Zeta Beta Tau

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Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT)
Founded	December 29, 1898 City College of New York, New York, NY
Type	Social
Scope	International
Motto	"A Powerhouse of Excellence"
Colors	Medium blue and white with gold trim
Flower	Gold Carnation (adopted 2004)
Chapters	90
Fraternity Song	"My Brother, Here's My Hand"
Headquarters	3905 Vincennes Rd. Suite 300 Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
Homepage	ZBT Website

Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT, brothers of which are nicknamed Zebes) was founded as the nation's first Jewish fraternity. All men of good character are eligible for membership in Zeta Beta Tau. Today the merged Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood numbers over 140,000 initiated Brothers, and over 90 student chapter locations. The first verse of the fraternity song is "Here's to our fraternity...."

Contents 1 History 1.1 Founding 1.2 Merging of the Five Brotherhoods 1.3 Pledging abolished 2 Semi-Annual Brotherhood Review Vote 3 Notable alumni 4 Chapters 5 References 6 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Founding

The Zeta Beta Tau fraternity was inspired by Dr. Richard J. H. Gottheil, a professor of languages at Columbia University and a Zionist. On December 29, 1898, he formed a Zionist youth society with a group of students from several New York City universities.

The society was called Z.B.T., the meaning of which is revealed in the fraternity's ritual. In 1998, the meaning of Z.B.T. was announced to the world, though it was listed in the American Jewish Committee's annual report as early as 1908^[1]. In 1903 Z.B.T. formally became Zeta Beta Tau and its purpose shifted away from that of a Zionist youth organization as other Zionist organizations grew in prominence. The original Hebrew meaning of Z.B.T. is not esoteric. It was publicly revealed in the official written history of Zeta Beta Tau, Here's to Our Fraternity: One Hundred Years of Zeta Beta Tau, 1898-1998, by Marianne Rachel Sanua.^[2] The word "judgment" is sometimes translated as "justice".^[3]

Zeta Beta Tau expanded rapidly. By 1909, it had established 13 Chapters throughout the Northeast and a 14th at Tulane University at New Orleans, thereby taking on a truly national dimension. In 1913, it established its first Canadian Chapter at McGill University in Montreal. Five years later, it founded its first West Coast Chapter at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. At the 1954 National Convention, the delegates amended Zeta Beta Tau's Constitution, ritual and internal procedures both in theory and in practice to eliminate sectarianism as a qualification for membership.^[4]

Today, the merged Zeta Beta Tau Brotherhood is some 140,000 Brothers strong, and ZBT Chapters and Colonies are established at over 90 campus locations. Through good times and bad, ZBT has been in the forefront in pioneering new concepts - as evidenced by its very founding, its elimination of sectarian membership practices, its acceptance of mergers, its elimination of pledging, and its ability to solve enormous problems when others abandoned the effort.

[edit] Merging of the Five Brotherhoods

The Zeta Beta Tau of today is the result of a merger with four other national fraternities, more than any other North-American Interfraternity Conference fraternity. In 1959, Phi Alpha merged into Phi Sigma Delta. In 1961 Kappa Nu merged into Phi Epsilon Pi. In 1969-70, Phi Sigma Delta and Phi Epsilon Pi merged into Zeta Beta Tau.^[5]

[edit] Pledging abolished

Zeta Beta Tau was also one of the first National fraternities to abolish the institution of pledging in 1989 as a way to combat and eliminate hazing.^[5] This change was not new to the world of fraternities, as in 1971 Lambda Chi Alpha became the first North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) fraternity to eliminate pledging, by replacing the process with an "Associated Membership" process. Lambda Chi Alpha paved the way for Zeta Beta Tau in taking the first steps to offer a completely equal brotherhood experience. Zeta Beta Tau's decision to get rid of pledging did not involve an associate membership process however. Once a brother joins the fraternity he will receive all rights and responsibilities as the rest of the chapter, and shall be eligible for any position within the chapter regardless of how long he has been a brother. Sigma Phi Epsilon would soon follow with a somewhat similar plan in 1991.

[edit] Semi-Annual Brotherhood Review Vote

In conjunction with the 1989 abolishment of pledging, ZBT National instituted a very progressive concept in fraternities then and now, the S.B.R.V. (Semi-Annual Brotherhood Review Vote). ZBT National mandates that all Chapters, twice a year (once a semester) have a vote to see who, if anyone, should be removed from membership within a Chapter. All brothers participate in, and are subject to, the anonymous vote, which are tallied by the Brotherhood Development Director.[6] If a brother does not receive a simple majority of supportive votes, he is expelled from the fraternity. What makes this policy so different from all other NIC fraternities is that ZBT does not consider you to be a brother for life once initiated, as any brother has the possibility of being voted out during his college career. Brothers of Zeta Beta Tau become brothers for life when they are granted alumnus status, most commonly after graduation. A former ZBT brother who has been voted out by the Semi-Annual Brotherhood Review Vote may request an unconditional release from ZBT National, and if granted, may join another NIC fraternity. Although, very few individuals are ever released.

