| Lambda | |
|---|---|
| Λ | |
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| Founded | June 10, 1877 |
| College | University of Akron |
| Location | Arkon, OH |
| Homepage | Lambda Homepage |
| Media related to Lambda Chapter | |
THE FOUNDING OF LAMBDA CHAPTER
The University of Akron, previously known as Buchtel College, has a long history of Greek life. Men’s fraternities have existed there for many years but in 1877, the Greek community decided that something was missing: a women’s fraternity. J. Augustine Gutherie, a Phi Delta Theta at Buchtel College, contacted Indiana University’s chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma to tell them about three Buchtel College women and the Greek community was on its way to changing for the good.
These three women, Mary B. Jewett, Harriet Evelyn Pardee, and Elizabeth O. Slade, signed Lambda Chapter’s charter on June 10, 1877 and held its first meeting on January 14, 1878. Five honorary members were in attendance including the wife of the Buchtel College president. This makes Kappa Kappa Gamma the first women’s fraternity on Buchtel College’s campus and the longest continuing Greek letter organization on campus.
A lot has changed since that first meeting including the landscape of campus, women’s rights, fashions, and even the name of the college itself, but several things remain the same. Lambda Chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma has had over 1700 members since it first started. These active members still aspire to be good sisters, good leaders, and good students. They work to serve campus and the community. Lambda alumni still display these qualities as well, because you can’t become a Kappa and remain unchanged. Kappa is for life.
Highlights of 2011==
Lambda Chapter started the year welcoming seven new members into the chapter. With these new girls as well as all returning actives, the chapter had a successful and busy semester. On February 25, the chapter held a movie night sisterhood which allowed the girls to bond more closely. The chapter was visited by the leadership consulant in the spring semester and received suggestions for improvement and further growth. They were given another opportunity to learn and improve when several girls attended Province. This was held April 8-10 in Cincinnati, Ohio and offered a review of ritual and fraternity standards.
The chapter hosted its annual Spaghetti Dinner April 13 raising $1,100 for Kappa Kidney Camp and collecting books for Reading is Fundamental. The women of Lambda Chapter celebrated the end of the semester by enjoying their Sapphire Ball in April. It was held at Prime at Anthe's. They finished the spring strong by earning second place overall at The University of Akron's Greek Life Awards. Lambda Chapter received an award for most service hours and a member of Lambda Chapter earned Greek Woman of the Year. Along with being active within the chapter, the women were very involved with other Greek organizations, events, and philanthropies. Several members participated in intermural volleyball forming two teams. They attended Greek Night at the basketball game in the James A. Rhodes Arena, hosted a Panhellenic Sisterhood for the other Greek women at the University, and held socials with FIJI, Phi Delta Theta, and Theta Chi.
Apart from the hard work they put into their own philanthropies, the women supported other chapters' philanthropies as well. They participated in Lambda Chi's bathtub pull, Delta Gamma's spaghetti dinner, and FIJI's dodgeball tournament. The women also supported Nuance, an acapella men's chorus on campus and were named their number one fans for the third semester in a row. Continuing their philanthropic support they wrote letters for Up 'til Dawn to raise money for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, jumped into freezing water to raise money at the Polar Bear Plunge, and enjoyed participating in Relay for Life with a Beauty and the Beast themed table. The entire Greek community at the University of Akron joined together to raise money in an event called Songfest. Each chapter practiced and performed songs and dances to match the theme which was Broadway. The women enjoyed participating in this event and look forward to it every spring. The community raised just under $5,000. All the sororities kicked off fall recruitment with an ice cream social at which possible future members came to learn about Greek Life.
Also unifying the community was the All-Greek tailgate. Lambda chapter enjoyed supporting sports teams at the university including the nationally ranked soccer team as well as the football team. After a successful fall recruitment, Lambda chapter initiated 23 new members. They welcomed them with a fantastic Bid Day featuring lots of blue and blue and a carnival theme.
The majority of the chapter attended Founder's Day and returned with a hightened sense that Kappa is for life. Several members attended the homecoming dance at the university and enjoyed other homecoming festivities. Chapter Retreat was held at Munroe Falls Park and included a pot luck lunch and Olympic games as well as Big/Little Reveal which was done with puzzle pieces. The new members planned Mocktails, an event hosted at the university to creatively promote alcohol awareness.
The women of Lambda Chapter created a non-alcoholic drink called "Slime Time Live" to fit the Nickolodeon theme. Both actives and new members participated in Greek Week, an annual event at the university where sororities and fraternities compete in fun contests and games. While it is a competition, it also brings a sense of unity within the Greek community. Not only did the women of the chapter hold socials with other sororities and fraternities on campus, they also got the opportunity to have a social with the Kappa Kappa Gammas from John Carroll.
The group carved and painted pumpkins for other Universiy of Akron sororities and fraternities. Lambda chapter worked hard to build community with other chapters but also built community within their own chapter. A few members of the chapter hosted a taco dinner at their home for the women of Lambda chapter. This became a new chapter tradition titled "Taco Wednesday." This helped bring the women together as sisters. The women of Lambda Chapter completed over 1,400 service hours during the fall semester. Several members danced in Alpha Gamma Delta's Lip Jam contest which raised money for Alpha Gamma Delta's philanthropy. Lambda chapter finished the year with a Christmas party featuring a gift exchange as well as Senior Night. One member graduated in December and another joined the Navy. Overall, the women of Lambda chapter are very pleased with 2011.
