Gamma Epsilon Pi () was an American business honor society for women. It was established in 1918 at the University of Illinois. Gamma Epsilon Pi consolidated with Alpha Gamma Pi and Phi Sigma Chi, two similar organizations, in 1922. In 1933, the society merged into Beta Gamma Sigma, previously an all-male society.
History
Gamma Epsilon Pi was founded at the University of Illinois on March 26, 1918. It was an honor society for female business students. The founders were five junior women in the College of Commerce who felt that a similar organization to Beta Gamma Sigma was needed for women.
The society merged with Alpha Gamma Pi and Phi Sigma Chi in 1922. Alpha Gamma Pi was established at University of Wisconsin and Phi Sigma Chi was established at University of Washington at approximately the same time. The name and badge of Gamma Epsilon Pi were adopted for the merged group; a new constitution and ritual were created.
On April 29, 1933, the group merged into Beta Gamma Sigma, which began allowing female members in February 1932.Beta Gamma Sigma International Exchange Fall 2012 The 983 members of Gamma Epsilon Pi became lifetime members of Beta Gamma Sigma.
Symbols The society's badge was in the shape of a key bearing the Greek letters . This pin exhibits a golden post and swinging signboard bearing the letters , , and , arrayed in the center of a gold key. In print this insignia may be set on a black shield.
The society's colors were coral and grey. Its publications were The Signboard and The Post.
Membership Active membership was limited to junior and senior women who ranked in the top fifteen percent of the women enrolled in the school's College of Commerce.
Chapters The chapters of Gamma Epsilon Pi include the follow; all chapters merged with Beta Gamma Sigma.
Chapter Charter date and range Institution Location Status Alpha – University of Illinois Champaign, Illinois Merged () Beta – Northwestern University Evanston, Illinois Merged () The Syllabus of Northwestern University 1921 p566 Gamma – University of California Berkeley, California Merged () Delta – University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Merged () Epsilon – University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa Merged () Zeta – University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas Merged () The Enterpriser v1 no 4 (May 1921) p 29 Eta – University of Minnesota Minneapolis, Minnesota Merged () Theta – University of Oklahoma Norman, Oklahoma Merged () Iota – Washington University St. Louis County, Missouri Merged () Kappa – University of Southern California Los Angeles, California Merged () Lambda – University of Montana Missoula, Montana Merged () Alpha Beta – University of Washington Seattle, Washington Merged () Alpha Gamma – University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin Merged () Alpha Delta – University of Texas Austin, Texas Merged () Alpha Epsilon – Syracuse University Syracuse, New York Merged () Alpha Zeta – New York University New York City, New York Merged () Mu – University of Nebraska Lincoln, Nebraska Merged () Nu – Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio Merged ()
References