Sigma Kappa Delta

Sigma Kappa Delta (ΣΚΔ) is an American collegiate honor society for students of English at two-year colleges. It was established in 1996 in Chicago, Illinois. The society sponsors the National English Honor Society, a program for high school students of English.

Sigma Kappa Delta
ΣΚΔ
Founded	April 21, 1996; 29 years ago (1996-04-21) Chicago, Illinois
Type	Honor
Affiliation	Sigma Tau Delta
Status	Active
Emphasis	English, 2-year colleges
Scope	National
Motto	Sincerity, Knowledge, Design
Colors	Green and   Gold
Flower	English Ivy
Publication	Hedera helix
Chapters	141
Members	2,500 active 23,000+ lifetime
Headquarters	c/o Calhoun Community College P.O Box 2216 Decatur, Alabama 35609 United States
Website	www.english2.org

History

William Johnson, executive director of the collegiate English honor society Sigma Tau Delta and a professor of English at Northern Illinois University, convened a meeting of community college professors in Chicago on April 21, 1996, to discuss creating an English honor society for students of two-year colleges.^[1][2] The result was Sigma Kappa Delta.^[1] Its first president was Susan LeJeune, an associate professor of English at Louisiana State University at Eunice.^[2]

Sigma Kappa Delta encourages an interest in and recognizes academic excellence in English language and literature in undergraduate students at two-year colleges.^[3][4] The society also honors professional writers who have made contributions to the fields of language and literature.^[3] It supports literacy and creative and technical writing.^[5][1]

The first chapter was established at Northern Illinois University.^[6]

On April 20, 2008, a Sigma Kappa Delta chapter erected a monument at the burial site of 19th-century humorist George Washington Harris.^[7] In 2014, the society had 118 chapters and a total of 23,093 initiates.^[8]

As of 2024, Sigma Kappa Delta has chartered more than 140 chapters in the United States.^[9] Its national headquarters are located at Calhoun Community College in Decatur, Alabama.^[10]

Symbols

The Greek letters Sigma Kappa Delta were selected to represent sincerity, knowledge, and design.^[11] The society's motto is "Sincerity, Knowledge, Design".

Sigma Kappa Delta adopted its seal and key in 1996.^[12] The society's colors are green and gold.^[13] Graduating members may wear green and gold honor cords.^[14] Its plant is the English ivy.^[12] Its publication has the scientific name for English ivy, Hedera helix.^[15][13]

Activities

Sigma Kappa Delta publishes an annual literary journal, Hedera helix.^[15] Chapters sponsor various literacy activities, such as hosting a writing workshop, offering continuing education credits for teachers, or collecting supplies for elementary school students.^[16]

Sigma Kappa Delta sponsors the National English Honor Society, a program for high school students of English.^[9] The organization partners with Sigma Tau Delta to plan and promote an annual convention where members can present and attend educational sessions.^[17][18][19] It also presents scholarships and awards to its members.^[19]

Membership

Sigma Kappa Delta inducts some 2,500 members annually.^[1] Eligible members have completed one academic semester and at least one course in English language or literature, with at least a 3.0 GPA in English and overall.^[9][6]

Chapters

Following are the chapters of Sigma Kappa Delta, with active chapters indicated in bold and inactive chapters in italics.^[20][21][22]