[edit] Notable alumni

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It has been suggested that this section be split into a new article titled List of Zeta Beta Tau brothers. (Discuss)

NAME	NOTABILITY	CHAPTER	GRADUATED	COLLEGE/UNIVERSITY
ACADEMIA
Lawrence S. Bacow	President, Tufts University	Xi	1972	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Stephen Joel Trachtenberg[6]	President Emeritus, The George Washington University	Delta	1959	Columbia University
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Armand "Army" Archerd[6]	Daily Variety - Columnist	Alpha Rho	1941	University of California - Los Angeles
Jack Benny[6]	Television and Radio Comedian	Alpha Rho		University of California - Los Angeles
Leonard Bernstein[6]	Composer (West Side Story); Conductor (New York Philharmonic)	Alpha Zeta	1944	Harvard University
Hal Block[7]	Comedian; Comedy Writer;Producer	Zeta Beta Tau	1936	University of Chicago
Benjy Bronk[8]	Comedian and Writer: The Howard Stern Show	Alpha Psi	1993	Penn State University
Keith Gale	VP/National Promotion at RCA Records-Nashville	Epsilon Eta	1989	Rowan University
Aaron Karo	Author and Comedian	Theta	2001	University of Pennsylvania
Robert Q. Lewis	Television personality, actor, game show host	Eta	1942	University of Michigan
Marvin Lipofsky	First generation American Studio Glass artist	Rho	1961	University of Illinois
Michael Ovitz[6]	President of Walt Disney Studios	Alpha Rho	1969	University of California - Los Angeles
Jerry Herman[6]	Playwright: Hello Dolly!, La Cage aux Folles	Alpha Omega	1953	University of Miami
Harold Ramis[6]	Ocean Pictures - Writer, Director, Producer, Actor (Ghostbusters, Animal House, Analyze This)	Alpha Xi	1966	Washington University in St. Louis
Ari Sandel	Oscar-winning short film director & writer: West Bank Story	Beta Alpha Theta	1998	University of Colorado - Boulder
Michael Shamberg[6]	Jersey Films - Director, Producer, Actor	Alpha Xi	1966	Washington University in St. Louis
Andrew Volpe	Singer and rhythm guitarist for alternative rock band Ludo	Alpha Xi	2002	Washington University in St. Louis
BUSINESS & PHILANTHROPY
Walter Annenberg[6]	Founder/Publisher, TV Guide; Former Ambassador to Great Britain	Zeta	1928	University of Pennsylvania
Burton Baskin[6]	Founder, Baskin Robbins Ice Cream	Rho	1938	University of Illinois
Henry W. Bloch[6]	Co-founder H & R Block	Phi	1945	University of Michigan
Richard Bloch	Co-founder H & R Block	Theta	1945	University of Pennsylvania
Michael Budman	Co-Founder of Roots Athletic Wear	Beta Epsilon	1969	Michigan State University
Jeffrey H. Brotman	Founder and Chairman of the Board, Costco Wholesale	Alpha Mu	1965	University of Washington - Seattle
Jerome A. Chazen[6]	Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Liz Claiborne, Inc.	Alpha Kappa	1947	University of Wisconsin-Madison
Davre Davidson	Founder, Aramark	Alpha Delta		University of Southern California
Sidney Factor	Max Factor Cosmetics	Alpha Delta	1937	University of Southern California
Stuart A. Fraser[6]	Vice Chairman of Cantor Fitzgerald	Omega	1983	University of Missouri
William Gaines	Publisher, MAD Magazine	Sigma	1946	Brooklyn Polytech
Bernard Gimbel	Chairman of the Board, Gimbels Department Stores	Theta	1906	University of Pennsylvania
Samuel Goldwyn	Film Producer, Director; MGM Productions	Alpha Beta	1947	University of Chicago
Richard C. Goodman[6]	Henry Crown & Company - General Partner	Iota	1979	University of Denver
Alan "Ace" Greenberg[6]	Former Chairman of the Board, Bear Stearns	Omega	1949	University of Missouri
Don Green	Co-Founder, Roots Athletic Wear	Simga	1952	Penn State University
Armand Hammer	Founder & President, Occidental Petroleum	Alpha	1919	Columbia University
Bruce J. Klatsky[6]	Former Chairman and CEO, Phillips Van Heusen	Lambda	1970	Case Western University
