| Gamma Eta Gamma | |
| Letters: | Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΓΗΓ |
| Crest: | Crest_of_Gamma_Eta_Gamma_Law_Fraternity.jpeg |
| Birthplace: | University of Maine School of Law |
| Affiliation: | Independent |
| Former Affiliation: | PIC |
| Type: | Professional |
| Status: | Active |
| Emphasis: | Law |
| Scope: | national |
| Colors: | Red and Black |
| Symbol: | Lamp, Star, Fasces, Balance |
| Publication: | The Rescript |
| Chapters: | 33 chartered, 1 active |
| Members: | ~10,000 |
| Address: | 1126 5th Street SE |
| City: | Minneapolis |
| State: | Minnesota |
| Zip Code: | 55414 |
| Country: | United States |
Gamma Eta Gamma (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΓΗΓ) is a co-ed professional law fraternity that was a member of the Professional Fraternity Association.[1] Chapters are limited to law schools on the approved list of the American Bar Association.
Gamma Eta Gamma was founded on February 25, 1901, at the University of Maine School of Law as a law fraternity for men.[2] Its founders were Charles Vey Holman, Charles Hickson Reid Jr., and Harold Dudley Greeley.[3]
From the beginning, the fraternity exhorted its members to a high degree of personal and professional conduct. At its founding, the three men who established the Fraternity wrote in their handwriting into the preamble of its constitution:
"We the undersigned students of the Law School of the University of Maine, with a view of establishing on this and other schools of law, as well as in the general practice of the profession, an elevated standard of personal deportment, a high code of professional ethics and a broad and catholic development of mental culture and moral character do associate ourselves in the lasting bonds of a fraternal union under the name of Gamma Eta Gamma."Its officers were chancellor, proctor, judge, lictor, sheriff, quaestor, recorder, bailiff, and tipstave.[4] The pledge manual included chapters on how to study law effectively, a chapter on etiquette, and general fraternity information.
The Gamma Eta Gamma annual convention called a Witan, was first held on May 29, 1901. Later, the convention shifted to a biennial basis, with province conferences held in off years. The Beta chapter was installed at the Boston University School of Law on May 24, 1902.
Gamma Eta Gamma published a songbook in 1909 and 1915. In 1912, the fraternity started publishing an annual called The Rescript; it became a semi-annual and, later, quarterly in 1920. Also in 1912, the chapters at Albany and Cornell owned a chapter house, while the chapters at Boston, Creighton, and Indiana rented houses.
By 1976 it had granted 33 charters with a national roster of over 7,000 initiates.[5] By 2017, there was one remaining active chapter, the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis, which is coed.[6] It provides low-cost housing for law students in a Richardsonian Romanesque style house that was built in 1892.
Founders' Day is generally held on the founding anniversary, February 25. However, some chapters celebrated the Prandium Cancellari on June 7, the date of the fraternity's first banquet in 1901.
The fraternity's badge is a shield with a lamp, a star, and a Roman fasces or bundle, above the motto. A triangle encloses the letter Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Π with Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Γ on both sides and below a balance. The official badge contains 20 pearls surrounding the shield. The outgoing president or high chancellor is awarded a badge with a diamond border.
The pledge pin is a circular button, with the letters Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Γ Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Η Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Γ appearing in a circle on a red field, imposed on a triangle, with the rest of the button in black. There is a fasces key, in gold, for alumni who graduated with a law degree, with the letters of the Fraternity name on the face of the key. The colors of the fraternity are red and black.
While the fraternity had multiple chapters, a council of twelve members called the Curia managed the fraternity between conventions. The Curia consists of four elective executive officers and officials from the eight provinces of the fraternity. Eight of these twelve leaders were required to be alumni.
Governance is now held by the University of Minnesota Law School chapter which operates as an informal, local fraternity.
Following is a list of Gamma Eta Gamma chapters. Inactive groups indicated by italics, the active chapter in bold.
| Chapter | Charter date and range | Institution | Location | Status | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha | – 1910 | University of Maine School of Law | Portland, Maine | Inactive | ||
| Beta | – 1917 | Boston University School of Law | Boston, Massachusetts | Inactive | ||
| Gamma | – xxxx ? | Albany Law School | Albany, New York | Inactive | [7] | |
| Delta | 1908–1932 | Syracuse University College of Law | Syracuse, New York | Inactive | ||
| Epsilon | 1909–1918 | Cornell Law School | Ithaca, New York | Inactive | ||
| Zeta | 1911–1929 | University of Michigan Law School | Ann Arbor, Michigan | Inactive | ||
| Eta | – xxxx ? | Indiana University Maurer School of Law | Bloomington, Indiana | Inactive | [8] | |
| Theta | – xxxx ? | Creighton University School of Law | Omaha, Nebraska | Inactive | [9] [10] | |
| Iota | – xxxx ? | Georgetown University Law Center | Washington, D.C. | Inactive | [11] | |
| Kappa | 1915–1917 | University of Oregon School of Law | Eugene, Oregon | Inactive | ||
| Lambda | 1919–xxxx ? | Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law | Chicago, Illinois | Inactive | ||
| Mu | 1919–xxxx ? | University of Detroit Mercy School of Law | Detroit, Michigan | Inactive | ||
| Nu | 1920–xxxx ? | University of Chicago Law School | Chicago, Illinois | Inactive | ||
| Xi | 1920–xxxx ? | Fordham University School of Law | Manhattan, New York City, New York | Inactive | [12] | |
| Omicron | 1920–xxxx ? | University of Maryland Francis King Carey School of Law | Baltimore, Maryland | Inactive | ||
| Pi | 1921–1931 | University of Illinois College of Law | Champaign, Illinois | Inactive | ||
| Rho | 1922–xxxx ? | Ohio State University Moritz College of Law | Columbus, Ohio | Inactive | ||
| Sigma | 1922–xxxx ? | USC Gould School of Law | Los Angeles, California | Inactive | ||
| Tau | 1922–1928 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville, Tennessee | Inactive | ||
| Upsilon | 1923–xxxx ? | University of Wisconsin–Madison | Madison, Wisconsin | Inactive | ||
| Phi | 1923–xxxx ? | University of Iowa | Iowa City, Iowa | Inactive | ||
| Chi | 1924 | University of Minnesota Law School | Minneapolis, Minnesota | Active | ||
| Omega | 1925–1929 | Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis County, Missouri | Inactive | ||
| Beta Gamma | 1927–xxxx ? | Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, North Carolina | Inactive | ||
| Beta Delta | 1929–xxxx ? | Duke University | Durham, North Carolina | Inactive | ||
| Beta Epsilon | 1930–xxxx ? | Louisiana State University | Baton Rouge, Louisiana | Inactive | ||
| Beta Zeta | 1930–1932 | Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, Ohio | Inactive | [13] | |
| Beta Eta | 1931–xxxx ? | George Washington University | Washington, D.C. | Inactive | ||
| Beta Kappa | 1931–xxxx ? | Catholic University | Washington, D.C. | Inactive | ||
| Beta Theta | 1931–xxxx ? | Santa Clara University School of Law | Santa Clara, California | Inactive | ||
| Beta Mu | 1934–xxxx ? | DePaul University | Chicago, Illinois | Inactive | ||
| Beta Nu | 1950–xxxx ? | University of Virginia | Charlottesville, Virginia | Inactive |