Since it was founded at Miami University in Oxford, OH in 1839, Beta Theta Pi has been a pioneering fraternity.  It was the first fraternity to have a chapter west of the Mississippi River (U of Iowa, 1866), the first to openly publish its constitution, and the first to set a minimum GPA standard for its undergraduate members. 

Beta is also a fraternity of achievement.  Beta has more Supreme Court Justices, Rhodes Scholars, and current Fortune 500 CEOs (11) than any other fraternity.  Famous Betas include: William J. Bowerman, Oregon '33, founder of Nike; Samuel M. Walton, Missouri '40, founder of Wal-Mart; T.A. Wilson, Jr., Iowa State '42, Boeing CEO; Stephen D. Bechtel, Jr., Colorado '47, Bechtel CEO; Bruce A. Nordstrom, Washington '55, Nordstrom's CEO; Richard G. Lugar, Denison '54, Senator from Indiana; Steven B. Sample, Illinois '64, President of the University of Southern California; and John R. Wooden, Purdue '32, Hall of Fame basketball player and UCLA coach - just to name a few.

But Beta isn't just about individual laurels.  In fact, the entire idea of fraternity stems from the fact that we can accomplish more together than we can separately.  Beta founder John Reily Knox put it well when he wrote, "What a few men united in object an effort will to do can be done; and more than that, such associations teach us in their records how far human friendships can carry us from the shrine of idol self."  You will find Betas carrying out this ideal in all areas of life.

Being a Beta is about being who we say we are.  That's why Beta published it's Objects for the world to see back in 1879 and why in 1999 we restated our mission and vision through the Men of Principle Initiative.

Being a Beta is about being a leader.  That's why the fraternity recently completed an over $20 million campaign to endow its award-winning leadership programming for undergraduate members.

Is being a Beta for you?