Beta Sigma Psi

Fraternity |

  letters = ΒΣΨ |
  name = Beta Sigma Psi |

motto = Per Aspera Ad Astra | crest =

The official crest of Beta Sigma Psi.

| founded = April 17, 1925 |

  type = Social, Religious |
  scope = National |
  address = 2408 Lebanon Ave. |   
  symbol = Luther's Emblem |
  city = Belleville |
  state = Illinois |
  country = USA |

chapters = 8 in the United States, 1 Colony | colors = Cardinal Red and White |

    free_label = Mission|
    free = To promote an organization of communicant Lutheran men who recognize that life rooted with Christ in God is the only true goal of human existence and who therefore foster, encourage, and inspire activities and relationships which promote this end.|
  homepage = http://www.betasigmapsi.org |

birthplace = University of Illinois |

  flower = Gold Rose |

}}

Beta Sigma Psi National Lutheran Fraternity (ΒΣΨ) is a pan Lutheran fraternity. ΒΣΨ was founded at University of Illinois in 1925. Beta Sigma Psi is centered around three S's: spiritual, scholastic, and social.

Purpose

The Purpose of Beta Sigma Psi National Lutheran Fraternity:

To provide an environment in which the Lutheran college man can grow spiritually, scholastically, and socially. To that end Beta Sigma Psi undertakes programs designed to develop Christian leaders and to aid the individual in assuming a satisfying and useful role in society. Through its alumni and undergraduate leadership Beta Sigma Psi endeavors to assist each member:

#Develop Character#Develop Intellectual Awareness#Develop Social Responsibility to Chapter, College, Community, State, Nation, and World#Develop Spiritual Welfare#Develop Brotherhood#Develop Integrity#Promote Friendship#Advance Justice

History

Founding

Beta Sigma Psi was founded as a national fraternity for Lutheran students on April 17, 1925. The Fraternity had its origins in the concerns of a Lutheran pastor for students who had been entrusted to his spiritual care at the University of Illinois.

The Rev. Frederick William Gustav Stiegemeyer, the son of a Lutheran pastor, was born on January 16, 1878 in a parsonage in Dubuque, Iowa. Early in his life, he decided to follow his father's footsteps and serve the Lord. He received his college education at Concordia College in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, and prepared for the ministry at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

The Rev. Stiegemeyer served his congregations faithfully, serving churches in Ohio, West Virginia, and Illinois. In 1911, he accepted a call to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church in Champaign, Illinois. As part of his ministry, he was to serve the students at the University of Illinois.

In the fall of 1919, he organized the Lutheran Illini League with a nucleus of ten students. At that time their intentions was to do no more than meet once or twice a week for religious instruction and discussion on contemporary issues. In the fall of 1920, now with twenty members, the Lutheran Illini League rented a house, and in early 1921 was reorganized as the Concordia Club.

By 1923 the group regularly participated in campus activities; so much so that they began being referred to as the "Concordia Fraternity." This was among the circumstances that encourgaed some of the members to give serious thought to once again reorganizing and making it part of the university's fraternity system. Meetings were held, and plans were laid to organize as a new national fraternity.

Those men who worked on these plans were convinced that they would create a National Lutheran fraternity that would maintain all the noble aspirations of the early Concordia Club founders. Those who shared this conviction were:
*Harold Ahlbrand
*Wilbur E. Augustine
*Norbert W. Behrens
*Herman H. Gilster
*Arden F. Henry
*Russell Henry
*Julius J. Seidel
*Rev. Stiegemeyer
*William H. Welge

These men, considered the founding fathers of Beta Sigma Psi, decided to act in the spring of 1925. Incorporation papers were filed for Beta Sigma Psi National Lutheran Fraternity on April 17, 1925 in Springfield, Illinois.

Growth

The Concordia Club at Champaign had been in correspondence with the Rev. Paul Schmidt, who had formed a similar organization at Purdue University for Lutheran students. One month after incorporation papers were filed in Springfield, Illinois, members of Alpha Chapter drove to Purdue to help organize Beta Chapter. Within months, the first National Council of Beta Sigma Psi was elected.

In the 1920s, Beta Sigma Psi experienced a prosperous early growth. Gamma Chapter at the University of Michigan (1928) and Delta Chapter at the University of Nebraska (1929) soon joined Alpha and Beta chapters. By this time, guests from other Concordia Clubs from all around were attending National Council meetings, and Alpha Chapter was busy building a new house.

