Lambda Theta Alpha

Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. (ΛΘΑ) is the first and largest Latina-based sorority, established in 1975 at Kean University by seventeen women of Latin, Caribbean, and European descent as a support system for women in higher education. According to their website, Lambda Theta Alpha states that its focus would be to "actively integrate itself into the social, political and community service arena that other students had been involved with."

Lambda Theta Alpha
ΛΘΑ
Founded	December 1, 1975 (1975-12-01) Kean University
Type	Social
Affiliation	Independent
Former Affiliation	NALFO
Status	Active
Emphasis	Latina
Scope	National
Mottos	"Latin By Tradition Not by Definition" "Universal Women. Redefining Sisterhood" "Women there are Many, Ladies there are Few"
Pillars	Unity, Love, and Respect
Colors	Burgundy and   Grey
Symbol	La Concha (shell) and La Luna (moon)}
Tree	La Palma (Palm Tree)
Jewel	La Perla (pearl)
Philanthropy	St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
Chapters	150 (college) 30 (alumnae)
Nickname	LTA, Lambda Ladies
Headquarters	Union Township, New Jersey United States
Website	www.lambdalady.org

The sorority was a member of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations, and won recognition as Sorority of the Year from 2000–2001, 2002–2003, 2003–2004, 2009–2010, 2011–2012, 2012–2013 and 2013– 2014.

History

Seventeen women came together to form the sorority and are recognized as the 17 Founding Mothers. According to the Sorority's website, Lambda Theta Alpha is recognized as the first Latina sorority in the United States. Lambda Theta Alpha partakes in traditions such as having hand signs and calls, as well as saluting and strolling; but not stepping, out of respect to the "Divine Nine" or the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Symbolically, saluting demonstrates unity and respect, while strolling demonstrates unity and pride. It kickstarted the post-1975 wave of the Latino Greek Movement alongside the fraternity Lambda Theta Phi, which followed the "principio" (principle) phase kickstarted by student activism on college campuses in 1898.

Founding Mothers

Picture of Lambda Theta Alpha Founding Mothers and Line 1

Ileana Almaguer Cecilia Alvarez Carmen Baez Karen Capra Doris Cruz Arlene Fernandez

Eneida Figueroa Maria Gautier Teresa Gonzalez Dra. Thomasa Gonzalez Diana Ibarria Lillian Marrero

Ofelia Oviedo Linda Perez Aurora "Dory" Rodriguez Maria del Carmen Vega Marilyn Wyatt

Symbols

The mottos of Lambda Theta Alpha are "Latin By Tradition Not by Definition", "Universal Women. Redefining Sisterhood", and "Women there are Many, Ladies there are Few". Its principals or pillars are Unity, Love, and Respect.

The sorority's colors are burgundy and grey. Its jewel is La Perla (pearl). Its tree is La Palma (Palm Tree). Its symbols are La Concha (shell) and La Luna (moon).

Philanthropy

LTA and the St. Jude Give Thanks Walk

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

Lambda Theta Alpha members serve thousands of hours each year to a variety of philanthropic causes and needs. In the effort to create a more united and bigger impact nationally, Lambda Theta Alpha selected a national philanthropy. In January 2010, LTA became an official collegiate partner to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, becoming the first individual Latino Greek organization to commit fully to the hospital's efforts. LTA has pledged to bring awareness to childhood cancer, life-threatening diseases and St. Jude within the Latino community and to fundraise for the hospital through a variety of events and programs. In 2014, the sorority expanded its partnership with St. Jude by becoming an official partner of the annual St. Jude Walk/Run to End Childhood Cancer, which brings communities together across the nation during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month to raise funds for the hospital. The sorority has repeatedly exceeded its sponsorship commitments and looks forward to this event every year.

Lambda Theta Alpha Foundation

The Lambda Theta Alpha Foundation, Inc. was founded in 2015, based on the desires and needs identified by the National Board and Founding Mothers of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. They identified the need to create a foundation where members and the community could contribute and benefit from its support. The mission is to promote the enrichment of our communities by providing funding for educational programming, collegiate scholarships, and spearheading humanitarian relief efforts.

Carolina Sodre and Beatriz Barragan came together and on November 24, 2015, the Lambda Theta Alpha Foundation, Inc. (“the Foundation”) became a recognized corporation of the State of Oklahoma and was officially recognized as a 501c3 public charity by the IRS on July 14, 2016. Once established, the Foundation took time to develop its strategic planning and active board members. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey occurred, which ignited the need for support from the Foundation to support its community through its humanitarian relief pillar.

