Confident Central Region

History of Central Region

Central Region of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated®, was established in 1919 at the close of the second Boule held at the War Camp Community Center in Chicago. The Region is comprised of Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and the southeastern portion of Missouri. The first Central Regional Conference was held in Indianapolis on May 23, 1931.

Central Region is the home of Alpha Kappa Alpha’s Corporate Office, located at 5656 South Stony Island Avenue in Chicago. It is also the home of Founder Ethel Hedgeman Lyle, who hails from St. Louis. Two of the sorority’s oldest chapters: Beta (Chicago Citywide) and Gamma (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign) – are in the Central Region, having been established in 1913, and 1914, respectively, by Founder Beulah Burke.

Central Region is also home to several other of the sorority’s oldest undergraduate chapters: the original Eta (University of Minnesota), Kappa (Indianapolis Citywide), Tau (Indiana University); and graduate chapters: Gamma Omega in St. Louis, Eta Omega in Louisville and Theta Omega in Chicago. Central Region is also known for being the site of the publication and distribution of the Ivy Leaf® Magazine (1921 Boule in Indianapolis) and the home of the sorority’s first honorary member, Jane Addams, founder of Hull House. The capable and classy sisters of the Central Region have served at every level in Alpha Kappa Alpha since its inception.