Alpha Kappa Alpha - Membership

Membership

Further information: List of Alpha Kappa Alpha sisters

Alpha Kappa Alpha reports a membership of over 200,000 college-trained women around the world. The sorority has over 49,000 active members who comprise a diverse constituency, from educators to heads of state, politicians, lawyers, medical professionals, media personalities, and corporate managers. Graduate members constitute the largest percentage of membership. Alpha Kappa Alpha has 950 chapters, located in the United States, the Caribbean, Canada, Germany, Korea and Japan.

The term soror, derived from the Latin for "sister", is used between members of the sorority. Membership of the Directorate includes the Board of Directors. For graduate chapters, "Omega" is added to distinguish those which consist of college graduates from undergraduate chapters. "Supreme," as a term, is amended to an international officeholder, such as Supreme Basileus. Deceased members are referred to as "Ivies Beyond the Wall".

Honorary membership is Alpha Kappa Alpha's highest honor. For example, Jane Addams, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is among the first honorary members. Eleanor Roosevelt, a former First Lady and wife of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, was made an honorary member. Toni Braxton, world-renowned rhythm and blues singer, was made and honorary member in 2012. United States Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former Senator and First Lady, and wife of President Bill Clinton, initially accepted honorary membership into Alpha Kappa Alpha. In July 2008, Michelle Obama accepted the invitation to become an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, which had no active undergraduate chapter at Princeton University when she attended. However, Clinton and Obama would later decline initiation into the organization due to the sorority's exclusive requirement preventing acceptance into other NPHC organizations, and both desired their membership in Alpha Kappa Alpha to be "non exclusive."