Alpha Kappa Delta is the International Sociology Honor Society founded in 1920 at the University of Southern California by sociology professor Dr. Emory S. Bogardus. He gathered a group of fourteen faculty and graduate students for the purpose of discussing research methods and findings, and to discuss research projects pertaining to sociology. The following year, Bogardus contacted a group of universities around the country, inviting them to form similar organizations. By 1924, three other universities had created their own chapters of Alpha Kappa Delta-- the University of Wisconsin, Northwestern University, and the University of Kansas. Dr. Bogardus served as president of the USC chapter for three terms: 1924-1926, 1926-1928, and 1946-1948. Although early on, Bogardus worked on expanding the society internationally, it wasn't until 1930 that Yenching University in Beijing became Alpha Kappa Delta's first foreign affiliate.

USC's collection of Alpha Kappa Delta records spans the early years of the society during the time in which Dr. Bogardus was president. Most of the materials are copies of correspondence between Bogardus and contacts at other universities, plus copies of other universities' application forms as well as bylaws and other membership materials.