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|Image= [[File:Delta_Kappa.jpeg|200px]]
|Founded= {{start date and years ago|1938|11|18}}
|College= [httphttps://www.miami.edu/ University of Miami]
|Location= Coral Gables, FL
|Homepage= [http://www.wix.com/kkgmiami/deltakappakkg Delta Kappa Webpage]|Media= [httphttps://wiki.kappakappagammakkg.org/index.php?title=Category:Delta_Kappa Media related to Delta Kappa Chapter]}}
'''1,695 781 total initiates (as of June 20142018)'''
Jenny Scott (Lee), Traveling Consultant 1994-1995;
Mindy Moellering, Province Director of Chapters, Gamma South 2001-2003; Ritual History Specialist 2018 - present,Caity Meehan, Province Director of Chapters, Beta Central 2012-2014; Assistant to the Director of Standards 2014-2016
Doris Hart, 1958, third Kappa to win the U.S. Women’s Open Tennis Championship; won every major tennis tournament of her time;
Jo Ann Pflug (Woolery), 1972—actress who played Lt. Maria “Dish” Schneiderstar in the movie version of M*A*S*H, 1970; star of Candid Camera; philanthropist;
Dr. (Mary) Kathryn Hammock, 1986—neurosurgeon; founding board member of National Brain Research Association;Virginia McMichael McMIchael Sittler, 1994—computer 1994, computer scientist for the Department of Defense
'''Additional Outstanding Delta Kappa Alumnae:'''
'''Housing'''
The chapter rented its first house in September, 1939. In 1942 sorority houses were no longer sanctioned by the university and the chapter returned to a room. By the chapter’s 20th anniversary Delta Kappa was housed in the Panhellenic Building with all the other sororities. The suite of a large living room, conference room, kitchen and bath was in the prize location on the first floor next to the entrance. The custom of chapter members wearing light and dark blue dresses started with the first rush and proved to be a fine way of identifying Kappas to the rushes Rushees during the silent period.
That first year ended with a good report after winning the scholarship cup, the athletic trophy, and the trophy for the best decorated house during homecoming. Chapter members were in varied activities and garnered trophies and honors through the years.
The previous information was excerpted from The History of Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity, 1870-1976. The information that follows has been gleaned from available resources including Chapter History Reports, chapter meeting minutes, letters and comments from chapter members and alumnae, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Fraternity Archives, and The Key. Each chapter is expected to update its history record annually. Contact Fraternity Headquarters at kkghq@kkg.org with questions.
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Activities this year included a pledge retreat and a well attended Fun Day which benefited children with disabilities in the area. During Greek Week the chapter won the philanthropy award and raised the most money for Cerebral Palsy. Another Kappa Krush was a hit and the annual Christmas Party was well attended.
Thirty-eight pledges started1991off started 1991 off right. Next came Greek Week where the chapter donated the most blood, took first place in the Greek Sing, midday events, lip synchsync, spirit and finished in second place overall.
In March a large Delta Kappa delegation attended Mu Province Meeting at Clemson. The chapter won two awards. April included several great mixers and an awesome Sapphire Ball. At the 1991 Greek Leadership Awards the chapter won eight out of nine awards.
Fall rush Rush 1991 was a great success with a pledge class of 53 , who won Pledges on Parade. The chapter enjoyed a visit from Province Director of Chapters Shelley Melvin, West Virginia. In November Homecoming was Homecoming held in which November and the chapter won first place in Organized Cheer and second placeoverall. Chapter members traveled to the University of Florida and Florida State University to enjoy some football. The month ended with a mixer. December brought the annual Christmas party , which was put on by the pledges for the chapter and alumnae. December ended with the Alpha Sigma Phi Beach day and Bar-B-Q that helped all relax and get ready for finals. The chapter has 110 members, who increased sisterhood and respect for each other through more fun activities getting to know each other better. The women also had more beach days and had dinner together on Fridays.
In the Fall of 1992, Hurricane Andrew, a Category 5 hurricane, decimated south Florida. The start of the school year was delayed as a result. The chapter has 110 members who increased sisterhood pulled together and respect for each other through more fun activities getting participated in multiple philanthropies to know each other betterhelp hurricane victims. The women also had more beach days and had dinner together on FridaysBig/Lil Sister Day was held off campus at the beautiful home of Mady Sanchez.
During the summer the chapter suite was redecorated. There were also many changes on the campus. New trees were planted to replace those destroyed during Hurricane Andrew. New sidewalks were constructed with brick. The recreation center was demolished and a new state of the art student wellness center Wellness Center was built.