Jack Lehmen III	Founder, Shearson Lehman Brothers	Theta	1968	University of Pennsylvania
Howard R. Levine[6]	Family Dollar Stores, Inc.- Chairman of the Board	Alpha Pi	1981	University of North Carolina
Douglas L. Maine[6]	IBM - Chief Financial Officer, retired	Alpha Beta	1970	Temple University
Stanley Marcus	Founder, Neiman Marcus Department Stores	Tau	1925	Harvard University
Herb Pastor	President & CEO, Pastor Casino Enterprises	Beta Epsilon	1958	Michigan State University
William S. Paley[6]	Founder, Chairman of the Board CBS	Theta	1922	University of Pennsylvania
Irving Rabb	Founder, Stop and Shop supermarket chain	Tau	1934	Harvard University
Samuel Rosen	Chairman of the Board, 20th Century Fox	Delta	1919	Columbia University
Jack Warner	President, Warner Brothers	Alpha Delta	1938	University of California - Los Angeles
David Yunich	Chairman of MTA, Vice-chairman of Macy's	Iota	1939	Union College
CIVIL SERVICE
Rudy Boschwitz[6]	Senator, Minnesota	Rho	1951	Johns Hopkins University
Steve Cooley[6]	Los Angeles County District Attorney	Gamma Nu	1970	University of California - Los Angeles
Kenneth Duberstein[6]	Former Chief of Staff, President Ronald Reagan	Alpha Tau	1965	Franklin & Marshall
Martin Frost[6]	Former Representative, Texas (CD24)	Omega	1964	University of Missouri
Arthur Goldberg	Former Supreme Court Justice	Lambda	1927	DePaul University
Sam Massell	Former Mayor of Atlanta	Mu	1948	University of Georgia
Newton Minow	Former Federal Communications Commission Chairman	Gamma	1949	Northwestern University
Richard Newberger	Senator, Oregon	Alpha Mu	1941	University of Washington-Seattle
Abraham Ribicoff	Representative/Senator, Connecticut	Honorary Member		New York University / University of Chicago
Robert Shapiro	Lawyer, Attorney for OJ Simpson	Alpha Rho	1967	University of California - Los Angeles
CRIME
Richard Loeb	Half of notorious murder duo, Leopold and Loeb		1924	University of Chicago
MEDIA & LITERATURE
Mel Allen	Sports Broadcaster ("The Voice of the NY Yankees" and This Week in Baseball)	Psi	1934	University of Alabama
Jerry Bruckheimer[6]	Jerry Bruckheimer Films - Producer	Alpha Omicron	1965	University of Arizona
Jeffrey Buhai	Writer	Omega	1969	University of Missouri
Barry Meister	Sports Agent	Rho	1976	University of Illinois
Dick Schaap	Sports Broadcasting	Alpha Iota	1955	Cornell University
Mike Wallace[6]	Senior Correspondent, 60 Minutes	Alpha Gamma	1939	University of Michigan
Robert Zelnick	Former World News Tonight Pentagon Correspondent, Chairman of Boston University Department of Journalism	Epsilon	1961	Cornell University
SPORTS
William R. Davidson[6]	Detroit Pistons Managing Partner	Phi	1945	University of Michigan
Donnie Edwards	All-Pro NFL Linebacker, Kansas City Chiefs	Alpha Rho	1995	University of California - Los Angeles
Sid Gillman	Professional Football Coach	Nu	1934	Ohio State University
Robert Kraft[6]	Owner, New England Patriots, New England Revolution & Gillette Stadium	Delta	1963	Columbia University
Sid Luckman[6]	Member of College & Professional Football Hall of Fames	Delta	1939	Columbia University
Robert Nederlander	Former General Manager of New York Yankees	Phi	1955	University of Michigan
Abe Pollin	Owner, Washington Wizards	Alpha Mu	1945	George Washington University
Mark E. Steinberg	Sports Agent for Tiger Woods, Senior VP of IMG	Rho	1989	University of Illinois
David Werblin	Owner of New York Jets, Chairman of Madison Square Garden	Lambda	1932	Rutgers University

[edit] Chapters

Zeta Beta Tau currently recognizes 90 chapters and colonies across the United States. The state with the most chapters is New York.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official ZBT website
• ZBT Expansion Update

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