On March 4, 1905, SigEp chartered its 15th chapter nationally at the North Carolina College of Agricultural and Mechanical Arts (now North Carolina State). In 2004, just shy of the chapter’s 100th anniversary, the chapter lost its charter. North Carolina State did not have a SigEp chapter until it was re-colonized by a new group of men in 2006 as a Balanced Man chapter. It remained a Sigma Epsilon Chapter (SEC) until its charter was approved in fall 2010. Prior to chartering, North Carolina Beta firmly established itself on campus. Since 2009, the chapter’s ability to thrive and compete is demonstrated by awards like the Caldwell Cup, the university’s overall best fraternity award, as well as the Outstanding Leadership Training, Outstanding Member Development, The Red Pig Award for Responsible Behavior Initiatives, and SigEp’s Donald C. McCleary award for Member Development.

North Carolina Beta is the oldest SigEp chapter in North Carolina. NC Alpha doesn’t exist because chapter designations often were assigned before charters were granted. North Carolina-Chapel Hill was assigned Eta Alpha while North Carolina State was designated Eta Beta (now NC Beta). Despite this, North Carolina State’s chapter chartered first, and when Chapel Hill chartered several years later, it ended up with the designation of Eta Delta (now NC Delta). North Carolina is the only state without an Alpha chapter.

To regain the charter, undergraduates have focused on the effort as both an achievement for themselves, and a way to make their alumni proud. The chartering weekend began on Friday March 4, the official Founder’s Day, at the house with a barbecue and a house tour, and the chapter conducted a Ritual for their alumni. Saturday was marked by the official chartering banquet at the Capital City Club in downtown Raleigh. National Director and local volunteer Billy Maddalon, North Carolina State ’90, attended along with many alumni. The evening kicked off with a cocktail hour and wrapped up with a concert that lasted late into the night. The next morning, the chapter hosted a golf outing at the Crooked Creek Golf Course which is owned and operated by several chapter alumni. The celebration marked the beginning of a new era for North Carolina’s oldest chapter.

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