During this year the chapter decided to have unity with an emphasis on sisterhood as its goal. The focus was to become closer in order to better the chapter , as well as its members. This goal was met through various activities such as going ice skating, trips to the beach, to a club on campus to watch Beverly Hills 90210 on Wednesday and on Fridays for the club’s promotional night. This has strengthened the chapter and brought the members closer together.
The chapter continued to work on academic excellence. This year Panhellenic study hours were installed to help all pledges and members maintain a good GPA. Those with a GPA below 2.3 were required to attend study hours to improve grades.
Delta Kappa started 1995 with a new member class of 26 amazing women. Shortly after rush Rush the chapter held Kappa Krush at the Chilli Pepper in South Beach and the annual Sapphire Ball at the beautiful Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables which brought a memorable time and fun for everyone. The chapter participated in Greek Week and placed second in cheer, third in Greek Sing, first in blood drive, third in Olympic Day and third overall. The end of spring semester brought graduation and a tearful goodbye to members who have meant a lot to the chapter.
Fall brought the chapter 23 wonderful new members. Then came Homecoming , where the chapter was paired with Alpha Sigma Phi and earned a third place trophy overall. Delta Kappa members were active in almost every aspect of college life. They were a visible chapter; they participated in Greek Week, Homecoming, Pledges on Parade and the various sorority and fraternity activities. From Student government Government and clubs to intramural sports, varsity sports, master tutor program, peer counseling programs and leadership in honor societies; members were very active on campus. This year brought unforeseen challenges to the chapter. Leadership left the chapter in a rebuilding stage with the graduation of the seniors. The new officers tried hard to keep the chapter together and united by trying to improve attendance and participation at meetings and fraternity events. The chapter had Wednesday nights on the town and gathered at the Rathskellar, a an on campus restaurant and pub. Senior Night, Heart Sister Day and Big/Little Sister Day were some other activities held to promote chapter and sisterhood.
Delta Kappa’s year (1996) began with spring semester. It was full of great socials with various fraternities on campus. These included a mixer with Pi Kappa Alpha, one with Kappa Sigma and Sigma Alpha Mu during Greek Week. There were also a number of philanthropic activities in which the chapter participated. Some included Fun Day which was a day dedicated to the enjoyment of children and adults with disabilities and Sigma Chi’s Derby Days which benefited their philanthropy. The chapter received individual and chapter awards at the Association of Greek Letter Organizations awards banquet. A major event of the spring was the Sapphire Ball, held at the Intercontinental on Biscayne Bay. Elegant and beautiful, it showed Kappa’s charm and class.
Fall was busy as usual for DK. The chapter had a tailgate with Zeta Beta Tau before rushRush.
By the time recruitment was completed the chapter doubled in size with 46 new members. The semester marked the beginning of the new member Program. Chapter members were a little nervous at first, but successfully used this program to initiate the new members. The new members place second in Pledges on Parade, dressing up as food and making everyone smile! The social calendar was full. The first mixer of the semester was with Sigma Alpha Phi with an Olympic theme. Tailgates followed with Sigma Chi and Alpha Epsilon Pi. Founders Day united the chapter with alumnae at the beautiful Biltmore Hotel for brunch. The chapter received second place in the Panhellenic Salvation Army tree philanthropy and wrapped presents at Barnes and Noble to raise money for the Ronald McDonald House. The season ended with a Christmas party, Senior Night and date party at Pen rod’s Rod’s on South Beach.
Fall semester was successful academically with the chapter earning the highest grade point average in the Greek system. Many members pledged honor societies and fraternities as well as participating in the President’s 100, student government, philanthropic committees and campus wide program committees. Delta Kappas were involved all over campus and frequently held leadership roles!
In the fall of this year, Delta Kappa earned the highest grade point average of all Greek organizations with members pledging honor societies and fraternities as well as participating in the President’s 100, student government, philanthropic committees and campus wide program committees. Delta Kappas were involved all over campus and frequently held leadership roles!
The year 1998 started with informal spring rush which included three nights of events that gave the chapter members an opportunity to mingle and meet new women. This effort resulted in seven new members. The chapter participate in many mixers and philanthropic events. DK started an annual event Kappasta Dinner. The chapter women served members of the college and local community a spaghetti dinner from which all the proceeds went to a local philanthropy, the Love Jen Fund at the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.
