Chi Epsilon

Chi Epsilon (χε) is the national civil engineering honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students who have exemplified the "principles of scholarship, character, practicality, and sociability...in the civil engineering profession." There are currently 137 chapters, of which 131 are active, where over 120,000 members have been inducted. Chi Epsilon is a 501c(3) non-profit organization, with silver certification by www.guidestar.org.

Purpose

According to the Constitution and Bylaws of Chi Epsilon, this organization is "dedicated to the purpose of maintaining and promoting the status of civil engineering as an ideal profession." Its objective and purpose is to uphold competence, sound engineering, good moral judgement, and a commitment to society in order to improve the civil engineering profession.

History

The society was founded on May 20, 1922 at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign when two groups of civil engineering students independently petitioned for establishment of an honorary fraternity. As soon as the local organization was on its feet, plans were put into motion to bring Chi Epsilon to the national level. On February 23, 1923, a certificate of incorporation was issued by the State of Illinois. When a second chapter was established at the Armour Institute of Technology on March 29, 1923, Chi Epsilon truly became a national society. Rapid expansion soon after resulted in a total revision of government. The society is now governed by student officers at each chapter who act through a National Council. The headquarters are located at the University of Texas at Arlington. The society's English motto is "Conception, Design, Construction", which retains the letters of Chi Delta Chi, the proposed name for the fraternity proposed by one of the original petitioning groups.