Oldest Sorority at UK

[GtownGirl98]

I have done a search and didn't find anything about this...

Does anyone know what NPC group is the oldest at the University of Kentucky (UK)? Not the oldest national group but the group that has been on the campus of UK the longest without a break.

[ISUKappa]

From http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Greek/statsF05.htm :

The earliest groups are:
Alpha Gamma Delta - 1908
Kappa Delta - 1910 (December)
Kappa Kappa Gamma - 1910 (February)
Chi Omega - 1914
Delta Delta Delta - 1924

Unfortunately, it doesn't say whether or not they have been open continuously since being chartered.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by ISUKappa

From http://www.uky.edu/StudentAffairs/Greek/statsF05.htm :

The earliest groups are:
Alpha Gamma Delta - 1908
Kappa Delta - 1910 (December)
Kappa Kappa Gamma - 1910 (February)
Chi Omega - 1914
Delta Delta Delta - 1924

Unfortunately, it doesn't say whether or not they have been open continuously since being chartered.

I'm not sure if any of the chapters have participated in a re-colonization or not. Would that matter? If not, then I believe all five chapters listed have been in continuous existence (no breaks) since they chartered. And FYI: Delta Delta Delta was chartered in 1923.

I remember reading that the forerunner to the current Kappa Delta chapter was one of the first (the first?) women's social organizations/sorority/club at UK. I seem to recall they were originally called 'The Black Cats" then took on the Greek letters Epsilon Omega Delta. When they charted with Kappa Delta (in 1910), Epsilon Omega became their chapter designation.

[irishpipes]

I belive there are some other ones that fit in:

Alpha Xi Delta chartered in 1908, but is now closed.
Delta Zeta originally chartered in 1923, recolonized in 2000
Zeta Tau Alpha chartered in 1924, but is now closed.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

I belive there are some other ones that fit in:

Alpha Xi Delta chartered in 1908, but is now closed.
Delta Zeta originally chartered in 1923, recolonized in 2000
Zeta Tau Alpha chartered in 1924, but is now closed.

While all three were chartered around the same time as the other five previously noted chapters, two of the three are now closed and the other, Delta Zeta, was re-colonized. Regardless, four other chapters (five if you count Tri Delta - which my understanding is that they were chartered prior to Delta Zeta) were chartered prior to Delta Zeta.

So my "best guess" is that the Epsilon Chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta is the oldest continuously operating chapter at UK.

By the way, would this type of information - if a chapter closed/re-colonized - be found in Baird's Manual?

And one other bit of UK trivia. The Xi Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta is generally recognized as the first NPC chapter chartered at UK.

[irishpipes]

Originally Posted by TSteven

While all three were chartered around the same time as the other five previously noted chapters, two of the three are now closed and the other, Delta Zeta, was re-colonized.

Did I not say this? It looked like a previous poster was listing the oldest chapters, and a few were left out so I filled them in.

[TSteven]

Originally Posted by irishpipes

Did I not say this? It looked like a previous poster was listing the oldest chapters, and a few were left out so I filled them in.

Sorry for any confusion. The chapters you listed do belong on the list of oldest chapters (as in founding date) at UK. However, the original post was regarding "...the group that has been on the campus of UK the longest without a break."

Now I may be wrong (wouldn't be the first or the last time), but my understanding is that the five chapters listed by ISUKappa have all been operating continuously on the UK campus since their founding.

Thus all five of them would vie for "group that has been on the campus of UK the longest without a break." With Alpha Gamma Delta being the longest.

[MSKKG]

The Beta Chi chapter of KKG at UK has been open since 1910 without a break. Otherwise, it would have "Deuteron" added after its chapter name. According to The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity (1870-1975), it was the 3rd national sorority on campus, preceded by AGD and Alpha Xi Delta. So, AGD has been open continuously the longest, and KKG is next.

[GtownGirl98]

Thanks for the info. Epsilon was installed May 14, 1908. I just didn't know if any other group had been there longer.