Alpha Omega Epsilon

Not to be confused with Alpha Epsilon Omega.

Alpha Omega Epsilon (ΑΩΕ) is a social and professional sorority for women in engineering and technical sciences. The sorority was founded at Marquette University in 1983.^[1] There are 48 active chapters of the sorority.^[2]

Alpha Omega Epsilon
ΑΩΕ
Founded	November 13, 1983; 40 years ago (1983-11-13) Marquette University
Type	Social and Professional
Affiliation	PFA
Emphasis	Engineering and technical science
Scope	International
Motto	Friendship. Leadership. Professionalism.
Colors	Royal Blue   White   Silver
Symbol	Dolphin
Flower	White Carnation (Candidates) White Rose (Actives) Calla Lily (Alumnae)
Jewel	Blue Sapphire, Pearl, Diamond
Publication	The Angle
Chapters	48 active
Headquarters	6510 Telecom Drive, Suite 200 Indianapolis, Indiana 46278 United States
Website	Alpha Omega Epsilon homepage

Alpha Omega Epsilon is a member of the Professional Fraternity Association at the international level; however, several of its chapters are members of their local Panhellenic Councils.^[3] It also enjoys a close working relationship with its male counterpart, Sigma Phi Delta (ΣΦΔ).

Purpose

Alpha Omega Epsilon promotes ideals and objectives to help further the advancement of female engineers and technical scientists, while at the same time encouraging bonds of lifelong friendships among members. Alpha Omega Epsilon members value "friendship, leadership, and professionalism."

Friendship lies at the heart of every activity in which Alpha Omega Epsilon members participate.

Leadership opportunities at the chapter and international levels are available to Alpha Omega Epsilon members.

Professionalism is integral to promoting the purpose of Alpha Omega Epsilon; the sorority is dedicated to educating the community on the importance of women in technical fields and encouraging young women to pursue technical careers.

History

1980 to 1990

In the early 1980s, the Little Sisters of both Sigma Phi Delta and Triangle Fraternity at Marquette University, started meeting in hopes of forming an organization to increase the number of women in engineering. They decided to form a sorority, and Alpha Omega Epsilon was founded by 27 female engineering students on November 13, 1983.^[1]

Alpha Omega Epsilon Founding Members
Margaret Denzin (EECS)	Maureen Kerrigan (CE)	Lisa MacIsaac (BE)	Patricia Rogers (EE)	Sheri Weber (EE)
Marie Ferris (BE)	Susanne Koth (EE)	Ann Mahnke (BE)	Victoria Schlicht (EE)	Teresa Williamson (EE)
Brenda Kay Herold (EECS)	Linda Kresmer (EE)	Kathy Rectenwald (EE)	Kristin Schneider (EE)	Susan Wimmer (EE)
Deborah Hoffman (ME)	Lou Ann Lathrop (EE)	Eileen Robarge (EE)	Lori Ann Sienicki (EE)	Carmen Valazco (ME)
Kimberly Hubbard (EECS)	Catherine Lewis (BE)	Felice M. Roberts (EE)	Mary Ruth Szews (EE)	Lily Ying (EE)
	Chris Ludwig (EE)		Tu Quynh Tran (EE)

Four months later on March 22, 1984, it became a recognized organization on the Marquette University campus.^[1] The first Alpha chapter candidate class was initiated in the fall of 1984.

1990 to 2000

In 1990, four members from the Alpha and Beta chapters–Cindy Majcher (Alpha), Kathy Rectenwald (Alpha), Julie Whalen (Alpha), and Michelle Rohr (Beta)–established the National Executive Board (NEB as the governing body for the future national organization. The NEB was composed of the executive director, expansion officer, financial officer, and interchapter relations officer. Majcher was elected the first executive director.^[4]

In 1991, procedures to incorporate the organization in the state of Wisconsin began, and the national organization’s constitution and bylaws were drafted. Additionally, the then-local sorority Alpha Sigma Kappa at the University of Minnesota was accepted as the Epsilon Prospective chapter, but withdrew the following year to form its own new national.^[5] During this, time Alpha Omega Epsilon’s scope increased from solely promoting women in engineering to promoting women in both engineering and technical sciences.

