Kappa Alpha Order
| Kappa Alpha Order | |
|---|---|
| Κappa Alpha, KA | |
 |
|
| Founded | December 21, 1865 Washington College, Lexington, Virginia |
| Type | social, secret |
| Motto |
Dieu et les Dames (Brothers faithful unto death) |
| Colors | Crimson and old Gold |
| Flower | Crimson Rose and Magnolia Blossom |
| Publication | The Kappa Alpha Journal |
| Philanthropy | Muscular Dystrophy Association |
| Chapters |
122 active |
| Members | approx. 7,600 collegiate approx. 150,000 lifetime |
| Nickname | KA, The Order |
| Headquarters |
Mulberry Hill Lexington, Virginia United States |
| Homepage | www |
Dieu et les Dames
(God and the Ladies)
122 active
Kappa Alpha Order (known as Kappa Alpha, KA, or The Order) is a social fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington College in Lexington, Virginia. As of December 2015, the Kappa Alpha Order lists 133 active chapters, 5 provisional chapters, and 52 suspended chapters. Along with Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Nu, the order represents a third of the Lexington Triad. Since its establishment in 1865, The Order has initiated more than 150,000 members.
Kappa Alpha Order was founded as Phi Kappa Chi on December 21, 1865, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia. James Ward Wood, William Archibald Walsh, and brothers William Nelson Scott and Stanhope McClelland Scott are the founders of the fraternity. Soon after the founding, the local Virginia Beta chapter of Phi Kappa Psi protested the name "Phi Kappa Chi", due to the similarity of the names, leading Wood to change the name of the fraternity to K.A. by April 1866. Within one year, the order's ritual would be expanded upon by Samuel Zenas Ammen, who was dubbed the "practical founder". In the years that followed, the fraternity spread throughout the Southern United States, as well as other states such as California, Arizona and New Mexico.
KA is one-third of the Lexington Triad, along with Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Nu. The founders listed Robert E. Lee's chivalry and gentlemanly conduct as an inspiration. At the 1923 Convention, Lee was designated as the "Spiritual Founder" of the Order by John Temple Graves.
The Kappa Alpha Order National Administrative Office is located at Mulberry Hill, in Lexington, Virginia. It is documented that Mulberry Hill is where Robert E. Lee spent his first night in Lexington, after arriving to take over as president of Washington College. Mulberry Hill is a Virginia Historic Landmark, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The offices for the Kappa Alpha Order Educational Foundation are also housed there.
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