History
Founding
Beta Sigma Psi was founded as a national fraternity for Lutheran students in April 17, 1925. a Fraternity got its origins in the concerns of a Lutheran pastor for students world health organization got been entrusted to his spiritual care at the University of Illinois.

A Revolutions per minute. Frederick William Gustav Stiegemeyer, the boy of a Lutheran pastor, was innate in January 16, 1878 within a vicarage in Dubuque, Iowa. Early within his life, he decided to watch his father's footsteps & help a Lord. He received his college education at Concordia College within Foot. Wayne, Indiana, & prepared for the ministry at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

A Rpm. Stiegemeyer served his congregations reliably, serving churches inside Ohio, West Virginia, & Illinois. Around 1911, he accepted the call for to St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church within Champaign, Illinois. When a share of his ministry, he was to serve a students at a University of Illinois.

In the fall of 1919, he organized the Lutheran Illini League sustaining a nucleus of tenner students. At that instance their intentions was to launder those days are gone than meet another time or even twice the week for religious instructiin & discussion on contemporary issues. within a fall of 1920, at present by having twenty members, the Lutheran Illini League rented a home, & in early 1921 wwhen reorganized as the Concordia Club.

By 1923 a class action regularly participated around campus activities; such thus that it began existence known as a "Concordia Fraternity." This was among a circumstances that encourgaed a few of the members to give good thought to once more reorganizing & making it section of the university's fraternity rules. Meetings were held, & plans were placed to organize as a newly national fraternity.

People men world health organizatiin worked on these plans were convinced that it would produce the National Lutheran fraternity that would maintain all the noble aspirations of the early Concordia Club founders. Victims world health organization 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 a founding fathers of Beta Sigma Psi, decided to act in the spring of 1925. Incorporatiin papers were filed for Beta Sigma Psi National Lutheran Fraternity on April 17, 1925 in Springfield, Illinois.

Growth
A Concordia Club at Champaign got been inside correspondence by owning a Revolutions per minute. Paul Schmidt, world health organization experienced formed the similar organization at Purdue University for Lutheran students. Of these year when incorporation papers were filed inside Springfield, Illinois, members of Alpha Chapter drove to Purdue to help organize Beta Chapter. In months, a number 1 National Council of Beta Sigma Psi was elected.

In the Twenties, Betthe Sigma Psi had a prosperous early incubation. Gamma Chapter at a University of Michigan (1928) & Delta Chapter at a University of Nebraska (1929) presently joined Alpha & Beta chapters. By this period, guests from either either more Concordithe Clubs from 100% around were attending National Council meetings, & Alpha Chapter was occupy building a fresh home.

Once a depression of the 1930s hit, fraternity funding became super hard, & Gamma Chapter was forced to close inside 1933. Alpha Chapter closed inside 1940. When you took World War II, Betthe Sigma Psi had sole ii chapters, Beta & Delta, using a concerted membership of 14 men. At this instance, an undergrad member known as Delmar Lienemann from either Delta Chapter stepped forward & was elective Secretary Financial officer. He began his job by owning nothing to a higher degree a National Constitution & a great determination to keep a fraternity alive. Del served Beta Sigma Psi loyally as a volunteer for Twenty-two years, & today a fraternity's greatest honor is known as for him.

Across protective operate & determination, Beta Sigma Psi survived Globe War II, & inside 1949, Epsilon Chapter was established at Iowa State University. Expansion continued across a next pack years when Zeta Chapter was organized at Kansas State University inside 1951, & Eta Chapter followed at a University of Missouri - Rolla within 1952. That season at a National Council meeting inside Ames, Iowa, a fraternity detected an additional leader world health organization would operate by having Del for numbers of years. John Hingst, an alumna of Beta Chapter, was elective National President, & went in to serve for Fourteen years in this position. So withinside 1956, Alpha Chapter was reactivated, & in 1962 Iota Chapter was chartered at a University of Missouri - Columbia.

Beta Sigma Psi continued to prosper in a Sixties due to its Lutheran membership, its most common faith information, & the heavy leadership of alumni like John Hingst of Beta Chapter & Larry Edwards of Zeta Chapter. Throughout a decade, recently chapters were formed at many newly campuses, including American Michigan University, Eastern Illinois University, & a University of Minnesota. Incubation was and then rapid that the fraternity decided to add a good-whale staff human. Although Del Lienemann experienced served dependably as the fast volunteer around a role of Secretary-Treasurer, the National Council decided in 1965 that sequentially for Beta Sigma Psi to be a hard national fraternity, it required to have a good-whale employee. Dick Weiss, an graduate of Epsilon Chapter, was known as a fraternity's foremost salaried Secretary-Treasurer, & a National Headquarters professional was moved from either Omaha, Nebraska, to St. Louis, Missouri.

