Alpha Epsilon Pi (ΑΕΠ or AEPi) is currently the only international Jewish college fraternity in the United States and Canada. It currently has 120 active chapters and 8 colonies, but those numbers fluctuate as new chapters and colonies are added or as chapters become inactive.
Mission statement
Alpha Epsilon Pi, the Jewish Fraternity of North America, was founded to provide opportunities for Jewish men seeking the best possible college and fraternity experience. We have maintained the integrity of our purpose by strengthening our ties to the Jewish community and serving as a link between high school and career. Alpha Epsilon Pi develops leadership for the North American Jewish community at a critical time in a young man's life.
History
AEPi was founded in
1913 at
New York University (NYU) by Charles C. Moskowitz and 10 other young, Jewish men. These men were Isador M. Glazer, Herman L. Kraus, Arthur E. Leopold, Arthur M. Lipkint, Emil J. Lustgarten, Benjamin M. Meyer, Charles J. Pintel, Maurice Plager, David K. Schafer, and Hyman Shulman. Their first pledge is thought to be Samuel L. Epstein or Aaron Rubin.
Charles C. Moskowitz was a basketball player and had just transferred to NYU from the City College of New York. Several NYU fraternities expressed interest in him and one gave him a bid. When Charles asked if his close Jewish friends could join as well, he was told that the invitation was for him alone. At this point, the group of 11 men began meeting regularly in the German rathskellar. Official school recognition of AEPi was granted on November 7.
The founding members always intended for AEPi to be a national fraternity. Long before the second chapter, the NYU group was designated "Alpha Chapter." In 1917, the local fraternity Phi Tau at Cornell University became the Beta Chapter of AEPi.
Notable Alumni
- Brad Ascalon - Industrial Designer, Rutgers '99
- Irving Azoff - Former President, MCA Records, Illinois '70
- Gary Bettman - Commissioner, National Hockey League, Cornell '72
- Wolf Blitzer - Journalist, Author, CNN Correspondent, SUNY Buffalo '70
- Myles Brand - President, NCAA/ Former President, Indiana University, R.P.I. '64
- James Brooks - Academy Award And Emmy Award winning Producer/Director, NYU '58
- Ken Chertow - U.S. Wrestling Team, Penn State '89
- Richard H. Frank - President of Walt Disney Studios, Illinois '64
- Art Garfunkel - Singer/Composer, Columbia '64
- H. Robert Horvitz - 2002 Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine, MIT '68
- Jerry Lewis - Comedian/Chairman of the Muscular Dystrophy Association, Washington
- Richard Lewis - Actor/Comedian, Ohio State '69
- Bernard Marcus - Founder of Home Depot
- Robert Novak - Columnist, pundit and Panelist on CNN Crossfire, Illinois '52
- Ron Popeil - Inventor, Infomercial Producer, Owner, Ronco Industries, Illinois '57
- Jerry Reinsdorf - Owner of Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox, George Washington '57
- Samuel H. Shapiro - Former Governor of Illinois, Illinois '29
- Chet Simmons - Founder of ESPN, George Washington '50
- Paul Simon - Singer/Composer, Queens '63
- Jack Stahl - Former President, Coca Cola, Emory '76
- Steve Stone - Chicago Cubs Announcer, Kent State '69
- Sandy Weill - Former CEO of Citigroup, Cornell
- Gene Wilder - Actor/Producer/Director, Iowa '55
- Scott Wolf - Actor, George Washington '91
- Mark Zuckerberg - Founder of Facebook.com, Harvard '06
List of Chapters
Inactive or "Dead" chapters are marked with an asterisk
- 1923
- 1924
- 1925
- 1926
- 1927
- 1928
- 1929
- 1930
- 1931
- 1933
- 1934
- 1936
- 1937
- 1938
- 1939
- 1940
- 1941
- 1942
- 1947
- Kappa Deuteron – George Washington University (Washington, D.C.)
- Lambda Deuteron – University of Miami (Coral Gables, Florida)*
- Mu Deuteron – University of Missouri-Columbia (Columbia, Missouri)
- Nu Deuteron – University of Missouri-Rolla (Rolla, Missouri)
- Xi Deuteron – University of California, Los Angeles (Los Angeles, California)
- Omicron Deuteron – University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, Ohio) (closed in 97, but revitalized as of 2004)
- Pi Deuteron – Penn State University (State College, Pennsylvania)
- Rho Deuteron University of Delaware (Newark, Delaware)
- Sigma Deuteron – Syracuse University (Syracuse, New York)
- Tau Deuteron – Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, Ohio)
- Upsilon Deuteron – University of New Mexico (Albuquerque, New Mexico)*
- Chi Deuteron – University of Washington (Seattle, Washington)
- 1948
- 1949
- Psi Deuteron – University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tennessee)
- Kappa Upsilon – University of Kansas (Lawrence, Kansas)
- Phi Deuteron – Kent State University (Kent, Ohio)
- Kappa Sigma – Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kansas)*
- Beta Upsilon – Bradley University (Peoria, Illinois)
- Chi Alpha – University of California, Berkeley (Berkeley, California)
- Kappa Chi – Queens College (Flushing, New York)
- Omega Deuteron – University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan)
- Mu Upsilon – University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
- 1950
- 1951
- 1952
- 1953
- 1954
- 1956
- 1957
- 1958
- 1959
- 1960
- 1962
- 1963
- 1964
- 1965
- 1966
- 1967
- 1968
- 1969
- 1970
- 1971
- 1972
- 1973
- 1976
- 1977
- 1978
- 1979
- 1980
- 1982
- 1983
- 1985
- 1986
- 1987
- 1988
- 1989
- 1990
- 1991
- 1992
- 1993
- 1994
- 1995
- 1997
- 1998
- 2000
- 2001
- 2002
- 2003
- 2004
- 2005
- 2006
- Colonies:
- Gamma Mu – George Mason University (Fairfax. Virginia)
- Tau Pi The College of William and Mary Williamsburg, Virginia
- Delta Upsilon University of Denver (Denver, Colorado)
- Eta Theta University of Guelph (Guelph, Ontario)
External links
1913 establishments | North-American Interfraternity Conference