==Highlights of 2011-2019==
==Highlights of 2012==
Overall, 2013 was an exciting year for Delta Kappa where the sisters continued to foster relationships with one another and other chapters and organizations. We pride ourselves on upholding the Kappa values in our daily lives. A sense of trust and friendship is felt throughout the chapter and we pride ourselves on having the connection of true sisterhood—something special to all of us.
==Highlights of 2014==
In the spring of 2014, the Delta Kappa chapter welcomed its new members after a successful formal and informal recruitment. Philanthropy is always a priority for Delta Kappa. This year they participated in Greek Week, Kappa Sigma, Beta Theta Pi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Lambda Chi Alpha and Pi Kappa Phi’s philanthropies. They proceeded to win Lambda Chi Alpha’s philanthropy in the fall. Additionally, University of Miami’s annual Greek Week took place in the spring of 2014 and Kappa Kappa Gamma took 2nd and sister Michaela Hennessey took second place in the Greek God and Goddess competition and they also took second place in the organized cheer portion of the competition. It was a lot of fun tirelessly competing in these events and raising money for United Cerebral Palsy. Kappa also took first place in the first ever Sorority Night Live, benefiting Circle of Sisterhood.
In the spring we hosted our first ever Kick it with Kappa soccer tournament, inspired by FIFA. The philanthropy raised money for Reading is Fundamental. Each fraternity that participated represented a different country. Lambda Chi won the philanthropy and the prize was a social event with our sisters. The Delta Kappa chapter also has restarted their reading buddies program in which the sisters read to children ever week at a local community center. The chapter hopes to expand upon our philanthropic efforts and raise even more money for Reading is Fundamental in the future.
The fall and spring semester brought the members of the Delta Kappa chapter even closer. The chapter also hosted our sisterhood event in the spring, which was kayaking in the keys and a yoga event in the fall in which each member was gifted a yoga mat and a mat strap.
The chapter has held several mixers throughout the fall and spring semesters in addition to a date function and our formal in the spring and semi-formal in the fall.
The sisters of Delta Kappa chapter of Kappa Kappa Gamma continue to be an integral part of the University of Miami community. Many sisters were tapped into prestigious honor societies including Rho Lambda and Order of Omega. Sisters Holly Bensur and Melissa Damas were tapped into Iron Arrow, the highest honor at the University of Miami. One of our sisters was elected onto the PanHellenic Executive Board and two sisters were elected PanHellenic coordinators. The sisters are involved in the Ibis Yearbook, Distraction Magazine, No Zebras, Relay for Life, Dance Marathon and may more organizations. With such a strong involvement on campus the sisters of the Delta Kappa chapter continue to be role models and fundamental parts of the University of Miami community.
The University of Miami continues to expand and improve its campus for its students. Both of the dining halls on campus have been remodeled and redone to benefit students. The Frost School of music has a building consisting of more practice rooms for students to utilize. In the summer of 2013 the Hurricane Food Court was remodeled and new dining options were added. Such choices include Subway and Tossed. The University also broke ground on a new hospital being built on campus and in the process has moved Dickinson Drive over a street. The University also announced that president Donna Shalala will be stepping down at the end of the spring 2015 semester; it is unclear who will take over the role. The Kappa Kappa Gamma suite, which is part of a University building, has had its bathroom and kitchen redone and has been painted and has new furniture.
Overall, 2014 was an awesome year for the Delta Kappa chapter. Sisters continue to become closer with one another and also continue to foster relationships with other organizations. The sisters hold their selves to the Kappa values and feel they have the connection of sisterhood—a bond that can never be broken.
==Highlights of 2015==
The Delta Kappa chapter kicked off the spring semester with recruitment and bid day, and quickly after we fell into Greek Week in which we were paired with Sigma Chi and Alpha Epsilon Pi who donated blood and helped raise over $30,000 for United Cerebral Palsy. We also participated in other fraternity and sorority philanthropies, where we helped raise money for other causes through raffles, coin wars, restaurant fundraisers, auctions, and participating in fun events. It is difficult to judge how much money was raised for each event because a lot of donations are based upon individual contributions of cash, and are not documented in our billhighway system (other than entry fee and shirt orders). This spring we participated in events and raised money for Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Sigma Pi, and Sigma Phi Epsilon and won Lambda Chi Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, and Kappa Sigma’s philanthropies’. We also contributed money and won the Panhellenic Circle of Sisterhood fundraiser. In the fall we participated in events and raised money for Zeta Beta Tau, Alpha Sigma Phi, Lambda Chi Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, and won Beta Theta Pi’s Beta Blast Off.
