The Mission of Beta Gamma Sigma is to encourage and honor academic achievement in the study of business and to foster personal and professional excellence among its members.
Beta Gamma Sigma began in 1907. It is a business honor society and is not considered a sorority or fraternity. It is the scholastic honor society recognized by AACSB International accredited collegiate schools of business that meet high standards of eligibility required of accredited member institutions with respect to curricula, teaching staff, teaching loads, library and laboratory facilities.
To be eligible for invitation to join Beta Gamma Sigma, students enrolled in business programs at AACSB International accredited schools must rank in the upper 7 percent of the admitted junior class, the upper 10 percent of the graduating senior class, or the upper 20 percent of the graduating MBA class. Students meeting these criteria will receive letters of invitation.
The following describes the attributes of a Beta Gamma Sigma inductee (taken from the induction ceremony script):
Beta is the initial letter of the Greek word BEBAEOS (Beb-i-os), which signifies honor. Honor is personal integrity and excellence of character. It is an enduring quality found in all persons who deserve to lead others. All honorable persons conscientiously seek to recognize, to uphold, and to encourage that which is ethical and that which is just. With humility, they acknowledge human failings which tend to induce the sacrifice of lofty ideas for base gains. They are aware of the difficulty of distinguishing right from wrong when confronted by a variety of alternative goals and a multitude of pressures and means to achieve those goals. But their honor is coupled with resolute courage. They may falter and they may fail. Yet they rise with renewed determination to do what is right. Their reputations are their most priceless possessions. All honorable persons recognize their duties before they demand their rights. They respect law and promote order not because of a negative fear of sanctions but because of an affirmative conviction that a good society requires the stability which order provides. Worthy members of Beta Gamma Sigma consciously seek to act honorably at all times. Thus they confidently pursue peace of mind and happiness for themselves even as they serve as an exemplar for others. Honor is a guiding star which encourages altruism, enlightened social responsibility, and service rather than selfishness.
Gamma is the initial letter of the Greek word GNOSIS (no-sis), which means wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge tested by experience and tempered by discerning judgment. It abhors prejudice, it insists upon freedom of thought and expression. Truly wise persons are aware of their talents and achievements and do not deny or belittle them with misplaced modesty. However, they are also acutely aware of their own limitations and are sympathetic to the shortcomings of others. They are quick to acknowledge their profound dependence on masters who have gone before them. They laud those who have laboriously built earlier civilizations and they gratefully accept the rich intellectual and cultural heritage they have provided. They are, moreover, thankful for contributions to their development made by family and friends, by superiors and subordinates, by associates and antagonists. Persons of wisdom constantly seek a better comprehension and more fruitful application of what is known. They are also endlessly engaged in a quest for an understanding of what is unknown. Although the fund of human knowledge has literally multiplied in recent decades, the wise person happily anticipates a future which promises to provide a geometric expansion of this treasure store. Confronted by a veritable flood of facts and concepts, the person of wisdom exercises special discrimination to select, to arrange, to relate, to interpret, and to apply. This is a challenge worthy of the finest mind.
Sigma is the initial of the Greek word SPOUDE (spoo-day), which means earnestness. Earnestness is enthusiasm measured by achievement, disciplined by reason and ennobled by sincerity. It is that dynamic quality which is essential for all great achievement. Earnest persons reject both temerity and timidity. They have courage to match their convictions. They inspire confidence, invite action, and generate progress. Without Earnestness, both Honor and Wisdom lose much of their potential effectiveness. Noble purposes, defined with wisdom and upheld with honor, remain evanescent dreams without the driving power of sensible enthusiasm. The greatest personal achievements are tributes to the blending of honor, wisdom and earnestness in the minds and hearts of those who lead. Rewards for the individual and progress for society surely proceed from this wholesome union of qualities.
To each of you, much has been given in mind and body and spirit. Of each of you, accordingly, much is expected. Earnestness will help provide the perseverance that dispels weariness, the forward thrust that overcomes opposition and the resilience that rebounds from reverses. To the earnest person, problems become opportunities for service and profit.
