Beta-Epsilon has been part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison since 1898. This is the story of our chapter, our house on Langdon Street, and the fraternity behind them.
Founded in 1898
The Beta-Epsilon Chapter of Kappa Sigma opened its doors at UW–Madison on June 11, 1898, as one of the fraternity’s first chapters in the Midwest. From the start, its brothers were known for pairing campus involvement with serious academics.
The house at 124 Langdon
In 1924 the chapter moved into its Georgian Revival home at 124 Langdon Street, designed by architect Frank Riley and overlooking Lake Mendota. For more than a century it has been where Wisconsin Kappa Sigmas live, study, and gather.
Traditions
Beta-Epsilon brothers have long taken part in Humorology, UW–Madison’s student musical comedy fundraiser, which has run since 1947. Within the chapter, programs such as My Brother’s Keeper carry on Kappa Sigma’s four pillars: Fellowship, Leadership, Scholarship, and Service.
Return to campus
After a period away, Beta-Epsilon was re-chartered on April 13, 2024. In that first year back, 121 brothers gave more than 3,600 hours of community service.
Distinguished alumni
- Lee S. Dreyfus ’47 served as Governor of Wisconsin from 1979 to 1983 and was named Kappa Sigma’s Man of the Year in 1979.
- D. Wayne Lukas ’55, the Hall of Fame thoroughbred trainer, was honored as Kappa Sigma’s Man of the Year in 2024.
Kappa Sigma Fraternity
Founded in 1869
Kappa Sigma was founded on December 10, 1869, at the University of Virginia by five friends: William Grigsby McCormick, George Miles Arnold, John Covert Boyd, Edmund Law Rogers, and Frank Courtney Nicodemus. The fraternity traces its traditions to a society of students formed around 1400 at the University of Bologna under the scholar Manuel Chrysoloras.
Growth across the country
Stephen Alonzo Jackson, remembered as the “Golden-Hearted Virginian,” led Kappa Sigma’s early expansion and shaped much of its ritual. By the early 1870s the fraternity had chapters at Trinity College (now Duke University), Washington and Lee University, and the University of Maryland.
Kappa Sigma today
Kappa Sigma is now one of the largest college fraternities in North America, with hundreds of chapters built on the same four pillars that guide Beta-Epsilon.