Chapter	Charter date	Institution	Location	Status	Reference
Alpha	1990	Cottey College	Nevada, Missouri	Active	[23][13]
	1996	Northern Illinois University	DeKalb, Illinois	Inactive	[6]
	November 13, 1996	Louisiana State University at Eunice	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Inactive	[2][4]
Epsilon Alpha	1996	Northeast Alabama Community College	Rainsville, Alabama	Active	[16][19][24]
Delta Alpha	1997	Copiah–Lincoln Community College	Wesson, Mississippi	Active
Zeta Alpha	1997	Navarro College	Corsicana, Texas	Active
Theta Alpha		Owens Community College	Toledo, Ohio	Inactive	[25]
Kappa Alpha	1997	Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Bainbridge	Bainbridge, Georgia	Inactive
Mu Alpha	1997	Illinois Valley Community College	Oglesby, Illinois	Active	[5][26]
Nu Alpha		Bladen Community College	Dublin, North Carolina	Active	[27]
Sigma Alpha		Atlantic Cape Community College	Cape May Court House, New Jersey	Active	[28]
Tau Alpha		Grayson College	Denison, Texas	Active
Upsilon Alpha		Seminole State College	Seminole, Oklahoma	Active
Phi Alpha		Bevill State Community College, Jasper Campus	Jasper, Alabama	Active	[29]
Beta Beta		Spartanburg Methodist College	Spartanburg, South Carolina	Active	[30]
Epsilon Beta		Del Mar College	Corpus Christi, Texas	Active
Eta Beta		Columbia State Community College	Columbia, Tennessee	Active	[31]
Iota Beta		Blinn College	Brenham, Texas	Active
Theta Beta		Calhoun Community College	Decatur, Alabama	Active	[32]
Lambda Beta		McLennan Community College	Waco, Texas	Active	[30]
Pi Beta	2005	Wallace Community College	Dothan, Alabama	Active	[33]
Rho Beta	2002	Fayetteville Technical Community College	Fayetteville, North Carolina	Active
Sigma Beta	2002	Bishop State Community College	Mobile, Alabama	Active
Tau Beta	2002	Central Texas College	Killeen, Texas	Active
Upsilon Beta	2002	Laurel Ridge Community College	Warrenton, Virginia	Active
Phi Beta		Amarillo College	Amarillo, Texas	Active	[34]
Chi Beta		Lone Star College–Montgomery	Conroe, Texas	Active
Psi Beta		Dallas College Eastfield	Mesquite, Texas	Active
Omega Beta		Daytona State College	Daytona Beach, Florida	Active
Beta Gamma		York Technical College	Rock Hill, South Carolina	Inactive	[30]
Gamma Gamma		Northeast Texas Community College	Mount Pleasant, Texas	Active
Epsilon Gamma		Luzerne County Community College	Nanticoke, Pennsylvania	Active	[30]
Zeta Gamma		Delta College	University Center, Michigan	Inactive	[30]
Theta Gamma		Blinn College, Bryan Campus	Bryan, Texas	Inactive	[30]
Lambda Gamma		Northwest Arkansas Community College	Bentonville, Arkansas	Active
Xi Gamma		Broward College, North Campus	Coconut Creek, Florida	Active
Rho Gamma		State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota, Bradenton campus	Bradenton, Florida	Inactive
Sigma Gamma		Baton Rouge Community College	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	Active	[30]
Tau Gamma		Aims Community College, Greeley Campus	Greeley, Colorado	Active	[35]
Chi Gamma	2007	Collin College, Preston Ridge Campus	Frisco, Texas	Active
Psi Gamma		Tyler Junior College	Tyler, Texas	Active	[36]
Omega Gamma	2007	Valley Forge Military College	Wayne, Pennsylvania	Active
Gamma Delta	2007	University of Wisconsin–Whitewater at Rock County	Janesville, Wisconsin	Active
Delta Delta	2007	Carteret Community College	Morehead City, North Carolina	Active	[37]
Epsilon Delta		Jones College	Ellisville, Mississippi	Active
Theta Delta	2007	Wallace State Community College	Hanceville, Alabama	Active	[38]
Kappa Delta		Illinois Central College	East Peoria, Illinois	Active
Mu Delta		Ashland Community and Technical College	Ashland, Kentucky	Active	[39]
Pi Delta		Darton State College	Albany, Georgia	Inactive	[a]
Pi Delta		Albany State University	Albany, Georgia	Inactive	[30][a]
Tau Delta		Lakeland Community College	Kirtland, Ohio	Active
Upsilon Delta	2009	Kilgore College	Kilgore, Texas	Active	[6]
Phi Delta ?		Suffolk County Community College, Ammerman Campus	Selden, New York	Active	[40]
		Suffolk County Community College, Grant Campus	Brentwood, New York
Chi Delta		Plaza College	Forest Hills, New York	Active
Psi Delta		Tarrant County College Trinity River Campus	Fort Worth, Texas	Active	[41]
Omega Delta		Tarrant County College Southeast Campus	Arlington, Texas	Active	[42]
Alpha Epsilon		Pearl River Community College, Forrest County Center	Hattiesburg, Mississippi	Active	[43]
Delta Epsilon	May 2011	Black Hawk College	Moline, Illinois	Active	[11]
Epsilon Epsilon		University of Arkansas – Pulaski Technical College	North Little Rock, Arkansas	Active	[44]
Zeta Epsilon		Midland College	Midland, Texas	Active
Eta Epsilon		Jefferson State Community College	Pell City, Alabama	Active	[45]