Since then, the Foundation has been upholding the mission of advancing the community through education, humanitarian relief and scholarship.

Chapter Philanthropies

Most chapters of the organization have a chapter philanthropy in addition to the national philanthropy. Completing a set number of community service hours at any organization for a good cause are required to join.

Chapters

Chapters and their founding years. The Alpha Alpha and Alpha Alpha Alpha series chapter names are designated for alumnae clubs. Where known, the year when a chapter went dormant is noted. Active chapters noted in bold, inactive chapters noted in italics.

Collegiate chapters

Designation	Charter date and range	School	Location	Status	Notes
Alpha (Α)	December 1, 1975	Kean University	Union Township, NJ	Active
Beta (Β)	1980	Bloomfield College	Bloomfield, NJ	Active
Gamma (Γ)	1981	The College of New Jersey	Ewing Township, NJ	Active
Delta (Δ)	1986	Seton Hall University	South Orange, NJ	Active
Epsilon (Ε)	1987	Rutgers University	New Brunswick, NJ	Active
Zeta (Ζ)	1987	Stockton University	Galloway Township, NJ	Active
Eta (Η)	1990	Fairleigh Dickinson University Caldwell College	Madison, NJ Caldwell, NJ	Active
Theta (Θ)	1991	Rowan University	Glassboro, NJ	Active
Iota (Ι)	November 3, 1991	Rider University	Lawrence Township, NJ	Active
Kappa (Κ)	1992	University of Connecticut	Storrs, CT	Active
Lambda (Λ)	1992	Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Puerto Rico	Ponce, PR	Active
Mu (Μ)	1992	Ramapo College	Mahwah, NJ	Active
Nu (Ν)	1992	Montclair State University	Montclair, NJ	Active
Xi (Ξ)	1992	Manhattan University College of New Rochelle Iona University	The Bronx, NY New Rochelle, NY New Rochelle, NY	Active
Omicron (Ο)	1992–2001	Upsala College	East Orange, NJ	Inactive
Pi (Π)	1993	West Chester University	Chester County, PA	Active
Rho (Ρ)	1993	Rutgers University–Camden	Camden, NJ	Active
Sigma (Σ)	1993	William Paterson University	Wayne, NJ	Active
Tau (Τ)	1994	Monmouth University	West Long Branch, NJ	Active
Upsilon (Υ)	1995	University of Maryland, College Park	College Park, MD	Active
Phi (Φ)	1995	New Jersey Institute of Technology Rutgers University–Newark	Newark, NJ Newark, NJ	Active
Chi (Χ)	1996	University of Florida	Gainesville, FL	Active
Psi (Ψ)	1996	Central Connecticut State University	New Britain, CT	Active
Omega (Ω)		(reserved)
Beta Alpha (ΒΑ)	1996	University of Hartford Trinity College	West Hartford, CT Hartford, CT	Active
Beta Beta (ΒΒ)	1998	Le Moyne College	DeWitt, NY	Active
Beta Gamma (ΒΓ)	1998	University of South Florida	Tampa, FL	Active
Beta Delta (ΒΔ)	1998	California State University, Long Beach	Long Beach, CA	Active
Beta Epsilon (ΒΕ)	1998	University of Pennsylvania Temple University	Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia, PA	Active
Beta Zeta (ΒΖ)	1998	Loyola Marymount University	Los Angeles, CA	Active
Beta Eta (ΒΗ)	1998	Texas A&M University	College Station, TX	Active
Beta Theta (ΒΘ)	1999	University of Central Florida	Orange County, FL	Active
Beta Iota (ΒΙ)	1999	Arizona State University	Phoenix, AZ	Active
Beta Kappa (ΒΚ)	1999	University of Maryland, Baltimore County	Baltimore County, MD	Active
Beta Lambda (ΒΛ)	1999	Pennsylvania State University	University Park, PA	Active
Beta Mu (ΒΜ)	2000	University of North Texas	Denton, TX	Active
Beta Nu (ΒΝ)	2000	University of Texas at Arlington	Arlington, TX	Active
Beta Xi (ΒΞ)	2000	San Jose State University	San Jose, CA	Active
Beta Omicron (ΒΟ)	2000	University of Michigan	Ann Arbor, MI	Active
Beta Pi (ΒΠ)	2000	Eastern Michigan University	Ypsilanti, MI	Active
Beta Rho (ΒΡ)	2000	New Jersey City University Saint Peter's University	Jersey City, NJ Jersey City, NJ	Active
Beta Sigma (ΒΣ)	2000	University of Miami	Coral Gables, FL	Active
Beta Tau (ΒΤ)	2000	University at Buffalo Buffalo State University	Buffalo, NY Buffalo, NY	Active
Beta Upsilon (ΒΥ)	2001	Western Connecticut State University	Danbury, CT	Active
