Nu Beta Epsilon () was an American professional Jewish
law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
fraternity
A fraternity (; whence, "wikt:brotherhood, brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club (organization), club or fraternal order traditionally of men but also women associated together for various religious or secular ...
.
[Robson, John, ed. (1963). ''Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities'' (17th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Company, Inc. pp. 547.]
History
Nu Beta Epsilon was formed in 1919 at
Northwestern University School of Law
The Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (formerly known as Northwestern University School of Law from 1891 to 2015) is the law school of Northwestern University, a Private university, private research university. The law school is l ...
by Barnet Hodes, with the assistance of
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis ( ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an American lawyer who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to ...
and Dean Wigmore, as a Greek letter fraternity for Jewish students at accredited law schools.
It expanded to other law schools across the United States.
It also established an alumni association.
(ΑΚΣ) was a Jewish law fraternity founded by H. Edwin Siff at
University of Maryland Law School
The University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law (formerly University of Maryland School of Law from 1924 to 2011) is the law school of the University of Maryland, Baltimore and is located in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1816, it i ...
in 1918.
Representatives of the two fraternities met at a convention in
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus (, ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Ohio, most populous city of the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the List of United States ...
in 1939 with Hodes as the keynote speaker.
The merger of the two fraternities went into effect in 1940 under the name of the Nu Beta Epsilon group.
A. D. G. Cohn of Atlanta was elected as its vice grand chancellor.
Nu Beta Epsilon's quarterly newsletter was ''The Nu Bete''.
The fraternity presented three awards each year:
* Barnet Hodes Awards to an alumnus performing outstanding service to the fraternity on a national level
* Ben Rubin Endowment to an undergraduate for scholarship, with the trophy going to his chapter
* National Pledge Essay Award for the best legal essay written by a pledge
Symbols
Nu Beta Epsilon adopted the seal and motto of the former Nu Beta Epsilon fraternity.
Its motto was , meaning "Law is king".
Its seal or crest included symbols associated with the legal professional.
Governance
The Ground Council of the fraternity's annual national convention governed Nu Beta Epsilon.
Membership
Nu Beta Epsilon was founded as non-sectarian, with no racial membership limitations.
Originally male only, its membership became open to women .
In 1945, it had 850 members.
Its membership had grown to 1,750 in 1968.
Chapter List
The chapters of Nu Beta Epsilon were as follows. Active chapters are indicated in bold. Inactive chapters and institutions are in ''italics''.
Notable members
References
{{Authority control
Student organizations established in 1919
Professional legal fraternities and sororities in the United States
1919 establishments in Illinois
Historically Jewish fraternities in the United States