In 1992, the NEB’s structure was changed, replacing the executive director with a president, the expansion officer with a vice president, the financial officer with a treasurer, and the interchapter relations officer with the secretary. The sorority's first National Convention was held in Rapid City, South Dakota during the summer of 1992 with the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma chapters in attendance. In late 1992 the NEB decided to join the Professional Fraternity Association (PFA). In 1993 the National Constitution and Bylaws were ratified and a decision was made to incorporate as a social organization, rendering the sorority both a social and professional organization (due to the NEB's affiliation with the PFA). Articles of Incorporation for Alpha Omega Epsilon, Inc. were filed in Wisconsin.^[4]

In November 1994, Alpha Omega Epsilon, Inc. received 501(c)(7) designation as a tax-exempt organization from the Internal Revenue Service. In 1996, a fifth office was added to the NEB, the interchapter relations officer whose duties included overseeing the activities of the chapters. This allowed the secretary to focus on sorority history and risk management.

On February 21, 1998, the Eta chapter was installed at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia marking the first international chapter of the sorority. In March of that same year, the Alpha Omega Epsilon National Foundation received 501(c)(3) designation as a tax-exempt charitable organization from the IRS, retroactive to the date of founding. On December 4, 1999, a prospective chapter of Alpha Omega Epsilon was established at Trine University in Angola, Indiana.

2000 to 2010

In April 2000, the Iota chapter of Alpha Omega Epsilon was founded at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. In November 2000, a prospective chapter petition was received from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, but additional members were needed in the interest group before the petition could be approved.

During the summer of 2001, a constitutional change was approved which changed references in the National Constitution and Bylaws from “national” to “international” to recognize the sorority’s status as an international organization due to the installation of the Eta chapter at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.^[4] In conjunction with this change, the NEB became the International Executive Board (IEB).

In April 2002, the Trine Prospective chapter was disbanded due to low membership numbers. The Trine Prospective chapter was re-established on February 14, 2002. During the 2004 Convention, the IEB structure was modified to include a sixth position, the alumnae relations officer, whose main responsibilities included the creation and oversight of alumnae chapters. The first ARO was appointed in January of the following year.

The Bradley University Prospective chapter was established on November 12, 2005. The 2005 convention was held in Vancouver, Canada, marking the first convention in an international location.^[4] On February 26, 2006, the Trine Prospective chapter was disbanded for a second time due to low membership numbers. Also in February of that year, the Kappa chapter was deactivated due to waning membership.

The 2006 Convention was held jointly with Sigma Phi Delta Engineering Fraternity in Chicago.^[4] During that convention the IEB structure was changed to modify the duties of the vice president to include outreach to other Greek and engineering organizations and learning the duties of the president, to transfer the vice president's duties of expansion to the director of expansion, and to add the director of publications to oversee all of the sorority’s website, newsletter, and standardization of materials. Regions and regional advisors were added to the interchapter relations officer’s responsibilities. Each chapter was assigned a region.

In February 2007, the Bradley prospective chapter was disbanded due to waning membership. On March 8, 2008, the first alumnae chapter was chartered as the Alumnae chapter of the Delta chapter of Alpha Omega Epsilon. On November 13, 2008, the sorority celebrated its 25th anniversary.^[6] A weekend of activities in Milwaukee was attended by actives and alumnae from eleven chapters across the United States. At the 2009 convention, the IEB presented the sorority’s strategic plan which laid the groundwork for the long-term goals of the sorority.

2010 to present

On April 24, 2010, the sorority's first double-lettered chapter, Beta Alpha chapter, was installed at Texas Tech University. The sorority added 22 chapters between 2010 and 2019. In 2018 the organization celebrated its 35th anniversary in Indianapolis. In 2019, the IEB became the board of directors (BOD). The sorority chartered its 49th chapter as James Madison University on August 1, 2020. The organization chartered its 50th chapter at the University of Tennessee on March 20, 2021.

Symbols

The sorority's colors are royal blue, white, and silver. Its jewels are the blue sapphire, pearl, and diamond. Its flowers are the white carnation for candidates, the white rose for active members, and the calla lily for alumnae. Its symbol is the dolphin.