Within 1969, Betthe Sigma Psi became a fully member of the National Interfraternity Conference. A NIC got hanker been dominated by big national fraternities by having One c or even extra chapters. Hence, Beta Sigma Psi became a number one "niche" fraternity to become recognized as a to the full member of NIC. Before long subsequently, more groups representing Latino, African-U.s., & more religious fraternities sought membership within NIC too.

A Rpm. Walter E. Rose, campus pastor at Eastern Illinois University & pastoral consultant to Mu Chapter, moved to St. Louis around 1971 to succeed Dick Weiss when Executive. At a guide of many parents, Rpm. Rose helped to form Phi Beta Chi Lutheran Sorority at a University of Illinois. For a instance, he served when the executive of two organizations & is recognized now as a founder of Phi Beta Chi. Phi Betthe Chi has since formed many chapters & turn into a national sorority.

Into the Future

A new of the Fraternity is in the mitts of its members. Edgar Friedrichs, Beta Sigma Psi's 1st national president, another time found 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

|- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" ! # !! President !! Begin of term !! Prevent of term !! Chapter |- | One || Edgar J. Friedrich || 1925 || 1927 || Alpha |- | Two || Arden. F. Henry || 1927 || 1928 || Alpha |- | Threesome || Edgar J. Friedrich || 1928 || 1929 || Alpha |- | Quatern || Harold C. Ahlbrand || 1929 || 1930 || Alpha |- | Fivesome || Weldon O. Kertschmer || 1930 || 1932 || Alpha |- | Hexad || Carl M. Sauer || 1932 || 1936 || Beta |- | Sevener || William H. Welge || 1936 || 1938 || Alpha |- | Eighter from decatur || Harold C. Ahlbrand || 1938 || 1940 || Alpha |- | Ix || Herman H. Jost, Jr. || 1940 || 1941 || Alpha |- | Decade || Harry The. Hagar || 1941 || 1946 || Beta |- | Xi || Norman Mankey || 1946 || 1949 || Beta |- | Dozen || Harold M. Lapp || 1949 || 1952 || Beta |- | Baker's dozen || John Hingst || 1952 || 1967 || Beta |- | Fourteen || Larry R. Edwards || 1967 || 1972 || Zeta |- | Fifteen || Douglas G. Peter || 1972 || 1974 || Delta |- | Sixteen || Dennis H. Stelzer || 1974 || 1978 || Delta |- | Xvii || Richard Newman || 1978 || 1980 || Zeta |- | Xviii || Ralph C. Folkerts || 1980 || 1982 || Alpha |- | Nineteen || Robert E. Hillard || 1982 || 1986 || Mu |- | Xx || Delbert F. Karmeier || 1986 || 1988 || Alpha |- | Xxi || Steve Janssen || 1988 || 1992 || Delta |- | Twenty-two || David Jackson || 1992 || 1994 || Zeta |- | Twenty-three || Matthew P. Homann || 1994 || 1996 || Alpha |- | Two dozen || Craig R. Varner || 1996 || 2000 || Iota |- | Twenty-five || Kirk M. Meyer || 2000 || 2002 || Alpha |- | Xxvi || Chad Winterhof || 2002 || 2004 || Epsilon |- | Xxvii || Chad Pfister || 2004 || present || Iota |}

Chapters

Active Chapters
[http://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ro/www/BetaSigmaPsi/ Alpha] - University of Illinois, 1925-1940, 1956 [http://web.ics.purdue.edu/~betasig/ Beta] - Purdue University, 1925 [http://Epsilon.BetaSigmaPsi.org/ Epsilon] - Iowa State University, 1949 [http://www.ksu.edu/betasig/ Zeta] - Kansas State University, 1951 [http://web.umr.edu/~betasig/ Eta] - University of Missouri - Rolla, 1952 [http://students.missouri.edu/~betasig/ Iota] - University of Missouri - Columbia, 1962 [http://www.betasig-ny.org/ Psi] - Concordia College - New York, 1999 [http://alpha-alpha.20m.com/ Alpha-Alpha] - Midland Lutheran College

Inactive Chapters
Gamma - University of Michigan, 1928-1933 Delta - University of Nebraska - Lincoln, 1929-1995 Theta - Michigan Tech University - 1962-1973 Kappa - University of Minnesota, 1963-1983 Lambda - Western Michigan University, 1964-1973 Mu - Eastern Illinois University, 1966-1984 Nu - University of Kansas, 1967-1972 Xi - University of Nebraska - Kearney, 1967-1990 Omicron - Central Michigan University, 1968-1973 Pi - Central Missouri State University, 1969-1989 Rho - University of Minnesota - Morris, 1969-1984 Sigma - Wayne State College, 1969-1974 Tau - Oklahoma State University, 1970-1979 Upsilon - Illinois State University, 1980-1991 Phi - Texas A&M University, 1988-1994 Chi - Ohio State University, 1999-2004 Omega - Indiana University, 2000-2002

Colonies
Delta Colony - University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Interest Groups
University of Nebraska - Kearney Texas The&M University