For the first time in history, a sorority may elect a man to be the president of its national organization.
That sorority would be Kappa Kappa Gamma (KKG). The revelation came in a new lawsuit filed by longtime KKG alumnae over the sorority allowing and enforcing the membership of men who claim to be women.
“The Candidate has currently applied for, and is being considered for, a position in leadership to be voted on through an on-line election in April 2024,” read the lawsuit, filed Thursday. “This position could include being elected to Fraternity Council or even president of KKG. Most members remain unaware that the Candidate is a man.”
The man, Tracy Nadzieja, was elected as district director out of Arizona State University (ASU) in 2022. KKG accepted Nadzieja as an alumna initiate in 2020, becoming the sorority’s first male member.
Nadzieja is no stranger to firsts: he became Arizona’s first trans-identifying judicial officer in 2018 following his appointment to the Maricopa County Superior Court. While attending ASU for his undergraduate degree, Nadzieja was a member of the Sigma Pi fraternity.
Nadzieja is also a board member for one-n-ten, a Phoenix-based nonprofit focused on advancing LGBTQ ideologies in minors and youths. One-n-ten offered a peer support program to children undergoing gender transitions at Phoenix Children’s Hospital.
In an interview with Greek University, Nadzieja explained that he came out as transgender after 15 years of marriage, leaving behind a wife and children.
“I just have to face it and if that means that I get kicked out of my house, that my marriage is over, that I won’t have a relationship with my kids, I would rather have an authentic life despite losing everything that I had worked for for my whole life,” said Nadzieja.
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Thursday’s lawsuit further alleges that Nadzieja was “fast-tracked” to a KKG leadership position and assigned as an advisor at a university chapter, despite not having met the qualifications laid out by organization bylaws. The lawsuit also alleged that KKG Fraternity Council “deceptively misrepresented” Nadzieja as a woman qualified for a leadership position.
“Fraternity Council intentionally concealed this fact from members to ensure the Candidate was elected,” stated the lawsuit.
The Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC), associated with the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF), filed the lawsuit on behalf of KKG alumnae Patsy Levang, Cheryl Tuck-Smith, Susan Jennings, Margo Knorr, Karen Pope, and Ann Witt.
Levang and Tuck-Smith were both KKG alumnae for well over 50 years prior to national leadership expelling them last November for daring to speak out against the admission of males. Levang was formerly KKG’s National Foundation President.
In IWLC’s press release announcing the lawsuit, Levang said she felt obligated to fight against KKG’s endangerment of young women.
“The current leadership in Kappa has deliberately engaged in a campaign to undermine the Bylaws of Kappa which harms not only these young women, but the entire organization,” said Levang. “I’m not surprised that they also disregarded the value of lifetime membership and my 56 years of dedication by sending me a removal letter.”
Tuck-Smith remarked that KKG had taken a sudden and harsh departure from its 150 years of promotion of women and high standards.
“It is incomprehensible that current leadership would discard that success by prioritizing men over women,” said Tuck-Smith. “Kappa must remain true to its existing mission, to support and promote women.”
Court documents refer to KKG as a women’s fraternity, since its founding predated the invention of the word “sorority” by several decades. The alumnae’s lawsuit accused KKG officials of violating the organization’s governing rules, engaging in fraudulent activity, violating free speech laws, committing defamation, and breaching contracts.
KKG bylaws, rules, and policies all declare that only women may have membership in the organization, while implementing strict prohibitions against the involvement of men.
IWLC counsel May Mailman said that KKG’s requirement of its members to accept men who identify as women was a violation of their bylaws and basic female freedoms.
“Kappa leadership continues to disrespect its members not only by denying them the single-sex organization they were promised, but by lashing out in hopes of silencing the truth,” said Mailman.
Last March, seven active KKG members sued the fraternity after it allowed the admission of a man in 2022, Artemis (formerly Dallin) Langford, who allegedly became physically aroused at the sight of female members going about their day-to-day inside their fraternity house. The lawsuit also accused Langford of asking the women questions about their intimate body parts and romantic attachments. Langford has denied these allegations.
KKG’s allowance of males in membership dates back to 2015, when national leadership issued a statement recognizing the membership of “individuals who identify as women.” IWLC alleged that this was KKG leadership’s way of “unilaterally and deceptively” clearing the path for opening up membership to men without informing its members.
Then, in 2018, the organization formally began allowing the admission of men when it issued its “Guide For Supporting Our LGBTQIA+ Members,” a guide which IWLC declared in Thursday’s lawsuit wasn’t reviewed, debated on, approved, or voted on by KKG members.
In August, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit challenging Langford’s membership. The court refused to define the word “woman.” That case is now before the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals; IWLC filed its final brief in that case on Thursday.
Amid the national controversy over Langford’s membership, KKG featured Nadzieja in a promotional video last July encouraging young members to attend a leadership academy.
“It doesn’t make a difference what age you are, we all can learn and progress and advance as leaders and be able to take that back home,” said Nadzieja.