Kappa Phi Lambda
Encyclopedia
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| Flower: | Orchid | |||||||||||||||
| Gem: | Diamond | |||||||||||||||
| Mascot: | Phoenix | |||||||||||||||
| Motto: | "Sisterhood, Service & Cultural Diversity" | |||||||||||||||
| Homepage: | http://www.kappaphilambda.org | |||||||||||||||
Kappa Phi Lambda (ΚΦΛ) is an Asian-American interest sorority that was founded on March 9, 1995 at SUNY Binghamton
Binghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
in Binghamton, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. The sorority was conceived through the notion of an organization that would provide a culturally sound and educationally inspiring grounding for Asian-American women. Represented at 29 schools, with over 1,800 members and growing across the East Coast, Midwest and South, Kappa Phi Lambda is one of the fastest expanding Asian-American interest sororities in the United States. Kappa Phi Lambda is a cultural sorority with its emphasis on service and commitment to giving back to its members' communities. It has also upheld strong ideals of philanthropy adopting NAPAWF (National Asian Pacific American Woman's Forum) as its national philanthropy. Sisterhood is one of the most important aspects of the sorority and through Kappa Phi Lambda, many bonds of friendship and everlasting sisterhood were created.
Kappa Phi Lambda is a member of the National APIA Panhellenic Association (NAPA).
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. They united with a single vision of providing women with the chance to use their pride in their heritage to become leaders in society.This sorority is open to women of all nationalities and backgrounds who want to learn about, actively speak for, and represent Pan-Asian culture. The first sisters of Kappa Phi Lambda extended their hands to the community through charitable works of both service oriented and philanthropic natures. Kappa Phi Lambda was formed with the aim of providing the campuses and society with yet another option for learning and another outlet for activity.
Mission statement
Service & Philanthropy
Kappa Phi Lambda is an organization which prides itself on its sense of commitment to cultural diversity and strong bonds of sisterhood. However, the other primary focus is to offer their service to the community. Its national philanthropic cause is the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF), the only multi-issue APA women's organization in the country with the mission to build a movement to advance social justice and human rights for APA women and girls. Individual chapters or colonies participate in their own community service events. Furthermore, each respective school has designated at least one local non-profit organization as their philanthropic cause of choice. The sorority maintains its sense of diversity by fundraising for all types of causes of concern.Cultural Diversity
The sisters of Kappa Phi Lambda strongly believe in the importance of cultural diversity — not only amongst its membership but also within the greater context of the universities and communities in which the organization exists. Although it is an Asian American interest sorority, the organization stresses multicultural awareness through a variety of Pan-Asian cultural events, and membership is open to application from women of all backgrounds. Kappa Phi Lambda chapters and colonies organize programming which enriches cultural awareness including but not limited to speaker series, workshops, film screenings, and collaborations with other cultural groups.In the news
In June 2009, Kappa Phi Lambda participated in and was featured as a co-sponsor of an Asian Pacific Americans for Progress AAPI House Party along with South Asians for Opportunities, Kaya: Filipino Americans for Progress, and Chinese American Citizens Alliance. The event organized groups across the nation in small groups to discuss issues relevant to the Asian American community. The house parties were connected through a phone conference which featured special guest Konrad Ng (brother-in-law to Barack Obama).Joining Konrad on the call were several Asian American members of the Obama Administration, including Judy Chu, Joe Sestack, Tammy Duckworth, and Tina Tchien. All gave some insight on what the API community can do to have its voice heard in politics and beyond, and enticed participating groups to hold discussions regarding such after the call. The goal of the House Parties was to raise awareness regarding API's interests and concerns across the nation. By stimulating discussions amongst parties, APAP was able to collect thoughts from dozens of API groups country-wide and submit them to the Obama Administration.
Kappa Phi Lambda's participating schools included Northern Illinois University, Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, Rutgers University, and University of Connecticut.
Chapters
- Α Chapter - SUNY Binghamton
- Β Chapter - SUNY Buffalo
- Γ Chapter - Syracuse UniversitySyracuse UniversitySyracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
- Δ Chapter - SUNY Stony Brook
- Ζ Chapter - St. John's University
- Η Chapter - Rutgers UniversityRutgers UniversityRutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
- Θ Chapter - CUNY Baruch
- Ι Chapter - Cornell UniversityCornell UniversityCornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
- Λ Chapter - University of Maryland, Baltimore County
- Μ Chapter - University of Massachusetts AmherstUniversity of Massachusetts AmherstThe University of Massachusetts Amherst is a public research and land-grant university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States and the flagship of the University of Massachusetts system...
- Ν Chapter - Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
- Ξ Chapter - Northeastern University
- Ο Chapter - The Ohio State University
- Π Chapter - Carnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon UniversityCarnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
- Ρ Chapter - University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaThe University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
- Σ Chapter - University of ConnecticutUniversity of ConnecticutThe admission rate to the University of Connecticut is about 50% and has been steadily decreasing, with about 28,000 prospective students applying for admission to the freshman class in recent years. Approximately 40,000 prospective students tour the main campus in Storrs annually...
- Τ Chapter - Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
- Υ Chapter - University at Albany
- Φ Chapter - University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
- X Chapter - University of Maryland, College ParkUniversity of Maryland, College ParkThe University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
Colonies
- Northern Illinois UniversityNorthern Illinois UniversityNorthern Illinois University is a state university and research institution located in DeKalb, Illinois, with satellite centers in Hoffman Estates, Naperville, Rockford, and Oregon. It was originally founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895 by Illinois Governor John P...
Colony - George Mason UniversityGeorge Mason UniversityGeorge Mason University is a public university based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia, United States, south of and adjacent to the city of Fairfax. Additional campuses are located nearby in Arlington County, Prince William County, and Loudoun County...
Colony - Miami UniversityMiami UniversityMiami University is a coeducational public research university located in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the 10th oldest public university in the United States and the second oldest university in Ohio, founded four years after Ohio University. In its 2012 edition, U.S...
Colony (Ohio) - University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignThe University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign is a large public research-intensive university in the state of Illinois, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Illinois system...
Colony - George Washington UniversityGeorge Washington UniversityThe George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
Colony - University of Texas at AustinUniversity of Texas at AustinThe University of Texas at Austin is a state research university located in Austin, Texas, USA, and is the flagship institution of the The University of Texas System. Founded in 1883, its campus is located approximately from the Texas State Capitol in Austin...
Colony - Duke UniversityDuke UniversityDuke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
Colony
External links
- Kappa Phi Lambda Sorority Inc. National Website http://www.kappaphilambda.org
- National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum http://napawf.org/
- National APIA Panhellenic Association http://www.napa-online.org/Site/Pages/Main/index.php