Omicron Chi Epsilon

Omicron Chi Epsilon was an American college honor society for economics. It was established in 1955 at the City College of New York. The organization established 28 chapters before merging with Omicron Delta Gamma to form Omicron Delta Epsilon in 1963.

History

Under the leadership of undergraduate student Alan A. Brown, a group of students at the City College of New Yorkdecided to establish a coeducational economics honor society in December 1955. The result was the establishment of the Alpha chapter of Omicron Chi Epsilon at City College of New York in January 1956. Brown was the organization's first president. Professor Edwin P. Reubens for the society's faculty advisor.
A second chapter was established at Manhattan College later in 1956. At this point, Omicron Chi Epsilon adopted a national constitution and elected Brown as its national president. John D. Guilfoil was selected to serve as its national secretary-treasurer. The society's purpose was "to recognize outstanding students but also to encourage scholarship through conferences and the publication of its official journal".
Omicron Chi Epsilon quickly expanded. Chapters were established at Fordham University, Queens College, and Hofstra College in 1957. The first annual meeting of Omicron Chi Epsilon was held at Fordham University in New York City in the spring of 1958, with Nicholas Kaldor as the guest speaker. Later that year, chapters were established at Harvard University, Princeton University, Columbia University, St. Francis College, and St. John's University.
The society's fourth annual meeting was held at Hofstra University on February 28, 1959. In attendance were members of nine chapters, as well a representatives from Tufts University and Boston College, which were petitioning for membership. Both chapters were chartered during the meeting.
Omicron Chi Epsilon's fifth annual meeting was held at Harvard University on February 27, 1960. It was attended by representatives from fifteen chapters and two petitioning chapters. Saint Peter's College was admitted as Pi chapter during the meeting. In addition, Brown was granted the title president emeritus for life.
At the December 27, 1960, annual convention at Columbia University in New York City, chapters were admitted at Cornell University, New York University, and Bethany College. Chapters at Southern Methodist University, Dartmouth College, University of Oklahoma, Tulane University, and Syracuse University were admitted at the December 28, 1961 convention at Queens College. The society voted against joining the Association of College Honor Societies but did vote to pursue a merger with Omicron Delta Gamma.
Brown initiated contact with Omicron Delta Gamma, a similar organization that was established in 1915, about a possible merger with Omicron Chi Epsilon. Omicron Delta Gamma chapters were located in the Midwest and West, while Omicron Chi Epsilon's 28 chapters were in the East Coast and Texas. Their only duplication was at New York University. All chapters of Omicron Chi Epsilon approved the merger via a mail referendum in 1962.
The merger was effective on January 1, 1963, establishing a new organization named Omicron Delta Epsilon. Brown became chairman of the board of Omicron Delta Epsilon.

Activities

Omicron Chi Epsilon conducted business on the national, regional, and local levels. The national organizations held annual meetings and conferences, and published the organization's journal. Its publication was The Journal of Omicron Chi Epsilon. During its annual meetings, members presented papers, and the society's official business was conducted, including electing the executive board. At the regional level, chapters jointly held meetings and programs. Local activities included meetings, speakers, and presentations of papers by members.

Membership

Membership in Omicron Chi Epsilon was awarded for outstanding academic work to male and female juniors, seniors, and graduate students who were studying economics. To be eligible for membership, students needed a 3.0 GPA for twelve hours of economics classes. Potential members were required to present an original paper to the society.

Governance

Omicron Chi Epsilon was overseen by an executive board consisting of a national president, national secretary-treasurer, regional vice-president of New York, regional vice-president of New England, regional vice-president of the Central Atlantic, regional vice-president of the Southern region, regional vice-president of North Central, regional vice president for the Western region, and editor-in-chief of the journal. The board was elected at annual meetings. In addition, the society has a senior advisory board consisting of the chapter faculty advisors. The society also had a committee on policy that included former national officers and student members.

Chapters

Following are the chapters of Omicron Chi Epsilon, with inactive chapters indicated in italics.

Chapter	Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status
Alpha	– January 1, 1963	City College of New York	New York City, New York	Merged
Beta	1956 – January 1, 1963	Manhattan College	Riverdale, Bronx, New York City, New York	Merged
Gamma	1957 – January 1, 1963	Fordham University	New York City, New York	Merged
Delta	1957 – January 1, 1963	Queens College	New York City, New York	Merged
Epsilon	1957 – January 1, 1963	Hofstra College	Hempstead, New York	Merged
Zeta	1958 – January 1, 1963	Harvard University	Cambridge, Massachusetts	Merged
Eta	1958 – January 1, 1963	Princeton University	Princeton, New Jersey	Merged
Theta	1958 – January 1, 1963	Columbia University	New York City, New York	Merged
Iota	– January 1, 1963	St. Francis College	Brooklyn, New York	Merged
Kappa	– January 1, 1963	St. John's University	Queens, New York City, New York	Merged
Lambda	– January 1, 1963	Tufts University	Medford, Massachusetts	Merged
Mu	– January 1, 1963	Boston College	Boston, Massachusetts	Merged
Nu	1959 – January 1, 1963	University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Merged
Xi	1959 – January 1, 1963	University of Texas	Austin, Texas	Merged
Omicron	1959 – January 1, 1963	University of Houston	Houston, Texas	Merged
Pi	– January 1, 1963	Saint Peter's College	Jersey City, New Jersey	Merged
Rho	– January 1, 1963	Cornell University	Ithaca, New York	Merged
Sigma	– January 1, 1963	New York University	New York City, New York	Merged
Tau	– January 1, 1963	Bethany College	Bethany, West Virginia	Merged
Upsilon	1961 – January 1, 1963	Southern Methodist University	Dallas, Texas	Merged
Phi	1961 – January 1, 1963	Dartmouth College	Hanover, New Hampshire	Merged
Chi	1961 – January 1, 1963	University of Oklahoma	Norman, Oklahoma	Merged
Psi	1961 – January 1, 1963	Tulane University	New Orleans, Louisiana	Merged
Omega	1961 – January 1, 1963	Syracuse University	Syracuse, New York	Merged
Alpha Alpha	1962 – January 1, 1963	Wisconsin State College–River Falls	River Falls, Wisconsin	Merged
Alpha Beta	1962 – January 1, 1963	Bradley University	Peoria, Illinois	Merged
Alpha Gamma	1962 – January 1, 1963	Fisk University	Nashville, Tennessee	Merged

Notable members

Charles M. Berger, CEO of Scotts Miracle-Gro Company and business executive who created advertising campaigns for Heinz ketchup
Alan A. Brown, professor of economics at the University of Windsor
Thomas DeGregori, economist and professor at the University of Houston
Julius B. Levine, professor of law at Boston University School of Law
Alexander J. Kondonassis, chair of the Department of Economics and director of the Division of Economics at the University of Oklahoma; faculty sponsor of chapter
Charles Siegman, media scholar and policy advocate
Houston H. Stokes, head of the department of economics at the University of Illinois Chicago
Stefan Valavanis, a Harvard econometrician and faculty advisor of the Zeta chapter
William J. Weary, dean of the school of commerce at St. John's University and secretary-registrar of New York Law School