Our Vice President Organization created an excel document with goals for Chapter Council created by input from the entire chapter on an anonymous forum. Chapter Council, or CC, checked in regularly to see if we were meeting these goals, what we could do to better achieve them, and what we may need to change to fit the path our chapter was taking. We planned a sisterhood trip to Disney World and got matching shirts made, and it was so fun we are still talking about it almost a year later! We had two sisters, Keelin Beelski and Rori Kotch get tapped into Iron Arrow which is the highest honor you can receive at the University of Miami. We also had sisters tapped into Order of Omega, Rho Lambda, and Omicron Delta Kappa. Our chapter also received a community service award at the AGLO Awards night, and we had sisters win individual awards.
In Spring 2015, headquarters visited us and told us we were going to be suspended due to our low recruiting numbers. This news came as a surprise seeing as we were in good standing with the fraternity before recruitment. The University of Miami, Delta Kappa, ad alumni community pulled together to support us, and a few days later the decision was reversed. This roller coaster brought our sisters closer together than ever and has encouraged us to work hard for this upcoming 2016 recruitment.
In the Fall we teamed up with Alpha Sigma Phi for Homecoming 2015, and had a blast participating in the boat burning/fireworks, building a parade float, dancing in Organized cheer, creating an ornament for the Spirit Tree, painting a Wynwood mural,creating a small scale model of the Intercontinental Hotel in Miami, and cheering on our football team to victory against Virginia. Our standards committee hosted our first, but certainly not last, cupcake wars where sisters teamed up to decorate the most creative cupcakes and win prizes. This event was a fun way to welcome our new members and get to know them better. The committee also planned a holiday party, where we had a secret sister gift swap and a cookie exchange for everyone to get into the holiday spirit before finals.
This year the University of Miami dedicated the Shalala Student Activity Center to our outgoing president Donna Shalala, and we welcomed Julio Frenk as our sixth president. We also recently opened up a new bridge across the lake on campus which was donated to the school by a sister of our chapter’s family. We also fired our head football coach Al Golden and recently hired alum and former quarterback Mark Richt. Our chapter struggled through the few days we were suspended, but we grew closer as a chapter in the Spring 2015 semester and went into the summer with our hearts full of love and support. The chapter came into the fall semester afraid of the future, but luckily our amazing chapter consultant Jessica Sitton has helped us through many of our problems and questions. We look forward to working with her, Jessica has given Delta Kappa hope for the future and has encouraged us to work harder than ever.
Chapter Philanthropy:
What organization(s) has your chapter historically/traditionally raised money for, or donated hours to, in your community?
All sisters are expected to participate in at least one trip to Branches South Miami community center to read to children each semester for our reading buddies program. We go there every Friday and read with K-5th graders in the after school program. We then spend time coloring and playing with them. At the end of the spring semester, we hold “reading is key” event at Branches where we bring two books for every single child in the group for them to take home. Many of them don’t have any books at home and struggle with illiteracy. They are very happy and receptive of the gift. We also bring them snacks and have fun planned activities for the time that we spend with them. All sisters are expected to attend this event. Throughout the year, we encouraged sisters to participate in on-campus community service events such as Dance Marathon, Funday, Relay for Life, etc. We have several sisters on the Dance Marathon and Special Olympics e-boards. We have several sisters involved in APO showing a large presence in community service around the area.
Our official chapter donations for entry fees, t-shirt orders and money raised for our own philanthropies are roughly $5,600. Overall, I’d estimate our donations, both documented and undocumented to be around $10,000 to various philanthropic causes. Dividing this total by 84 members in the fall, each member raised roughly $238 on average. We’ve educated others about our philanthropic cause during Formal Recruitment’s philanthropy day through a video presentation and through our social media and on-campus presence. During our new member education program, we also have the philanthropy chair make a presentation to the new members about our 3 official avenues of chapter community service/philanthropy, that is reading buddies, Reading is Fundamental, and the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation.
Why did your chapter choose this organization(s) to support?
Since we go to reading buddies on a weekly basis, the kids recognize many sisters and look up to us as role models. Many of them aspire to go to college already at such a young age and want to be just like us when they get older. It is always a very special time for us because we see what kind of positive impact we have on the kids who may be growing up in less fortunate conditions than our upbringing. This year we voted as a chapter to support the Alzheimer’s association because it was a cause dear to us. Alzeimers is a terrible disease that many sisters in our chapter are personally affected by, and because of the personal connection our chapter had with this disease.
