Starting a new fraternity chapter is an exciting and rewarding experience. Being a Founding Father of a Kappa Sigma chapter, while requiring a significant amount of dedication and time, also affords you the opportunity to start a great tradition of excellence on your campus. It is an opportunity which allows you to establish the foundation of what has the potential to be a great fraternal experience, both for yourself and for the hundreds of men who will join the chapter long after you have graduated. Always having something to come back to once you graduate, having your name on the charter, and having the opportunity to start your own traditions and programs, are some of the most common reasons why hundreds of students each year choose to establish a Kappa Sigma chapter.
Kappa Sigma prides itself on its commitment to our Four Pillars of Scholarship, Leadership, Fellowship, and Service. Further, we are strictly a non-hazing fraternity, and have a zero-tolerance hazing policy. Bringing Kappa Sigma to your campus will allow you the chance to develop an organization committed to these values, focusing on the principles that will make a strong fraternity chapter. Once a Kappa Sigma colony is established on your campus, local alumni and representatives from our headquarters will work with the members of the colony, as you go about completing our Colony Development Program. The Colony Development Program spells out specifically the process which you and the members of the colony will need to employ in order to become a chapter. Much flexibility has been purposely included into the program, as we realize that it is important to you, as the founding father of the colony, that you have the creative ability to work with your pledge brothers in creating the type of programs and experiences YOU want to bring to your campus. Successfully completing the colony development program results in the receipt of a charter to operate as a Kappa Sigma chapter, and is an accomplishment to celebrate!
The Process
Upon contacting Kappa Sigma International Headquarters with an interest of bringing Kappa Sigma to the campus, we will coordinate a visit from a regional alumni officer. The purpose of this visit is to allow an opportunity for you and other interested students to talk face to face with an official representative of the Fraternity. His duty is to answer all questions about starting a colony. The representative will also assess the quality and character of the men interested in starting the Colony. Wherever possible, this representative also will take the time to visit with the appropriate university officials.
After the visit, our alumni and professional staff will continue to work with you and with campus administration in recruiting an interest group of students. Typically, once students on campus hear word that a new fraternity may be colonizing, they jump at the opportunity to become a founding father of the new group. Colonies begin with at least 30 students.
From this point, with the approval of Kappa Sigma's Board of Directors, we schedule a Colony Kick-off weekend, facilitated by local alumni and/or members of the Headquarters staff. The kick-off weekend is a weekend of goal setting, training, and brotherhood building activities. At that time a clear roadmap to completing the chartering requirements is created, and you can begin looking forward to the installation of a Kappa Sigma chapter on your campus.
Contact our Headquarters to initiate the process of starting your own chapter.
Guiding Principles for Establishing Colonies of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity
1. We will establish and develop successful Colonies based on the following four principles:
Fellowship: Our goal is to create an organization that sets a standard for brotherhood. We will draw on the diversity of our new members' experiences, viewpoints and ideas to cultivate an organizational culture in which each of the new members takes pride, ownership, and responsibility for the development of brotherhood, fellowship, and mutual respect.
Leadership: Our goal is to recruit current and potential leaders on campus. We have a goal to further develop and cultivate the students' leadership skills, specifically in the areas of operational management, ethical decision making, master-planning and teamwork development.
Scholarship: Our goal is to recruit men who understand the value of a solid education and who are committed to creating a fraternity experience which will complement their undergraduate academic experience. We will create an environment where academic excellence is the expectation.
Service: Our goal is to recruit men who are interested in giving back to their community, both collectively and as a group. We will recruit men who are committed to going "above and beyond" what is expected of them in the area of service, asking them to draw upon their own creativity and passion for philanthropy.
2. In accordance with our Code of Conduct, we will be steadfast in our commitment to creating and maintaining a non-hazing Fraternity Chapter. We will strive to set an example of positive brotherhood development activities.
3. In accordance with our Code of Conduct, we will strive to create a social environment which does not center around substance abuse of any kind.
4. We will seek to establish and develop Colonies whose members understand that their commitment to Kappa Sigma and their alma mater is a lifetime obligation with lifetime rewards.
5. We will do everything we can to help create a working partnership with our host-institutions, recognizing the institution's interest in creating long-term viability in its Greek community.
6. Through our Colony Development Program, we will encourage the development of: sound social management, positive brotherhood development activities, functional and organized Colony operations, and quality service programs and events.
7. In establishing our Colonies, we will remain committed to the long-term goal of incorporating additional non-affiliated students into the campus Greek system. Our goal is to assist in the long term growth and promotion of Greek life to the general campus community.
