Phi Beta Gamma () was an American professional fraternity in the field of law.
It was established at
Georgetown University School of Law in 1922.
History
Phi Beta Gamma was founded on April 24, 1922, at Georgetown University School of Law
. Its goals were to install its members with the ethics and ideals of law, to encourage the study of the technical rules of law, and to improve the facilities of law schools.
Its members adopted ''Canons of Ethics and Rules of Conduct'' and secret ritualistic degrees.
[Robson, John, ed. (1963). ''Baird's Manual of American College Fraternities'' (17th ed.). Menasha, Wisconsin: The Collegiate Press, George Banta Company, Inc., p. 476.] Membership in Phi Beta Gamma was limited to male law students.
However, the organization also included alumni and honorary members.
Its officers were called chief justice, associate justice, secretary, treasurer, and bailiff.
Phi Beta Gamma incorporated in
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...
as a national fraternity in April 1922.
The ''Beta chapter'' formed at the
National University School of Law
National University School of Law was an American law school founded in Washington, D.C. in 1869. Originally intended as part of a larger design for a national university in the United States, the school was the principal component of National Univ ...
in 1924, followed by the ''Gamma chapter'' at the Minneapolis College of Law in 1925.
Although the fraternity had a social aspect with parties, banquets, and dances, it encouraged its members to be active in campus political and social affairs and to develop relationships with faculty.
Alumni and honorary members were expected to assist collegiate members in their studies through quiz lectures and legal discussions.
As a result, the fraternity established a central agency to maintain a connection with alumni members. The fraternity held its first national convention in Washington, D.C., in 1924.
By 1950, it had six chapters and had initiated 1,600 members, making it the smallest of the law fraternities at the time.
Phi Beta Gamma was a founding member of the
Professional Interfraternity Conference (PIC) in 1928.
The fraternity was headquartered in Washington, D.C., but moved to
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...
sometime before 1963.
Its original publication was called Blue and Gold.
Later, it published a quarterly journal called ''The Advocate.''
Symbols
Phi Beta Gamma's colors were blue and gold.
The fraternity had both a badge and a watch key in the shape of an inverted triangle bearing the Greek letters .
Phi Beta Gamma also had a scholarship key that was shaped like an open book bearing the fraternity's coat of arms.
The scholarship key was exclusively for the member with the highest grade point average in each class.
Chapters
The chapters of Phi Beta Gamma follow, with inactive chapters and institutions in ''italics''.
References
{{Professional Fraternities
Former members of Professional Fraternity Association
Student organizations established in 1922
1922 establishments in Washington, D.C.
Professional legal fraternities and sororities in the United States