigma Kappa replaced. Sigma Kappa was founded at Colby College in Waterville, Maine, in 1874 and incorporated in the state of Maine in 1904. Lavender and maroon are the colors, and have been since at least 1891. The flower is the violet (adopted in 1892). The dove was accepted as an official symbol of Sigma Kappa in 1984, and the heart was adopted in 1988. The mascots similarly are the heart and dove. Sigma Kappa has supported the Maine Sea Coast Missionary Society since 1918, and its national philanthropic interest is in gerontology, expressed since 1984 in assisting with research into Alzheimer’s disease. Its “inherit the earth” program demonstrates its commitment to improving local environments.
Notable alumnae of the national organization include Fay Burnett, first nutritionist for Weight Watchers International; Linda Cross Dowdy, managing editor for The Lyons Group (creator and owner of the purple dinosaur Barney) and author of Barney Goes to the Zoo; Anna Harper, Wimbledon tennis champion, 1931; Rhea Sedden, astronaut; and Margaret Chase Smith, first female US Senator and first woman to sit in both houses of Congress.
The Sigma Kappa House in Sorority Village was a $3,771,300 project, designed by Knoxville architecture firm Lindsay & Maples.