April 17, 2015
Festivities to highlight sorority’s 60th anniversary
CARBONDALE, Ill. -- In honor of its 60th anniversary in April, the Gamma Kappa chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority at Southern Illinois University Carbondale will be hosting a public open house.
The “meet and greet” event will be from 5 to 7 p.m. on April 23 at the Student Services Building in Rooms 160/170. People from SIU and the surrounding community are welcome to join the celebration, learn more about the Gamma Kappa Chapter of Sigma Kappa and meet current members. Refreshments will be served.
The SIU chapter traces its origins to December 1954 when a group of young women living in Woody Hall gathered and formed a group under the name Sigma Kappa Gamma. With 26 members and two alumnae initiates, they formally pledged to Sigma Kappa National Sorority on Jan. 15, 1955. After completing the formal new member period, the Gamma Kappa chapter of Sigma Kappa was officially installed at SIU on April 23, 1955.
Since then, more than 1,600 women have been part of SIU’s Sigma Kappa organization. Throughout its history on the SIU campus, the Gamma Kappa Chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority has maintained high academic standards while actively participating in all facets of university life, performing community service and supporting various local and national charities. In fact, the average GPA during the fall 2014 semester was 3.23 and each sorority member averaged 16.7 hours of campus/community service that semester.
Kandace Hofer, a paralegal studies major from Buckley, is the current president of the SIU chapter.
Throughout the weekend of April 24-26, the group and its alumnae members will be participating in special activities including a formal dinner, a sisterhood circle and a brunch.
For more information about the Gamma Kappa chapter of Sigma Kappa Sorority at SIU, contact Kandace Hofer, at 815/993-2085 or by emailing klhofer@siu.edu.