Psi Tau Delta was founded in September 1926 at the University of Wichita as a “sorority of negro girls on the campus.” At a university with a very small Black student population and no established national Black sorority chapter, these women created their own organizational structure. They secured and furnished a club room in Fiske Hall through fundraising dinners and campus solicitation, maintained elected officers, held pledge and initiation services, organized dances and social functions, and developed the social and academic standards expected of collegiate Greek organizations. The university itself recognized the organization enough to provide support, including a piano for the club room.
An important figure in the organization’s early development was Mrs. Amy Irene McIntire Mahin, a white professor of Education and English at the University of Wichita who served as Psi Tau Delta’s faculty advisor. Contemporary accounts repeatedly credited Mahin with helping organize opportunities and support systems for minority communities in Wichita, including “Psi Tau Delta sorority for Negro women at the University of Wichita.” Her role appears to have been that of faculty sponsor, institutional advocate, and advisor, which was common in segregated collegiate environments where Black student organizations often needed white faculty sponsorship to secure recognition, meeting space, or administrative legitimacy. Under Mahin’s advisement, Psi Tau Delta developed into a stable and visible campus organization with enough continuity to sustain membership intake, social programming, and institutional presence over many years.
Over time, Psi Tau Delta members became increasingly connected to the wider Black Greek-letter world through kinship and regional collegiate networks. Some members had attended schools where national sororities already existed, while others had relatives tied to established organizations. Roberta Hill’s sister belonged to Delta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha at the University of Kansas, another member had a sister who was “an Alpha,” and Irene Woodard’s brother was an Omega at Washburn. Through what later chapter notes described as “many rap sessions,” the women began discussing the possibility of becoming part of a national sorority system, “especially Alpha Kappa Alpha.” They then started making contacts with AKA members and eventually applied collectively for affiliation. Importantly, the archival note makes clear that not all Psi Tau Delta women were immediately eligible once permission was granted, because Alpha Kappa Alpha’s membership requirements limited entry to certain seniors and graduates. This means the Wichita AKA structure did not emerge independently from Psi Tau Delta; rather, Psi Tau Delta functioned as the organizational incubator, social infrastructure, and recruitment base from which Alpha Kappa Alpha eventually established a local presence in Wichita.
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History of Beta Kappa Omega Chapter Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
By Josephine Brown
Edited and extended by Rachel Norwood and Frankie Perkins
A group of girls who were members of a local campus sorority, Psi Tau Delta, applied to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. At this time, On December 13, 1930 the Mid-western Regional Director of Alpha Kappa Kappa, Soror Theresa Barker (Woodruff), Soror Helen Finley (Anderson) and Soror Josephine Cunningham (Lee) initiated six young ladies into the Wichita chapter, Alpha Rho. At this time, Josephine Cunningham (Lee) and Helen Finley were transfers from other cities.
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Alpha Rho chapter Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority was chartered December 15, 1930. First initiation of chapter, Feb. 23, 1931. Dorothy Burnett, Stella McLean, Martha Perry.
A graduate chapter was cleared April 1933 as a city wide graduate chapter. Official transfer from Beta Kappa Omega. Alpha Rho was disbanded.