The Alpha Omega Epsilon motto is "Friendship. Leadership. Professionalism."^[7] Its publication is The Angle.

Philanthropy

On December 5, 1996, the Alpha Omega Epsilon National Foundation was established as a nonprofit organization by four members of the sorority—Cindy Benske (Alpha), Julie Whalen (Alpha), Julie Heinrich (Beta), and Michelle Vondenkamp (Beta).^[8] Benske was the first chairman. of the foundation's board of directors.^[4] The foundation primarily focuses on academic development programs, professional and leadership development programs, volunteer development programs, and organizational grants.^[8]

In February 2003 the Degree Recognition Committee was formed as a joint effort between the sorority and the National Foundation to ensure that all technical science majors accepted for admission into the sorority qualified for the scholarships the National Foundation awards to engineers and technical scientists.^[9] The National Foundation opened its Rings of Excellence Scholarships to sorority members and their families in Canada.

On April 16, 2007, tragedy struck both the Virginia Tech campus and the sorority. Virginia Tech prospective chapter founder, Maxine Turner was killed during the Virginia Tech Massacre. In honor and remembrance of the sorority's fallen Sister, the National Foundation established the Maxine Shelley Turner Memorial Scholarship,^[10] and the Rho chapter created a philanthropic event called Take it to the Max.^[11]

Chapters

Following is a list of chapters and prospective chapters.^[2]

