The Lambda Chi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated® was chartered on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia on February 12, 1978.  

 

The chapter was chartered by the 19th International President Bernice I. Sumlin and the 8th Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Janet Jones Ballard.  But essentially, Nanette Butler was the woman who came to James Madison University with the vision of establishing a chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. on campus. She started an interest group called “Tiaka,” which stands for those interested in AKA, and pushed to make her vision a reality. 

 

Nanette Butler found it difficult to find the fifteen members needed to charter a chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha at James Madison University because the women that were interested were constantly graduating. Butler worked with Regional Director Ballard, and they enlisted the assistance of the Eta Phi Omega Chapter in Charlottesville, Virginia.  With the help of the members of Eta Phi Omega, Lambda Chi was successfully founded by sixteen lovely women. Among these women were; Robyn Duke Ausberry, Nannette Butler, Lynette Chappell Williams, Frances Corbet, Pam Finley, Lorraine Gordon, Judy Johnson, Ruth Lassiter, Myra Manns, Melody Nightingale, Vonda Coleman Panell, Diane Powers, Fannie Sampson, Rynzelle Murray Spraggs, Carolyn Thomas, and Terry Watson. 

 

Sisterhood, Scholarship, and Service to ALL Mankind

 

Since the founding of the chapter, Lambda Chi has held a stellar history of service to the JMU campus and the Harrisonburg community.  Its service activities include outreach to nursing homes, homeless shelters, schools, and community centers.  The women of Lambda Chi also continue to achieve a long-standing record of the highest sorority grade point average for several years in a row. And with the founding of the Sigma Gamma Omega Chapter in 1989, Lambda Chi began working with graduate members in the Harrisonburg area to ensure their continued success.  

 

The members of Lambda Chi continue to form a strong bond with the graduate members of the Sigma Gamma Omega Chapter. They cohesively work together on service and scholarship projects. Upon graduating from JMU some Lambda Chi members become active members of the Sigma Gamma Omega Chapter.

 

The current members of Lambda Chi have grasped the vision that the charter members have planted in Harrisonburg and are making sure that the vision continues under the current leadership of Mid-Atlantic Regional Director Nadine Vargas-Stewart and 31th International President Danette Anthony Reed. The current president of Lambda Chi is Kianna Butts, and her goal is to continue to impact James Madison University and the Harrisonburg community through sisterhood, scholarship, and service to ALL mankind.