is a social fraternity established at the University of Iowa on April 4, 1986 by 18 men of diverse cultural backgrounds. Since its establishment, Sigma Lambda Beta has become the largest, fastest growing, and most successful organization of its kind with over 144 entities nationwide. Built upon the principles of Brotherhood, Scholarship, Community Service, and Cultural Awareness, Sigma Lambda Beta
’s mission is to nurture and further a dynamic, value-based environment which utilizes its diverse multicultural membership as a catalyst to better serve the needs and wants of all people. Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. values fairness, opportunity, and the equality of all men regardless of their race, culture, or ethnicity. We are committed to create and expand multicultural leadership, promote academic excellence, provide cultural awareness and education, and establish a Brotherhood amongst all intelligent and dedicated young men on university campuses across the nation. In the early spring semester of 1986 at the University of Iowa, Baltazar Mendoza-Madrigal a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., wanted to further expand the possibility of a Latino-based organization with multicultural membership that would grow just as notable. The purpose of creating such an organization came from the social and cultural dynamics at the time. Minorities on campus were under represented and lacked interaction amongst each other. Thus, Mendoza along with seventeen other men began to explore the idea of establishing a Latino-based fraternity in order to unify all under represented minorities and to promote cultural understanding along with academic excellence. The men met officially on March 7, 1986 with some of the Latino students at the University of Iowa. On April 4, 1986, the members finalized the philosophy of the organization and the eighteen men who came to study in the US from Latin America, Africa & Asia became the eighteen Founding Fathers of Sigma Lambda Beta. They were inducted as brothers at the university’s Danforth Chapel with the following principles in mind: brotherhood, scholarship, community service and cultural awareness. Founding Fathers
Balthazar Mendoza-Madrigal
Thomas Carasquillo
Manuel Chavarria
Luis Jimenez
Luis Marquez
Mario Buendia
Enrique Carbajal
Rudolfo Garza
Jose Fong
Eric Montes
Olakunle Oyeyemi
Kuy Ou
Jaime Ramirez
Olivero Rivera
JJRC
Eugenio Soria
Juan Valdez
Ricardo Zamudio
Early in the spring semester of 1999, much interest arose for the adoption of a culturally diverse fraternity to the Loyola Marymount University community. This arousal was sprouted by two separate groups of LMU men. Mario Acosta, Adrian Bravo and Alvaro Valdivieso first expressed interest in bringing a culturally diverse fraternity onto campus. During the same time, Charles Padilla and Juan-Carlos Ortiz had a similar interest and had already contacted the honorable Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. On January 19th, 1999, these men attended an informal, yet utterly impressive question and answer session conducted by the gentlemen from the TAU chapter at Cal. Impressed in what the organization stood for, BROTHERHOOD, SCHOLARSHIP, CULTURAL AWARENESS and COMMUNITY SERVICE, the interested group selected The Honorable Sigma Lambda Beta Fraternity as the organization from which the LMU and surrounding community would have the most gain. One Week later on January 26th, 1999, the interest group met in an attempt to consolidate their efforts to achieve their one true goal, of bringing about the recognition of the Honorable Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. to the campus of Loyola Marymount University. Club Commons located in the Malone Complex Center served as the site for this historic meeting. Present at this meeting were the original five interested members, along with Alan Gutierrez, Gil Duarte, Jose Del Rio, Tom Ventura, and John Rodriguez. These men, united in their cause, created the Associates of Sigma Lambda Beta (ASLB). The first board was elected that evening consisting of President Mario Acosta, Vice-President Juan-Carlos Ortiz, Secretary Gil Duarte, Treasurer Alvaro Valdivieso, and Historian Charles Padilla. With a board intact and a definitive goal in front of them, these men began their journey. On February 16th,1999, the newly founded ASLB took its first step toward gaining recognition by choosing the highly respected chair of the Chicano/a Studies department Dra. Graciela Limon, to serve as their advisor. On the evening of March 18,1999, the members of ASLB officially began their education process. Due to the hard work and dedication headed by Brother Jose Ramirez, along with Brother Hector Palacios, Brother Carlo Marquez, Brother Rafael Herrera, Brother Juan Gutierrez, and Brother Gerardo Olmedo, ASLB was optimistic and confident that soon their goal would be achieved. In hopes to pave a way of communication with the university the members of ASLB and the aforementioned brothers met with high ranking university officials including: Director of Student Life Jonathan O’Brien, Asst. Director of Student Life Andrea Fauk, Asst. to the Vice-President Patrick Naessens, Vice-President of Student Affairs Dr. Lane Bove, and Dra. On the evening of July 6th , 1999 Loyola Marymount University officially recognized Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc. as a Greek body on campus. Finally on August 8, 1999, The Founding Line properly entitled the Leones gazed upon the eternal beauty of the Lambda Light :
Founding Line
Brother Mario "Abogado" Acosta
Brother Alvaro "Mago" Valdivieso
Brother Alan "Pila" Gutierrez
Brother Adrian "Bruin" Bravo
Brother Jose "Zapata" Del Rio
Brother Gil "Inquieto" Duarte
Brother Juan-Carlos "Razon" Ortiz
Brother John "Fierro" Rodriguez
Brother Charles "Vicio" Padilla
Brother Tom "Ace" Ventura
Brother Danny "Madera" Santana
These brothers worked hard throughout the school year to attain their chapter status from the fraternity. In less than one year time, on May 20, 2000 the Colony of Loyola Marymount University officially became the Beta Beta Chapter of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity, Inc.
