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Alpha Mu Sigma

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Alpha Mu Sigma
ΑΜΣ
FoundedMarch 21, 1914; 110 years ago (1914-03-21)
Cooper Union
TypeSocial
AffiliationIndependent
StatusDefunct
Defunct Date1963
EmphasisJewish
ScopeNational
PublicationThe Shield
Chapters23
Headquarters
United States

Alpha Mu Sigma (ΑΜΣ) was an historically Jewish fraternity founded in March 1914 at Cooper Union. It disbanded in 1963.

History

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Alpha Mu Sigma was founded at Cooper Union on March 21, 1914. According to Baird's (20th), "The original plan was to limit membership to men of the Jewish faith and the first expansion was limited to similar engineering institutions."[1][2][3][4]

Its Founders were:

  • Henry I. Gilbert
  • Theodore F. Haynes
  • Julius Liebing
  • Benjamin Rothstein
  • Saul Shaw
  • Samuel H. Solodar
  • Jonas I. Speciner
  • Joseph Spies

Baird's goes on to further describe that, "With the prosperity of the 1920s expansion took place quickly, but many of the chapters did not survive the Great Depression." Its total membership in 1945 was 1,500.

The national fraternity disbanded in 1963, with the remaining four chapters becoming inactive or being absorbed by other, larger Jewish fraternities. Alpha chapter at Cooper Union functioned until 1971.[3]

Symbols

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  • Publication: The Shield.

Chapters

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Following is a list of the chapters of Alpha Mu Sigma. Active chapters that withdrew or merged into other organizations shown in bold; dormant chapters shown in italics.[3]

Name Chartered Institution Location Status Notes Reference
Alpha March 21, 19141971 Cooper Union Institute of Technology New York, NY Dormant
Beta 19171930, 19481963 City College of New York New York, NY Dormant
Gamma 19171925, 19351938 Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (Tandon, NYU) Brooklyn, NY Dormant
Delta 19191926 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA Dormant
Epsilon 19201921 Columbia University New York, NY Dormant
Zeta 19211940 New York University New York, NY Dormant
Eta 19221923 Harvard University Cambridge, MA Dormant
Theta 19221923 Bellevue Hospital Medical College (Grossman, NYU) New York, NY Dormant
Iota 19221923 Yale University New Haven, CT Dormant
Lambda 19231925 University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA Dormant
Mu 19251926 University of Maryland College Park, MD Dormant
Nu 19251926 University of Virginia Charlottesville, VA Withdrew (ΤΕΦ) [a]
Omicron 19261927 University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA Dormant
Xi 1927–193x ? Union College Schenectady, NY Dormant [b]
Rho 19271928 University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL Dormant
Pi 19281956 Long Island University Brooklyn, NY Withdrew (ΤΔΦ) [c][d]
Tau (1) 19281930 Roanoke College Salem, VA Dormant
Kappa 19291930 Boston University Boston, MA Dormant
Sigma 19301931 Lewis Institute (IIT) Chicago, IL Dormant
Tau (2) 19371938 George Washington University Washington, DC Dormant
Upsilon 19371960 Brooklyn College (CUNY) Brooklyn, NY Dormant
Phi (1) 19391963 St. John’s University Queens, NY Dormant
Phi (2) 19581962 Pratt Institute Brooklyn, NY Withdrew (ΤΕΦ) [e]
  1. ^ Became the Tau Nu chapter of ΤΕΦ in 1936.
  2. ^ Xi chapter originated as Sigma Lambda Chi (local) in 1925.
  3. ^ Pi chapter originated as Lambda Iota Upsilon (local) in 1927.
  4. ^ Became the Tau Xi chapter of ΤΔΦ in 1956. Some of ΤΔΦ's records were lost; While Baird's Archive notes in the listing for ΤΔΦ that the Alpha Mu Sigma chapter from which it evolved dates to 1920, this appears to be an error. A 1928 start date for Pi chapter of ΑΜΣ is more likely, confirmed by Baird's chapter list for ΑΜΣ and the date of the originating local.
  5. ^ Became the Epsilon Omicron chapter of ΤΕΦ in 1963.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Going Greek:Jewish College Fraternities in the United States, 1895-1945
  2. ^ JEWISH NATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES 1937-1938
  3. ^ a b c William Raimond Baird; Carroll Lurding (eds.). "Almanac of Fraternities and Sororities (Baird's Manual Online Archive)". Student Life and Culture Archives. University of Illinois: University of Illinois Archives. The main archive URL is The Baird's Manual Online Archive homepage.
  4. ^ "Interfraternity Notes and Statistics". The Palm of Alpha Tau Omega: 179. April 1930.