Kappa Phi Lambda

Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. (ΚΦΛ also known as Kappas and KPL) is an Asian-interest sorority that was founded in 1995 at Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York. The sorority is represented at 34 schools with over 4,000 members nationally. It is a member of the National APIDA Panhellenic Association (NAPA).^[1]

Not to be confused with Kappa Phi Lambda (fraternity), a defunct fraternity, or Kappa Phi, a sorority.

Kappa Phi Lambda
ΚΦΛ
Founded	March 9, 1995; 30 years ago (1995-03-09) Binghamton University
Type	Social
Affiliation	NAPA
Status	Active
Emphasis	Cultural
Scope	National
Pillars	Sisterhood, Service, and Cultural Diversity
Colors	Red,   White, and   Heather Grey
Flower	Orchid
Jewel	Diamond
Mascot	Phoenix
Philanthropy	CARE
Chapters	25
Colonies	9
Members	4,000+ lifetime
Nicknames	Kappas, KPL
Headquarters	34 3rd Avenue #147 New York City, New York 10003 United States
Website	kplsorority.org

History

Seven women came together to establish Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority, Inc. at Binghamton University on March 9, 1995. The seven founders were Elizabeth Choi, Karen Eng, Rei Hirasawa, Hee Cho Moon, Chae Yoo Park, Samantha Somchanhmavong, and Connie Yang.

The sorority was conceived through the notion of an organization that would provide a culturally sound and educationally inspiring grounding for Asian-American women.^[2][3] These women saw there was a need for an organization of this kind that would give inspiration and education to their community.^[4]

This sorority is open to women of all nationalities and backgrounds who want to learn about, actively speak for, and represent Pan-Asian culture.^[4]

Symbols

The sorority's colors are red, white, and heather grey. Its flower is the orchid. Its jewel is the diamond. The sorority's mascot is the phoenix. The pillars of Kappa Phi Lambda are "Sisterhood, Service, and Cultural Diversity".

Philanthropy

Kappa Phi Lambda has selected CARE, a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty, as its national philanthropy.^[5] The organization also takes initiative in spreading cultural awareness regarding Asian American culture through events like "Amazing Race: Asian Edition" which is regularly hosted alongside fellow undergraduate chapters of the fraternity Pi Delta Psi.^[6]

Chapters

There are currently 25 active chapters and nine associate chapters of Kappa Phi Lambda.^[2][7] Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters are indicated in italic.

Chapter	Founding/Range	Campus	Location	Status	Reference
Alpha	March 9, 1995	Binghamton University	Binghamton, New York	Active
Beta	February 22, 1997–20xx ?	University at Buffalo	Buffalo, New York	Dormant
Gamma	November 16, 1997	Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	Active
Delta	February 28, 1998	Stony Brook University	Stony Brook, New York	Active
Epsilon associate chapter	March 7, 1998–xxxx ?; May 1, 2016	New York University	New York, New York	Active	[a]
Zeta	January 10, 1998	St. John's University	Queens, New York	Active
Eta	November 7, 1999	Rutgers University	New Brunswick, New Jersey	Active
Theta	August 20, 1999–20xx ?	Baruch College	New York, New York	Dormant
Iota	May 19, 2000	Cornell University	Ithaca, New York	Active
Lambda	July 8, 2001–20xx ?	University of Maryland, Baltimore	Baltimore, MD	Dormant
Mu	May 12, 2001	University of Massachusetts Amherst	Amherst, Massachusetts	Active
Nu	November 23, 2002	Northwestern University	Evanston, Illinois	Active
Xi	June 15, 2002	Northeastern University	Boston, Massachusetts	Active
Omicron	May 31, 2003	Ohio State University	Columbus, Ohio	Active
Pi associate chapter	November 3, 2002–20xx ?; November 17, 2018	Carnegie Mellon University	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Active	[b]
Rho	April 3, 2004	University of Florida	Gainesville, Florida	Active
Sigma	April 10, 2004	University of Connecticut	Storrs, Connecticut	Active
Tau	December 6, 2003	Columbia University	New York, New York	Active
Upsilon	November 14, 2004	University at Albany	Albany, New York	Active
Phi	April 13, 2003	University of Michigan, Ann Arbor	Ann Arbor, Michigan	Active
Chi	November 14, 2004	University of Maryland, College Park	College Park, Maryland	Active
Psi	November 12, 2006	University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	Champaign, Illinois	Active
Alpha Alpha	November 13, 2004	George Mason University	Fairfax, Virginia	Active
Alpha Beta	May 10, 2008	George Washington University	Washington, D.C.	Active
Alpha Gamma	November 21, 2009	University of Texas at Austin	Austin, Texas	Active
Alpha Delta	February 21, 2004	Northern Illinois University	DeKalb, Illinois	Active
Alpha Epsilon	November 10, 2012	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	Active
Alpha Zeta	November 14, 2015	University of South Florida	Tampa, Florida	Active
Alpha Eta	November 23, 2013	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	Active
Alpha Theta	May 2, 2015	University of Nevada, Reno	Reno, Nevada	Active
Associate chapter	April 22, 2006–20xx ?	Miami University	Oxford, Ohio	Dormant	[8]
Associate chapter	April 3, 2010–200xx ?	Duke University	Durham, North Carolina	Dormant	[8]
Associate chapter	April 20, 2013–20xx ?	University of Denver	Denver, Colorado	Dormant	[8]
Associate chapter	November 11, 2017	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, North Carolina	Active	[9]
Associate chapter	April 14, 2018–20xx ?	American University	Washington, D.C.	Dormant	[8]
Associate chapter	March 9, 2019	Drexel University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Active	[9]
Associate chapter	April 13, 2019	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	Greensboro, North Carolina	Active	[9]
Associate chapter	March 28, 2020	University of Cincinnati	Cincinnati, Ohio	Active	[9]
Associate chapter	March 7, 2021	University of Minnesota, Twin Cities	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Active	[9]
Associate chapter	April 1, 2022	Wright State University	Dayton, Ohio	Active	[9]
Associate chapter	November 12, 2022	Elon University	Elon, North Carolina	Active
Associate chapter	October 21, 2023	Creighton University	Omaha, Nebraska	Active

1. Re-established as an associate chapter in 2016
2. Re-established as an associate chapter in 2018.

See also

• List of social sororities and women's fraternities

• List of Asian American fraternities and sororities
• Cultural interest fraternities and sororities