Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority at UA to Celebrate 35th Anniversary

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama Theta Sigma chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. will celebrate the chapter’s 35th anniversary with events on campus April 24-26.

On Saturday, April 25, at 10:30 a.m., some 100 alumnae will gather at the AKA house on Sorority Row to meet the current chapter members and present a donation to the African-American Association Alumni Network Endowed Scholarship, which the chapter helped establish five years ago. Pat Whetstone, director of UA Alumni Affairs, will be on hand to accept the donation.

“The members and alumnae of the Theta Sigma chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. are thrilled to mark 35 years of service to the UA and Tuscaloosa communities as well as to celebrate the bonds of sisterhood that have kept many of our sorority sisters connected for much of their lives,” said Staci Brown Brooks, Theta Sigma alumna spokeswoman.

In addition, several other historically black Greek organizations will be celebrating anniversaries on campus this weekend, including Alpha Phi Alpha, Omega Psi Phi, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta, Phi Beta Sigma and Kappa Alpha Psi.

Every five years, members of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Theta Sigma chapter gather to honor milestone anniversaries. The chapter was chartered on April 14, 1974, with 12 initial sorority sisters. Today, the chapter has grown to nearly 600 members. The theme for this year’s celebration is “Strengthening Our Sisterhood, Continuing Our Legacy.”

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. was founded in 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., as the nation’s first historically black sorority. It was founded on the premise of service to others as its main goal, as well as the understanding that membership is a lifelong commitment.

A host of celebrities are included among the sorority’s national membership, including the late Coretta Scott King, Jada Pinkett Smith, Nichelle Nichols, Alicia Keys, the late Rosa Parks, Mae Jemison, the late Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou and others.

The UA Theta Sigma chapter also includes among area initiates Dr. Roy Ann Sherrod, professor in the Capstone College of Nursing, Dr. B. Joyce Stallworth, senior associate dean in the College of Education, and Kathy Elmore Sawyer, former commissioner of the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation.

For more information or to schedule interviews, contact Staci Brown Brooks at 205/821-2361 or Jennifer Turner at 770/722-8452.