==Highlights of 2016==
The Delta Kappa chapter started off the spring semester in January with both recruitment and bid day. Greek Week followed quickly after and we were paired with Lambda Chi Alpha and Kappa Sigma. We donated blood and helped raise over $34,000 for United Cerebral Palsy. Throughout the year we also participated and raised money for several fraternity’s philanthropies including Lambda Chi Alpha, Kappa Sigma, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Chi, and Alpha Sigma Phi. In addition, we participated in the Panhellenic Pride Week this fall, which raised $26,000 in three days for the Circle of Sisterhood Foundation.
During Homecoming this fall, we paired up with Alpha Sigma Pi and had a great time participating and cheering on our team. We participated in the opening ceremony, Homecoming King and Queen, Organized Cheer, the parade, boat burning and fireworks. Our sister Toni Farrell competed in Homecoming King and Queen and was named a princess! Many of our chapter members were in the crowd to cheer her on.
This year we had members tapped into Order of Omega, Rho Lambda, and Omicron Delta Kappa. We also had many sisters win individual awards at the AGLO awards night in the spring. During the Kappa Kappa Gamma convention this past summer, the Delta Kappa Chapter won the Gracious Living Award. We also received honorable mention for the Standards and Advisory Board categories.
Last January, the University of Miami inaugurated the sixth President, Julio Frenk. He has started leading the University in new directions through his plan called the “Roadmap to Our New Century.” We are excited to see all that President Frenk accomplishes during his time at UM.
This year in particular, we started focusing on hosting several small sisterhood events throughout the semesters to create a deeper bond within our chapter. The standards committee hosted Galentine’s Day, Movie Night with the Transfer Student Association, KKG Ribbon Making, and a field trip to Sky Zone in the spring. Throughout the fall semester, the committee hosted a spooky sisterhood event and “stuff a plush.” The idea of stuff a plush was for sisters to make two stuffed animals, one for themselves and one to be donated to the children at Nicklaus Children’s Hospital. The House committee also started hosting potluck dinners throughout the semester before chapter meetings, and there was even a macaroni and cheese contest during one of them. To wrap up the semester, there was a chapter holiday dinner that included a cookie exchange as well as a white elephant gift exchange. We hope that by planning many sisterhood events throughout the semester rather than a few big-budget ones, our sisters can become closer and we can allow our Delta Kappa bond to continue to grow.
'''Philanthropy'''
Kappa Kappa Gamma as a national organization supports Reading is Fundamental. In the Fall of 2016, Delta Kappa took into consideration the importance of reading programs across the country that foster the imagination and improve reading performance. The importance of reading on long-term literacy resonated with our chapter. Our mission is to support children within our community with an opportunity to embrace their imagination and create a lifelong love for reading. Throughout the fall and spring semester, our chapter raised about $2000 and $1300, respectively.
Within the chapter, sisters have a continuous chance to participate in our weekly reading program “Reading Buddies” in cooperation with Branches South Miami. Sisters visit a local afterschool care center every Friday afternoon and bring each student from K-5th grade a book that they read with us in an effort to promote higher literacy rates in lower socioeconomic neighborhoods. Our weekly visits have created close ties with Branches as an organization as well as with the kids we interact with. As such it creates a personal environment where these children can feel comfortable reading and speaking to us. Even at that age the children are curious about their education and always ask questions about college such that we’re hopeful it inspires them to continue their education and view us as positive role models. To further resonate the importance of literacy at a young age we hold a “Reading is Key” event in which we have activities and food for the children as well as a package of books to continue their personal reading. Working directly with the community at large enables our chapter to directly impact the city they now live in and continue the efforts of a cause we so dearly support.
==Highlights of 2017==
Delta Kappa faced a difficult decision this year. Having spent the previous calendar year trying to increase the Chapter's recruitment numbers, the Chapter and the Fraternity made the mutual decision to suspend operations at the end of the 2017-18 academic year, with the hope of returning to campus in the year 2022. The decision lightened the load for the small Chapter and made things considerably less stressful for DK's sisters, who have been able to focus solely on sisterhood and ending the year in happier spirits.
'''Philanthropy'''
Delta Kappa Chapter raised funds for Reading is Fundamental, a cause that is important to the Fraternity and the chapter because of the value of the importance of education and the necessity of ensuring that as many people are well-educated and literate.
==Highlights of the 2020s==