Beta Phi (ΒΦ)	2001	University of Illinois	Champaign, IL	Active
Beta Chi (ΒΧ)	2001	Eastern Illinois University	Charleston, IL	Active
Beta Psi (ΒΨ)	2001	Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	Active
Beta Omega (ΒΩ)	2001	Wayne State University	Detroit, MI	Active
Gamma Alpha (ΓΑ)	2001	University of Virginia	Charlottesville, VA	Active
Gamma Beta (ΓΒ)	2001	Vanderbilt University	Nashville, TN	Active
Gamma Gamma (ΓΓ)	2001	University of Tennessee	Knoxville, TN	Active
Gamma Delta (ΓΔ)	2001	Nova Southeastern University	Davie, FL	Active
Gamma Epsilon (ΓΕ)	2001	Florida State University	Tallahassee, FL	Active
Gamma Zeta (ΓΖ)	2001	University of California, Riverside	Riverside, CA	Active
Gamma Eta (ΓΗ)	2001	University of Houston	Houston, TX	Active
Gamma Theta (ΓΘ)	2002	Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi	Corpus Christi, TX	Active
Gamma Iota (ΓΙ)	2002	Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, FL	Active
Gamma Kappa (ΓΚ)	2002	University of New Mexico	Albuquerque, NM	Active
Gamma Lambda (ΓΛ)	2002	California State University, Fullerton	Fullerton, CA	Active
Gamma Mu (ΓΜ)	2003	University of Wisconsin	Madison, WI	Active
Gamma Nu (ΓΝ)	2003	Emory University	Atlanta, GA	Active
Gamma Xi (ΓΞ)	2003	Sam Houston State University	Huntsville, TX	Active
Gamma Omicron (ΓΟ)	August 23, 2003	University of Washington	Seattle, WA	Active
Gamma Pi (ΓΠ)	2003	Florida International University	Miami-Dade County, FL	Active
Gamma Rho (ΓΡ)	2003	Texas Tech University	Lubbock, TX	Active
Gamma Sigma (ΓΣ)	2004	California State University, San Bernardino	San Bernardino, CA	Active
Gamma Tau (ΓΤ)	2004	California State University, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	Active
Gamma Upsilon (ΓΥ)	2004	Cal Poly Pomona	Pomona, CA	Active
Gamma Phi (ΓΦ)	2004	Cornell University	Ithaca, NY	Active
Gamma Chi (ΓΧ)	2004	University of Texas at Austin	Austin, TX	Active
Gamma Psi (ΓΨ)	2004	San Diego State University	San Diego, CA	Active
Gamma Omega (ΓΩ)	2005	Georgia Tech	Atlanta, GA	Active
Delta Alpha (ΔΑ)	2005	University of Georgia	Athens, GA	Active
Delta Beta (ΔΒ)	2005	Georgia State University	Atlanta, GA	Active
Delta Gamma (ΔΓ)	2005	University of North Carolina at Pembroke	Pembroke, NC	Active
Delta Delta (ΔΔ)	2005	University of North Carolina Wilmington	Wilmington, NC	Active
Delta Epsilon (ΔΕ)	2005	George Mason University	Fairfax County, VA	Active
Delta Zeta (ΔΖ)	2006	Stony Brook University	Stony Brook, NY	Active
Delta Eta (ΔΗ)	2006	University of Idaho	Moscow, ID	Active
Delta Theta (ΔΘ)	2006	University of California, Santa Barbara	Santa Barbara, CA	Active
Delta Iota (ΔΙ)	2006	Middle Tennessee State University	Murfreesboro, TN	Active
Delta Kappa (ΔΚ)	2007	St. John’s University	Queens, NY	Active
Delta Lambda (ΔΛ)	2007	West Virginia University	Morgantown, WV	Active
Delta Mu (ΔΜ)	2007	Western Illinois University	Macomb, IL	Active
Delta Nu (ΔΝ)	2007	Loyola University Chicago	Chicago, IL	Active
Delta Xi (ΔΞ)	2007	Lewis–Clark State College	Lewiston, ID	Active
Delta Omicron (ΔΟ)	2007	University of California	Berkeley, CA	Active
Delta Pi (ΔΠ)	2007	University of Delaware	Newark, DE	Active
Delta Rho (ΔΡ)	2008	University of California, Los Angeles	Los Angeles, CA	Active
Delta Sigma (ΔΣ)	2009	Texas Wesleyan University	Fort Worth, TX	Active
Delta Tau (ΔΤ)	2008	San Francisco State University	San Francisco, CA	Active
Delta Upsilon (ΔΥ)	2008	Lehigh University	Bethlehem, PA	Active
Delta Phi (ΔΦ)	2008	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, CA	Active
Delta Chi (ΔΧ)	2008	Cal Poly San Luis Obispo	San Luis Obispo, CA	Active
Delta Psi (ΔΨ)	2009	Towson University	Towson, MD	Active
Delta Omega (ΔΩ)	2009	California State University, Northridge	Northridge (LA), CA	Active
Epsilon Alpha (ΕΑ)	2009	Kennesaw State University	Kennesaw, GA	Active
Epsilon Beta (ΕΒ)	2009	University of Chicago	Chicago, IL	Active
