What is SAE?
Sigma Alpha Epsilon was founded March 9, 1856, at the University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa. Its founders were Noble Leslie DeVotie, John Barratt Rudulph, Nathan Elams Cockrell, John Webb Kerr, Wade H. Foster, Samuel Marion Dennis, Abner Edwin Patton and Thomas Chappell Cook. Noble Leslie DeVotie was credited with writing the Ritual, devised the grip, and chosen the name. Meanwhile, John Barratt Rudulph designed the fraternities badge. Of all existing fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the ante-bellum South.
The Founding Fathers of Sigma Alpha Epsilon c.1856
History of The California Alpha-Beta Chapter
It began in mid-November 1989. On a typical Friday night, a group of young men sat around a dorm room, 330 Cedritos; John Collura and Mike Kislig shared the room. As the night progressed, the men began to talk about the Greek system and John made the statement that would forever change Cal Poly: “Hey, let’s start a Fraternity.”
The first meeting was held at Round Table Pizza in Diamond Bar on November 18, 1989. The meeting was informal and consisted of ten men eating pizza and discussing what it was that Fraternity meant to them. The biggest question on each of their minds was which Fraternity to choose. It was decided that Sigma Alpha Epsilon would be the best choice for two reasons: firstly, it was the largest national Fraternity as well as an outstanding reputation and, two; half of the original ten were legacies of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Having established which organization they wished to pursue, the idea began to appear more concrete.
The group made the decision to call Sigma Alpha Epsilon’s 800-number to request the necessary information for chartering an SAE chapter. Soon after, the group received a letter from the national office of Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Accompanying the letter was a packet outlining the Fraternity’s expansion policies. The members were astonished by the thickness of the packet and the detail it called for. After the arrival of these materials, the members began to gain confidence and momentum; meetings were more formal and substantive. Excitement was to be found in the opportunities and challenges that awaited and the members of the group had the college experience they had previously been lacking. They decided that in their pursuit, it would be best to establish themselves as a local Fraternity, Iota Gamma Nu.
Other Greeks on campus began to question the group, asking why they felt the need to start another Fraternity. The general consensus within the group was that the other Fraternities on campus failed to fill the expectations of the members of the group. Iota Gamma Nu established high standards for themselves and strived to be the best. They looked at the True Gentleman as a source of inspiration and a guide to live by.
In early 1993, after only a few years of hard work, the California State Polytechnic University Pomona Colony of Sigma Alpha Epsilon stood at 35 members, one neophyte, and four pledges.
On February 27, 1993, the colony was chartered, and installed, as the California Alpha-Beta Chapter of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, completing a major step in the life of SAE at Cal Poly Pomona.
To this day, the California Alpha-Beta chapter continues it's success, backed by a great national heritage as well as it's own rich local history and traditions.