Kappa Beta Pi () is a Legal Association which was formerly a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and ski ...

law

sorority Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradua ...

in the United States.

History

Kappa Beta Pi was founded at

Chicago-Kent College of Law Chicago-Kent College of Law is the law school affiliated with the Illinois Institute of Technology. It is the second oldest law school in the state of Illinois. It is ranked 91st among U.S. law schools, and its trial advocacy program is ranked in ...

, Chicago, Illinois on . Its Founders were: The sorority was incorporated in Illinois on December 15, 1908. This date is celebrated by chapters as Founders' Day. The organization was the first legal sorority in the U.S., that is, the first such group designed in the support of the legal profession. Since 1925, admission of new chapters has been limited to American schools that met the requirements for membership in the Association of American Law Schools, or to schools on the approved list of the American Bar Association, along with those foreign law schools meeting equivalent requirements. In 1927 its first international chapter was formed, ''Omicron chapter'', in Paris, France. This was later followed by chapters in London, England, in West Germany, in Shanghai, China, several in Canada, and one in the US Territory of Puerto Rico. During the first half of the 20th Century, the Sorority published lists of law firms that would hire women, and those which resisted. It also published catalogs of female judges and lawyers serving in the field. At the 1973 convention, the name was changed to Kappa Beta Pi Legal Association International, and from this juncture is now properly referred to as a legal association, not a sorority. At the May 1976 convention in Columbus Ohio, all references believed to indicate a restriction of membership to women were removed. Kappa Beta Pi had been a chartering member of the Professional Panhellenic Association, and thus became a member of the

Professional Fraternity Association The Professional Fraternity Association (PFA) is an American association of national, collegiate, professional fraternities and sororities that was formed in . Since PFA groups are discipline-specific, members join while pursuing graduate (law, m ...

(PFA) when the PPA merged with the Professional Interfraternity Association. Later, Kappa Beta Pi resigned from the PFA. Some records of the organization's headquarters were provided to the Denver Public Library, which reports 17 boxes of materials spanning from 1930 to 1979. The last known address for this Legal Association was either in Silver Spring, MD (per Baird's) or in Omaha, NE (Guidestar). As of November 2021, Guidestar reports "no activity for some time". The organization may be defunct.

Traditions and Insignia

The badge is a monogram with the jeweled and superimposed over the letters and , which are embellished with scroll work. The pledge pin is an irregularly shaped shield enameled in Turquoise and old gold. The coat of arms places a field of Turquoise blue in the upper left, while the lower right field is white. Devices, the Open Book, and Scales are rendered in gold. The Knight's Helmet is shown ''proper'', that is, in the natural color, shown full face with the visor open and is of steel with silver ornaments. The helmet symbolizes the protection of the law, and inspires chivalrous conduct. The flower is the Yellow Tea Rose. The colors are turquoise blue and old gold. The official song, ''To Kappa Beta Pi'' was written in 1941 by Alice Craig Edgerton. The organization publishes a quarterly, called ''The Kappa Beta Pi Quarterly'', one edition annually in an esoteric form, called ''The Secret Bulletin.'' A fifty-year history was also written by Ms. Edgerton, who served as its first Grand Dean, or president, and published by the organization.

Chapters

The chapter roll of Kappa Beta Pi Legal Association. Chapters in ''italics'' are dormant. Chapters in bold are active. Those unknown are in plain text. *1908 - Alpha - Chicago-Kent Law *1915 - ''Beta -

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

'' *1916 - Gamma -

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

*1916 - ''Delta - Chicago'' *1916 - Epsilon - American University *1916 - Zeta - John Marshall Law, Chicago *1916 - ''Eta - University of Texas Law'' *1917 - Theta - Kansas City *1917 - Iota -

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

(dormant between 1945–46) *1920 - ''Kappa -

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

(dormant 1929)'' *1920 - Lambda - Detroit *1920 - Mu - Detroit Law (dormant between 1939–59) *1920 - Nu -

George Washington University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presi ...

*1921 - Xi - Michigan *1921 - ''Omicron - National Law (school merged with George Washington)'' *1921 - ''Pi - Washington (MO)'' *1921 - ''Rho - Iowa'' *1921 - ''Sigma - Cornell (dormant 1939)'' *1921 - ''Tau - Boston'' *1921 - ''Upsilon - Syracuse'' *1921 - ''Phi - Illinois'' *1921 - ''Chi - Oregon'' *1921 - ''Psi - Wisconsin, Madison'' *1923 - ''Omega -

University of Southern California , mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it" , religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist , established = , accreditation = WSCUC , type = Private research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $8. ...