Epsilon Gamma (ΕΓ)	2009	University of Illinois Chicago	Chicago, IL	Active
Epsilon Delta (ΕΔ)	2009	DePaul University	Chicago, IL	Active
Epsilon Epsilon (ΕΕ)	2009	Eastern Washington University	Cheney, WA	Active
Epsilon Zeta (ΕΖ)	2009	University of Vermont	Burlington, VT	Active
Epsilon Eta (ΕΗ)	2009	Villanova University	Villanova, PA	Active
Epsilon Theta (ΕΘ)	2010	East Carolina University	Greenville, NC	Active
Epsilon Iota (ΕΙ)	2010	Cal Poly Humboldt	Arcata, CA	Active
Epsilon Kappa (ΕΚ)	2010	University of Arizona	Tucson, AZ	Active
Epsilon Lambda (ΕΛ)	2010	Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University	Daytona Beach, FL	Active
Epsilon Mu (ΕΜ)	2010	SUNY Oneonta	Oneonta, NY	Active
Epsilon Nu (ΕΝ)	2011	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, NC	Active
Epsilon Xi (ΕΞ)	2011	California State University, Fresno	Fresno, CA	Active
Epsilon Omicron (ΕΟ)	2011	Binghamton University – SUNY	Binghamton, NY	Active
Epsilon Pi (ΕΠ)	2011	Michigan State University	East Lansing, MI	Active
Epsilon Rho (ΕΡ)	2011	Texas Christian University	Fort Worth, TX	Active
Epsilon Sigma (ΕΣ)	2012	University of California, Irvine	Irvine, CA	Active
Epsilon Tau (ΕΤ)	2012	Lewis University	Romeoville, IL	Active
Epsilon Upsilon (ΕΥ)	2012	University of California, Davis	Davis, CA	Active
Epsilon Phi (ΕΦ)	2012	University of North Carolina	Charlotte, NC	Active
Epsilon Chi (ΕΧ)	2012	University of California, Santa Cruz	Santa Cruz, CA	Active
Epsilon Psi (ΕΨ)	2012	University at Albany, SUNY	Albany, NY	Active
Epsilon Omega (ΕΩ)	2013	University of Memphis	Memphis, TN	Active
Zeta Alpha (ΖΑ)	2013	Virginia Commonwealth University	Richmond, VA	Active
Zeta Beta (ΖΒ)	2013	University of West Georgia	Carrollton, GA	Active
Zeta Gamma (ΖΓ)	2014	Iowa State University	Ames, IA	Active
Zeta Delta (ΖΔ)	2014	Boise State University	Boise, ID	Active
Zeta Epsilon (ΖΕ)	2014	Syracuse University	Syracuse, NY	Active
Zeta Zeta (ΖΖ)	2014	California State University, East Bay	Hayward, CA	Active
Zeta Eta (ΖΗ)	2015	Idaho State University	Pocatello, ID	Active
Zeta Theta (ΖΘ)	2015	Johnson C. Smith University	Charlotte, NC	Active
Zeta Iota (ΖΙ)	2015	Heritage University	Toppenish, WA	Active
Zeta Kappa (ΖΚ)	2015	SUNY Plattsburgh	Plattsburgh, NY	Active
Zeta Lambda (ΖΛ)	2015	Western Michigan University	Kalamazoo, MI	Active
Zeta Mu (ΖΜ)	2015	Duke University	Durham, NC	Active
Zeta Nu (ΖΝ)	2015	Hofstra University	Hempstead, NY	Active
Zeta Xi (ΖΞ)	2016	University of Missouri	Columbia, MO	Active
Zeta Omicron (ΖΟ)	2016	Southern Illinois University Carbondale	Carbondale, IL	Active
Zeta Pi (ΖΠ)	2016	Salisbury University	Salisbury, MD	Active
Zeta Rho (ΖΡ)	2016	University of Texas Rio Grande Valley	Edinburg, TX	Active
Zeta Sigma (ΖΣ)	2016	Washington State University	Pullman, WA	Active
Zeta Tau (ΖΤ)	2017	Aurora University	Aurora, IL	Active
Zeta Upsilon (ΖΥ)	2017	Northern Illinois University	DeKalb, IL	Active
Zeta Phi (ΖΦ)	2017	Denison University	Granville, OH	Active
Zeta Chi (ΖΧ)	2017	University of Northern Colorado	Greeley, CO	Active
Zeta Psi (ΖΨ)	April 29, 2017	California State University, Dominguez Hills ?	Carson, CA	Active
Zeta Omega (ΖΩ)	April 7, 2018	University of North Carolina at Greensboro	Greensboro, NC	Active
Eta Alpha (ΗΑ)	2018	University of Northern Iowa	Cedar Falls, IA	Active
Eta Beta (ΗΒ)	2018	SUNY Cortland	Cortland, NY	Active
Eta Gamma (ΗΓ)	May 11, 2019	University of California, San Diego	San Diego, CA	Active
Eta Delta (ΗΔ)	201x ?	California State University, Sacramento	Sacramento, CA	Active
Eta Epsilon (ΗΕ)	October 31, 2020	California State University, Chico	Chico, CA	Active
Eta Zeta (ΗΖ)	November 13, 2020	Stephen F. Austin State University	Nacogdoches, TX	Active
Eta Eta (ΗΗ)	November 28, 2021	George Washington University	Washington, D.C.	Active
Eta Theta (ΗΘ)	November 4, 2022	The Ohio State University	Columbus, OH	Active
Eta Iota (ΗΙ)	November 2, 2024	Louisiana State University	Baton Rouge, LA	Active