Campus: The University of Akron is home to over 29,000 students from 46 states and 80 different countries. It offers over 300 degree programs and educates both undergraduate and graduate students. The current president is Dr. Luis M. Proenza. The university has over 80 buildings but also abundant green space. The University is able to offer a lot of students financial aid making college possible for many learners. 78% of students at the university are receiving some sort of financial assistance. There are many student resources on campus including the counseling center, the career center, and the recreation center. During the summer of 2011, the university's main library, Bierce, renovated its first floor modernizing it and making it an ideal place for learning and studying.
Chapter: Lambda chapter is proud to be a diverse group. At just over sixty members, the women of the chapter have various interests and majors. Interests include dance, animals, crafts, fitness, pageants, and sky diving. Majors vary greatly and the women of Lambda chapter are studying engineering, public relations, psychology, dietetics, fashion merchandising, exercise science, accounting, education and more. Several members are in the Honors College. Members are involved in several other organizations outside of Kappa Kappa Gamma. These include Campus Focus, other service fraternities, Greek honoraries, dance companies, and Emerging Leaders. Many members also work jobs on and off campus.
Welcoming such a large class of new members made it challenging to know everyone and form a sense of unity and sisterhood. The women of the chapter met this challenge and overcame it in many creative ways. Receiving Bigs helped the new members feel more a part of the chapter and feel more comfortable. Lambda chapter also planned retreats and sisterhoods to increase bonding time. "Taco Wednesday" was the most creative solution to this, as members could spend time together in the middle of the week and enjoy dinner together. Academic performance was also a challenge in the fall semester but the women are working hard to overcome this. The chapter is taking this challenge very seriously. They are holding study hours as well as starting a healthy academic competition and forming study groups.
Highlights of 2012
Lambda chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma had a very successful and exciting 2012. Soon after returning from winter break, they began informal spring recruitment with various themed nights including Spa Night, Taco Wednesday and Kappa Kamp Out. After various events such as fortune cookie big-little reveal, 5 new members were initiated on March 24, 2012. Over the course of the semester Kappa showed Greek-unity through involvement with PHC sisterhoods such as a Zumba night, and attending other sororities’ philanthropy events.
Chapter unity was reinforced through sisterhood events including ethnic food night and game night and through participation in intramural volleyball and basketball. In March they attended the Greek Life Awards where they received awards including the Edna A. Gainer Service Award, and the silver Praestantia Award. Several officers attended webinars hosted by Headquarters, and many members of Lambda chapter visited the Kappa Headquarters in Columbus, Ohio and met with the OSU Kappa Chapter.
In April, Kappas participated in Songfest, that was Billboards Hits themed, performing songs that included, “9 to 5,” “I Will Survive,” and “Girlfriend.” April also included an annual Parents’ Lunch at the Kappa Lodge, and participation in Relay for Life, in which Kappa raised a significant amount of money for the American Cancer Society. The annual Spaghetti Dinner was also held in April, in which a record amount of money was raised for one of Kappa’s philanthropies, Kappa Kidney Camp. The semester ended with formal at The University of Akron’s Martin Center. During the summer many actives traveled to Southern Ohio, for Kappa Day with the campers at Kidney Camp. Two members also traveled to Jacksonville, Florida for Kappa Convention where Lambda Chapter was recognized with The Heritage Award.
Fall semester began with a very successful formal recruitment in which we recruited 18 phenomenal young women, including two legacies. They were welcomed at Bid Day which was Island themed and included things such as volleyball in the front yard and decorating of their new member binders. After the new member education program, 17 women were initiated on November 10, 2012. In October, Kappa participated in one of their yearly philanthropy events, Balloon Pop, in which they raised $750.00. Chapter retreat was held at a local park, where the chapter participated in several games, lots of eating and had big-little reveal.
Founders Day was celebrated at Portage Country Club, and the women, got to see a Kappa alum receive her 65 year pin. Dad’s Day was another event in October, in which members and their dads went to the Akron Zips football game and enjoyed various pre-game festivities together. Also in October, Kappa participated in all Greek Week events, and an active member was crowned Homecoming Queen. Throughout the semester, Kappas participated in various Akron events such as Make A Difference Day, Up ‘til Dawn, Mocktails, Freshman Move in and had several social events with fraternities. The women enjoyed a date party at a pumpkin patch and ended the semester with semi-formal at Infocision Stadium. Overall 2012 was a very successful year for Kappa.
Several challenges Lambda chapter has decided to work on for 2013 are making sure new members always feel welcome, increasing the overall chapter GPA and encouraging sisterhood more within our chapter. Over the course of this past year Kappa’s involvement within the Greek community at Akron truly grew.
Campus: The University of Akron is located in downtown Akron, with an undergraduate population of nearly 30,000. They currently offer over 350 academic degress for both undergraduate and graduate students. Over the course of the past year, a new residence hall, South Hall was built, as well as various features on campus available to all students such as a new restaurant in Quaker Square, and the Coleman Commons.
Chapter: Lambda chapter currently has 64 active members of various majors and cultural backgrounds making the chapter very diverse. Majors of women include Psychology, Dance, Education, Engineering, Dietetics, Nursing, and many more. Members are involved in several activities around the Akron community and completed countless numbers of volunteer hours. The women of Lambda Chapter look forward to an exciting and fun-filled 2013.