Nu Beta Epsilon (ΝΒΕ) was an American professional Jewish lawfraternity.[1][2]
History
Nu Beta Epsilon was formed in 1919 at Northwestern University School of Law by Barnet Hodes, with the assistance of Louis Brandeis and Dean Wigmore, as a Greek letter fraternity for Jewish students at accredited law schools.[3][4][5] It expanded to other law schools across the United States.[6] It also established an alumni association.[6]
Alpha Kappa Sigma (ΑΚΣ) was a Jewish law fraternity founded by H. Edwin Siff at University of Maryland Law School in 1918.[4][7][2] Representatives of the two fraternities met at a convention in Columbus, Ohio in 1939 with Hodes as the keynote speaker.[5][8][9] The merger of the two fraternities went into effect in 1940 under the name of the Nu Beta Epsilon group.[9][2] A. D. G. Cohn of Atlanta was elected as its vice grand chancellor.[8]
Nu Beta Epsilon's quarterly newsletter was The Nu Bete.[2] The fraternity presented three awards each year:
Barnet Hodes Awards to an alumnus performing outstanding service to the fraternity on a national level[2]
Ben Rubin Endowment to an undergraduate for scholarship, with the trophy going to his chapter[2]
National Pledge Essay Award for the best legal essay written by a pledge[2]
Symbols
Nu Beta Epsilon adopted the seal and motto of the former Nu Beta Epsilon fraternity.[2] Its motto was Nomus Carcilia Esta, meaning "Law is king".[2] Its seal or crest included symbols associated with the legal professional.[2]
Governance
The Ground Council of the fraternity's annual national convention governed Nu Beta Epsilon.[2]
Membership
Nu Beta Epsilon was founded as non-sectarian, with no racial membership limitations.[10] Originally male only, its membership became open to women c. 1960.[2] In 1945, it had 850 members.[1] Its membership had grown to 1,750 in 1968.[1]
Chapter List
The chapters of Nu Beta Epsilon were as follows. Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters and institutions are in italics.
^ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyzaaRobson, John, ed. (1963). Baird's Manuel of American College Fraternities (17th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Company, Inc. pp. 547.
^Bauman, Mark K. (Fall 1998). "Factionalism and Ethnic Politics in Atlanta: The German Jews from the Civil War through the Progressive Era". The Georgia Historical Quarterly. 82 (3): 556. JSTOR40583948.
Former and formerly active members of the Professional Fraternity Association or its predecessors: Professional Panhellenic Association or Professional Interfraternity Conference