Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity

During the early Spring 1986 semester, Baltazar Mendoza-Madrigal began to explore the idea of establishing a Latino based Fraternity. After months of intensive research, Baltazar Mendoza-Madrigal called a special meeting on Monday, March 7, 1986 with some of the Latino students at the Chicano Indian American Cultural Center in the University of Iowa. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the need and feasibility of creating a new social Fraternity with an emphasis on the Latino Culture.

At that point in time, the student body at the University of Iowa was predominantly Caucasian. In addition, the Latino community on campus was divided into different social groups. As a result, the students who attended the first meeting wanted to solidify and unify the Latino community. Furthermore, the students wanted to promote a positive image of Latinos in the University.

After the first meeting, the enthusiasm in favor of the Fraternity was so encouraging that the word spread throughout the University of Iowa. Everyone knew that something special was about to take place. On Friday, April 4, 1986, the members finalized the philosophy of the Organization. Hence, April 4, 1986, is the official founding date of the Fraternity.

In the 20 plus years of existence, Sigma Lambda Beta has expanded to 22 states including: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, and Wisconsin. Expansion of our organization has also reached the shores of Puerto Rico. The Fraternity can be found in over fifty Universities. Furthermore, the Fraternity has 17 strong Alumni Associations.

 Founding Fathers:
Rudolfo Garza  *  Luis Jimenez  *  Luis Marquez  *  Eric Montes  *  Kuy Ou  *  Olakunle Oyeyemi
Jaime Ramirez  *  Olivera Rivera  *  Juan Jose Rojas Cardona  *  Eugenio Soria  *  Juan Valdez  *  Ricardo Zamudio
Baltazar Mendoza-Madrigal  *  Mario Buendia  *  Enrique Carbajal  *  Thomas Carrasquillo  *  Manuel Chavarria  *  Jose Fong

In the Spring of 1997, Brother Arthur Vasquez and Brother Lewis Sanchez were discussing the lack of Latino representation in the Greek system at the University of Texas at Arlington. They noticed that there was no fraternity on campus that supported the Latino community. Brother Arthur and Brother Lewis began their search for a Latino fraternity that met the needs of the U.T. Arlington community. They both went to Austin, Texas to meet with Brother Jesse Ortega, Brother Fernando Salazar, Brother Isaac Faz, and Brother Ramon Garcia of the Eta Alpha Chapter. After agreeing that Sigma Lambda Beta was what U.T. Arlington needed on their campus, they met with Brother Henry Guerrero and began the process of bringing Sigma Lambda Beta to U.T. Arlington. On April 4, 1997, the first interest meeting of Sigma Lambda Beta at U.T. Arlintgon was held in the classroom at the Center for Multicultural Cooperation. This in turn led Sigma Lambda Beta to become the first Latino fraternity on the campus of the University of Texas at Arlington. On Sunday September 21, 1997 at 6:15:54 a.m., the founding brothers from the University of Texas at Arlington found the eternal brotherhood that they had been in search of. This moment brought the first five into the proud family of Sigma Lambda Beta at U.T. Arlington in the order of:
 

1. David Garza    2. Lewis Sanchez    3. Eligio Molina    4. Arthur Vasquez    5. Henry Guerrero

Date Founded: April 4, 1986

Location:  University of Iowa

Colors:  Royal Purple and Pure White

Number of Chapters: 87

Number of Colonies: 19

Number of Alumni Chapters: 15

Flower: Red Carnation

Motto: "Opportunity for Wisdom, Wisdom for Culture"

Nickname: Lambda Betas

Official Publication: Rego

Mascot: White Stallion Mustang

Philanthropies: Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Latino Vote USA, Brother Victor Correa CPR Awareness Day, SLB Education Foundation

Membership Requirements: Full-time enrollment in college with a minimum 2.25 grade point average (2.5 preferred).

National Website: www.sigmalambdabeta.com

Phone Number: 1-888-486-BETA