When the depression of the 1930s hit, fraternity financing became very difficult, and Gamma Chapter was forced to close in 1933. Alpha Chapter closed in 1940. During World War II, Beta Sigma Psi had only two chapters, Beta and Delta, with a combined membership of fourteen men. At this time, an undergraduate member named Delmar Lienemann from Delta Chapter stepped forward and was elected Secretary Treasurer. He started his job with nothing more than the National Constitution and a great determination to keep the fraternity alive. Del served Beta Sigma Psi loyally as a volunteer for 22 years, and now the fraternity's highest honor is named for him.

Through hard work and determination, Beta Sigma Psi survived World War II, and in 1949, Epsilon Chapter was established at Iowa State University. Expansion continued over the next few years as Zeta Chapter was organized at Kansas State University in 1951, and Eta Chapter followed at the University of Missouri - Rolla in 1952. That year at the National Council meeting in Ames, Iowa, the fraternity found another leader who would work with Del for many years. John Hingst, an alumnus of Beta Chapter, was elected National President, and went on to serve for 14 years in that position. Then in 1956, Alpha Chapter was reactivated, and in 1962 Iota Chapter was chartered at the University of Missouri - Columbia.

Beta Sigma Psi continued to prosper in the 1960s due to its Lutheran membership, its common faith principles, and the strong leadership of alumni such as John Hingst of Beta Chapter and Larry Edwards of Zeta Chapter. Throughout the decade, new chapters were formed at several new campuses, including Western Michigan University, Eastern Illinois University, and the University of Minnesota. Growth was so rapid that the fraternity decided to add a full-time staff person. Although Del Lienemann had served faithfully as a loyal volunteer in the role of Secretary-Treasurer, the National Council decided in 1965 that in order for Beta Sigma Psi to become a strong national fraternity, it needed to have a full-time employee. Dick Weiss, an alumnus of Epsilon Chapter, was named the fraternity's first salaried Secretary-Treasurer, and the National Headquarters office was moved from Omaha, Nebraska, to St. Louis, Missouri.

In 1969, Beta Sigma Psi became a full member of the National Interfraternity Conference. The NIC had long been dominated by large national fraternities with 100 or more chapters. Hence, Beta Sigma Psi became the first "niche" fraternity to be recognized as a full member of NIC. Soon afterwards, other groups representing Latino, African-American, and other religious fraternities sought membership in NIC as well.

The Rev. Walter E. Rose, campus pastor at Eastern Illinois University and pastoral advisor to Mu Chapter, moved to St. Louis in 1971 to succeed Dick Weiss as Executive Director. At the suggestion of several parents, Rev. Rose helped to form Phi Beta Chi Lutheran Sorority at the University of Illinois. For a time, he served as the executive director of both organizations and is recognized today as a founder of Phi Beta Chi. Phi Beta Chi has since formed several chapters and become a national sorority.

Into the Future

The future of the Fraternity is in the hands of its members. Edgar Friedrichs, Beta Sigma Psi's first national president, once observed that "Beta Sigma Psi was organized as a means of serving the Church -- as a means to the end. Let us therefore be vigilant lest the means become an end in itself."

Beta Sigma Psi National Presidents

#	President	Start of term	End of term	Chapter
1	Edgar J. Friedrich	1925	1927	Alpha
2	Arden. F. Henry	1927	1928	Alpha
3	Edgar J. Friedrich	1928	1929	Alpha
4	Harold C. Ahlbrand	1929	1930	Alpha
5	Weldon O. Kertschmer	1930	1932	Alpha
6	Carl M. Sauer	1932	1936	Beta
7	William H. Welge	1936	1938	Alpha
8	Harold C. Ahlbrand	1938	1940	Alpha
9	Herman H. Jost, Jr.	1940	1941	Alpha
10	Harry A. Hagar	1941	1946	Beta
11	Norman Mankey	1946	1949	Beta
12	Harold M. Lapp	1949	1952	Beta
13	John Hingst	1952	1967	Beta
14	Larry R. Edwards	1967	1972	Zeta
15	Douglas G. Peter	1972	1974	Delta
16	Dennis H. Stelzer	1974	1978	Delta
17	Richard Newman	1978	1980	Zeta
18	Ralph C. Folkerts	1980	1982	Alpha
19	Robert E. Hillard	1982	1986	Mu
20	Delbert F. Karmeier	1986	1988	Alpha
21	Steven K. Janssen	1988	1992	Delta
22	David Jackson	1992	1994	Zeta
23	Matthew P. Homann	1994	1996	Alpha
24	Craig R. Varner	1996	2000	Iota
25	Kirk M. Meyer	2000	2002	Alpha
26	Chad Winterhof	2002	2004	Epsilon
27	Chad Pfister	2004	present	Iota