Alumnae chapters

Alumnae chapters

Designation	City
Alpha Alpha (ΑΑ)	New Brunswick, New Jersey
Alpha Beta (ΑΒ)	Hartford, Connecticut
Alpha Gamma (ΑΓ)	Austin, Texas
Alpha Delta (ΑΔ)	Silver Spring, Maryland
Alpha Epsilon (ΑΕ)	New York City, New York
Alpha Zeta (ΑΖ)	Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Alpha Eta (ΑΗ)	Los Angeles, California
Alpha Theta (ΑΘ)	Seattle, Washington
Alpha Iota (ΑΙ)	Nashville, Tennessee
Alpha Kappa (ΑΚ)	Madison, Wisconsin
Alpha Lambda (ΑΛ)	Chicago, Illinois
Alpha Mu (ΑΜ)	Detroit, Michigan
Alpha Nu (ΑΝ)	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Alpha Xi (ΑΞ)	Alexandria, Virginia
Alpha Omicron (ΑΟ)	Phoenix, Arizona
Alpha Pi (ΑΠ)	Boston, Massachusetts
Alpha Rho (ΑΡ)	Raleigh, North Carolina
Alpha Sigma (ΑΣ)	Atlanta, Georgia
Alpha Tau (ΑΤ)	Albuquerque, New Mexico
Alpha Upsilon (ΑΥ)	Orlando, Florida
Alpha Phi (ΑΦ)	Dallas, Texas
Alpha Chi (ΑΧ)	San Francisco, California
Alpha Psi (ΑΨ)	Denver, Colorado
Alpha Omega (ΑΩ)	Paterson, New Jersey
Alpha Alpha Alpha (ΑΑΑ)	Houston, Texas
Alpha Alpha Beta (ΑΑΒ)	San Diego, California
Alpha Alpha Gamma (ΑΑΓ)	Atlantic City, New Jersey
Alpha Alpha Delta (ΑΑΔ)	Charlotte, North Carolina
Alpha Alpha Epsilon (ΑΑΕ)	Tri-Cities, Washington
Alpha Alpha Zeta (ΑΑΖ)	Richmond, Virginia

Omega chapter (Ω)

Omega chapter is dedicated to late members of the sorority. Historically, the sorority has honored these members with the title "Lambda Angels". During each national banquet a moment of silence is held, and information about each member is incorporated into the program that reflects on each Lambda Angel's accomplishments and the loss due to their death. In later years a ceremony has been conducted at the national annual convention.

See also

• List of social sororities and women's fraternities

External links

• Lambda Theta Alpha — national website