She was one of the five founding members of the Sigma Kappa sorority and a pioneering advocate for women's education, along with being an accomplished library scientist and writer.

Eventually she was joined by four other women, and along with Elizabeth Gorham Hoag, Ida Fuller, Frances Elliott Mann Hall and Louise Helen Coburn, Low created Sigma Kappa sorority at Colby on November 9, 1874.

They were instructed by the college administration that they would need to present a constitution and bylaws with a petition requesting permission to form Sigma Kappa Sorority.

They began work during that year and on November 9, 1874, the five young women received a letter from the faculty approving their petition.

The chapter minutes of the 1880s and 1890s frequently refer to the choosing of delegates to travel to the town of Augusta to consult Mrs.

Later in life, Low lived with her daughter in Cambridge, Massachusetts and delighted Boston Sigma Kappas with her wit.

Today, Sigma Kappa presents the Mary Caffrey Low Award to the most outstanding alumnae chapter in a college community.

The hall features the Mary Low Coffeehouse, a coffee shop that hosts poetry readings and open mic nights and serves as a general hangout for the student population at Colby.