(dormant 1949)'' *1923 - Alpha Alpha - John Marshall Law, Cleveland *1923 - ''Alpha Beta -

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

(dormant in 1958)'' *1924 - ''Alpha Gamma - Southwestern, Los Angeles'' *1924 - Alpha Delta - Buffalo *1924 - ''Alpha Epsilon - Chicago-Kent Law (school closed in 1935)'' *1924 - ''Alpha Zeta -

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Established by the Society of Jesus as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, it was founded by John Henni, John Martin ...

'' *1924 - ''Alpha Eta - Hastings Law (dormant in 1957)'' *1924 - Alpha Theta - Loyola, Chicago *1925 - ''Alpha Iota - St. Louis'' *1925 - ''Alpha Kappa - Creighton'' *1925 - Alpha Lambda -

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

(dormant 1942-1951 *1925 - Alpha Mu - Osgoode, Toronto, Canada *1926 - Alpha Nu -

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best pu ...

*1926 - Alpha Xi-

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

*1927 - Alpha Omicron - Paris, France *1930 - ''Alpha Pi - Tulane'' *1931 - ''Alpha Rho - Alabama'' *1931 - Alpha Sigma - Denver *1931 - ''Alpha Tau -

North Dakota North Dakota () is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota Sioux. North Dakota is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minnesota to the east, S ...

'' *1932 - ''Alpha Upsilon -

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

'' *1932 - Alpha Phi -

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. ...

*1934 - Alpha Chi - Columbia (dormant 1938-57) *1940 - Alpha Psi - Southern Methodist *1940 - Alpha Omega -

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name ...

*1940 - Beta Alpha - London, England *1946 - Beta Beta - Missouri (dormant 1950-51) *1946 - Beta Gamma - Columbus Law (DC) *1946 - ''Beta Delta - San Francisco'' *19xx - Beta Epsilon - ? *1947 - ''Beta Zeta - Shanghai (China)'' *1948 - Beta Eta - South Dakota *1949 - Beta Theta - Miami (FL) *1949 - Beta Iota - Emory (dormant 1952-53) *1950 - ''Beta Kappa -

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

'' *1952 - Beta Lambda - St. Mary's San Antonio *1953 - Beta Mu - Georgetown *1954 - Beta Nu, West Germany *1955 - Beta Xi - Houston *1956 - Beta Omicron - Toledo *1958 - ''Beta Pi - Boston Law'' *1960 - ''Beta Rho - Kentucky'' *1962 - Beta Sigma - Seton Hall *1962 - ''Beta Tau -

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

(dormant 1970)'' *1963 - ''Beta Upsilon -

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a Private university, private, University charter#Federal, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, classifie ...

(dormant 1974)'' *1963 - ''Beta Phi - Fordham (dormant 1970)'' *1963 - ''Beta Chi -

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

(dormant 1971)'' Baird's list shows two "Kentucky" chapters, in ''Beta Rho'' and ''Beta Chi''. *1964 - ''Beta Psi - Puerto Rico (dormant 1973)'' *1966 - Beta Omega -

Ohio Northern Ohio Northern University (Ohio Northern or ONU) is a private United Methodist Church–affiliated university in Ada, Ohio. Founded by Henry Solomon Lehr in 1871, ONU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. It offers over 60 programs to ...

*1966 - ''Gamma Alpha - Colorado (dormant 1972)'' *1967 - ''Gamma Beta - Franklin (OH) (dormant 1973)'' *1967 - Gamma Gamma -

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

*1967 - Gamma Delta - Arkansas, Little Rock *1968 - ''Gamma Epsilon - New Brunswick, Canada (dormant 1973)'' *1970 - Gamma Zeta -

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

*1971 - Gamma Eta - Texas Tech *1972 - ''Gamma Theta -

Pitt Pitt most commonly refers to: *The University of Pittsburgh, commonly known as Pitt, a university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States **Pitt Panthers, the athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh * Pitt (surname), a surname o ...

(dormant 1973)'' *1972 - ''Gamma Iota - Duquesne (dormant 1973)'' *1973 - Gamma Kappa - Windsor, Ontario, Canada *1974 - Gamma Lambda - Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

References

{{Authority control Professional legal fraternities and sororities in the United States Student organizations established in 1908 Legal organizations based in the United States Former members of Professional Fraternity Association 1908 establishments in Illinois

History

Traditions and Insignia

Chapters

See also

References