Chapter	Symbol	Chartered date and range	Institution	Location	Region	Status	Reference
Alpha	Α	November 13, 1983	Marquette University	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Central	Active	^[1]
Beta	Β	January 1, 1985	South Dakota School of Mines and Technology	Rapid City, South Dakota	Central	Inactive
Gamma	Γ	April 20, 1991	North Carolina State University	Raleigh, North Carolina	South	Active
Delta	Δ	August 1, 1992	Milwaukee School of Engineering	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	Central	Active
Epsilon	Ε	October 11, 1996	University of Southern California	Los Angeles, California	West	Active
Zeta	Ζ	April 26, 1997	Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	East	Active
Eta	Η	February 21, 1998	University of British Columbia	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	West	Active
Theta	Θ	February 27, 1999	University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign		Central	Active
Iota	Ι	April 1, 2000	University of Michigan–Dearborn	Dearborn, Michigan	Central	Active
Kappa	Κ	April 28, 2001 – February 2006	North Dakota State University	Fargo, North Dakota	Central	Inactive
Lambda	Λ	June 2, 2001	Ohio State University	Columbus, Ohio	Central	Inactive
Mu	Μ	March 28, 2004	Northern Illinois University	Dekalb, Illinois	Central	Active
Nu	Ν	April 3, 2004	University of Delaware	Newark, Delaware	East	Active
Xi	Ξ	August 21, 2004	Clemson University	Clemson, South Carolina	South	Active
Omicron	Ο	December 12, 2004	University of Wisconsin–Madison	Madison, Wisconsin	Central	Active
Pi	Π	April 23, 2005	University of Virginia	Charlottesville, Virginia	South	Active
Rho	Ρ	January 22, 2006	Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University	Blacksburg, Virginia	South	Active
Sigma	Σ	February 4, 2006	Georgia Institute of Technology	Atlanta, Georgia	South	Active
Tau	Τ	April 23, 2006	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute	Troy, New York	East	Active
Upsilon	Υ	April 30, 2006	University of Maryland, College Park	College Park, Maryland	East	Active
Phi	Φ	November 17, 2007	Lamar University	Beaumont, Texas	South	Active
Chi	X	March 29, 2008	George Washington University	Washington, D.C.	East	Active
Psi	Ψ	March 21, 2009	Binghamton University	Binghamton, New York	East	Active
Omega	Ω	January 23, 2010	South Dakota State University	Brookings, South Dakota	Central	Active
Beta Alpha	ΒΑ	April 24, 2010	Texas Tech University	Lubbock, Texas	South	Active
Beta Beta	ΒΒ	March 26, 2011	University of British Columbia at Okanagan	Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada	West	Active
Beta Gamma	ΒΓ	December 3, 2011	San Diego State University	San Diego, California	West	Active
Beta Delta	ΒΔ	January 21, 2012	Florida Atlantic University	Boca Raton, Florida	South	Active
Beta Epsilon	ΒΕ	January 28, 2012	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	East	Active
Beta Zeta	ΒΖ	April 21, 2012	University of Missouri	Columbia, Missouri	Central	Active
Beta Eta	ΒΗ	August 25, 2012	West Virginia University	Morgantown, West Virginia	East	Active
Beta Theta	ΒΘ	November 10, 2012	Stony Brook University	Stony Brook, New York	East	Inactive
Beta Iota	ΒΙ	December 1, 2012	California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo	San Luis Obispo, California	West	Active
Beta Kappa	ΒΚ	January 26, 2013	University of North Carolina at Charlotte	Charlotte, North Carolina	South	Active
Beta Lambda	ΒΛ	February 22, 2014	Lehigh University	Bethlehem, Pennsylvania	East	Active
Beta Mu	ΒΜ	March 1, 2014	Drexel University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	East	Active
Beta Nu	ΒΝ	March 30, 2014	Auburn University	Auburn, Alabama	South	Active
Beta Xi	ΒΞ	April 19, 2014	Washington University in St. Louis	St. Louis, Missouri	Central	Active
Beta Omicron	ΒΟ	May 3, 2014	Rutgers University–New Brunswick	New Brunswick, New Jersey	East	Active
Beta Pi	ΒΠ	April 11, 2015	Oklahoma State University	Stillwater, Oklahoma	South	Active
Beta Rho	ΒΡ	January 23, 2016	University of Alabama	Tuscaloosa, Alabama	South	Active
Beta Sigma	ΒΣ	February 27, 2016	New York University	New York City, New York	East	Active
Beta Tau	ΒΤ	March 12, 2016	Kansas State University	Manhattan, Kansas	Central	Active
Beta Upsilon	BY	May 6, 2017	San Jose State University	San Jose, California	West	Active
Beta Phi	ΒΦ	September 23, 2017	Widener University	Chester, Pennsylvania	East	Active
Beta Chi	ΒΧ	November 4, 2018	Cornell University	Ithaca, New York	East	Active
Beta Psi	ΒΨ	May 27, 2019	University of South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	South	Active
Beta Omega	ΒΩ	February 1, 2020	Texas A&M University	College Station, Texas	South	Active
Gamma Alpha	ΓΑ	August 1, 2020	James Madison University	Harrisonburg, Virginia	South	Active
Gamma Beta	ΓΒ	March 20, 2021	University of Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	South	Active
Gamma Gamma	ΓΓ	May 6, 2023	Western Carolina University	Cullowhee, North Carolina	South	Active
Prospective Chapter	ΓΔ	December 2, 2023	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	South	Active	^[12]

Notable members

• Maxine Shelly Turner, Chemical Engineering student and Rho Chapter Founding Member, was killed in the Virginia Tech Massacre.^[13]

See also

• Professional fraternities and sororities

References

1. . Archived from the original on 2012-03-22.
2. "Chapters & Colonies | Students". alphaomegaepsilon.org. Retrieved 2019-12-05.
3. "Fraternal Members Listing".
4. Noted in the national history, Alpha Omega Epsilon - The First 25 Years (2008)
5. "The History of Alpha Sigma Kappa".
6. Vose, Cassie. "AOE Celebrates 25 Years of Engineering Sisterhood". University of Maryland, A. James Clark School of Engineering. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
7. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
8. "Alpha Omega Epsilon National Foundation". Alpha Omega Epsilon Foundation. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
9. "AOE Homepage". Alpha Omega Epsilon. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
10. "Maxine Shelly Turner Memorial Scholarship Fund". aoefoundation.org. Alpha Omega Epsilon Foundation. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
11. . Alpha Omega Epsilon. Archived from the original on 2011-09-04. Retrieved 27 July 2023.
12. "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2023-12-10.
13. Bahrampour, Tara. "Virginia Tech. Turner". Washington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2023.