Theta Epsilon		College of the Canyons	Santa Clarita, California	Active
Iota Epsilon	2012	Snead State Community College	Boaz, Alabama	Active
Kappa Epsilon	2012	River Parishes Community College	Gonzales, Louisiana	Active
Lambda Epsilon	2012	Brookdale Community College	Lincroft, New Jersey	Active	[46]
Xi Epsilon		South Texas College	McAllen, Texas	Active
Omicron Epsilon		Hudson County Community College	Jersey City, New Jersey	Active
Pi Epsilon		Broward College, Judson A. Samuels South Campus	Pembroke Pines, Florida	Active
Rho Epsilon	2012	Louisburg College	Louisburg, North Carolina	Active	[47]
Sigma Epsilon		Arkansas State University Mid-South	West Memphis, Arkansas	Active
Tau Epsilon		Bevill State Community College, Sumiton Campus	Sumiton, Alabama	Active
Upsilon Epsilon		Suffolk County Community College, Michael J. Grant Campus	Brentwood, New York	Inactive	[30]
Phi Epsilon		Orange Coast College, Garrison Honors Center	Costa Mesa, California	Active
Chi Epsilon		Southwest Tennessee Community College	Memphis, Tennessee	Active	[30]
Omega Epsilon		Horry-Georgetown Technical College	Conway, South Carolina	Inactive	[30]
Alpha Zeta		Arizona Western College	Yuma, Arizona	Active
Beta Zeta		Eastern Arizona College	Thatcher, Arizona	Active	[30]
Gamma Zeta		BridgeValley Community and Technical College	South Charleston, West Virginia	Active
Delta Zeta		Woodland Community College	Woodland, California	Active	[30]
Epsilon Zeta	2016	Volunteer State Community College	Gallatin, Tennessee	Active	[48]
Zeta Zeta		Moraine Valley Community College	Palos Hills, Illinois	Active
Eta Zeta	2017	Ventura College	Ventura, California	Active	[49][50]
Theta Zeta	2017	Southern Union State Community College	Opelika, Alabama	Active
Iota Zeta	2017	Santa Ana College	Santa Ana, California	Active
Kappa Zeta	2017	State College of Florida, Manatee–Sarasota, Venice campus	Venice, Florida	Active
Lambda Zeta	2017	Miami Dade College, North Campus	Miami, Florida	Active	[23]
		Miami Dade College, Kendall Campus	Miami, Florida
Mu Zeta	2017	Pasco–Hernando State College	Wesley Chapel, Florida	Active
Nu Zeta		Temple College	Temple, Texas	Active	[51]
Omicron Zeta		Itawamba Community College	Fulton, Mississippi	Active	[52]
Pi Zeta		Cerritos College	Norwalk, California	Active
Rho Zeta	2018	Mid-Plains Community College, North Platte–North Campus	North Platte, Nebraska	Active	[53][b]
Sigma Zeta	April 2019	Muskegon Community College	Muskegon, Michigan	Active	[54]
Phi Zeta		Andrew College	Cuthbert, Georgia	Active	[55]
Beta Eta		Fullerton College	Fullerton, California	Active
Gamma Eta		Miami Dade College, Eduardo J. Padrón Campus	Miami, Florida	Active
	2022	American Samoa Community College	Pago Pago, American Samoa	Active	[56]
		Austin Community College	Austin, Texas	Active
		Bevill State Community College, Fayette Campus	Fayette, Alabama	Active
		Bossier Parish Community College	Bossier City, Louisiana	Active
		Central Alabama Community College	Alexander City, Alabama	Active
		Coastline College	Fountain Valley, California	Active
		Dallas College North Lake	Irving, Texas	Active
		East Mississippi Community College	Scooba, Mississippi	Active
		El Paso Community College	El Paso, Texas	Active
		Harold Washington College	Chicago, Illinois	Active
		Howard College	Big Spring, Texas	Active
		Lamar State College–Port Arthur	Port Arthur, Texas	Active
		Maysville Community and Technical College	Maysville, Kentucky	Active
		Miami Dade College, Homestead Campus	Homestead, Florida	Active
		Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Harrison County Campus	Gulfport, Mississippi	Active
		Mott Community College	Flint, Michigan	Active
		Northwest–Shoals Community College	Phil Campbell, Alabama	Active
		Ocean County College	Toms River, New Jersey	Active
		Odessa College	Odessa, Texas	Active
		Oxnard College	Oxnard, California	Active
		Raritan Valley Community College	Somerville, New Jersey	Active
		Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College	Logan, West Virginia	Active
	2007	Tarrant County College Northwest Campus	Fort Worth, Texas	Active
		Tarrant County College South Campus	Fort Worth, Texas	Active
	2022	Wake Technical Community College	Raleigh, North Carolina	Active	[57]
		Union College, Cranford Campus	Cranford, New Jersey	Active

1. Darton State College merged into Albany State University in 2016, under the Albany State name. The former Darton campus became the site of Albany State University's Darton College of Health Professions. Both schools offered, and Albany continues to offer, several 2-yr Associate degrees along with 4-yr Bachelor degrees.
2. Chapter formed at North Platte Community College, now Mid-Plains Community College, North Platte-North.

See also

• Honor society