About Beta Gamma Sigma
History
 Beta Gamma Sigma was founded as an American national organization
in 1913. It was the first national honor society in business, and
was established through a merger of three separate societies established
to honor academic achievement in business at the University of Wisconsin,
University of Illinois and the University of California. Beta Gamma
Sigma enters the 21st century knowing that its membership of 400,000
comprises the brightest and best of business leaders.
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Mission
The mission of Beta Gamma Sigma is to encourage and honor academic
achievement in the study of business and personal and professional
excellence in the practice of business; foster an enduring commitment
to the principles and values of honor and integrity, and to encourage
the pursuit of wisdom and earnestness; support the advancement of
business thought and to encourage lifelong learning. Beta Gamma Sigma
membership provides recognition for a lifetime.
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Objective
- Foster in Beta Gamma Sigma members an enduring commitment to the
founding principles and values of the Society: honor and integrity,
pursuit of wisdom, and earnestness.
- Support the advancement of business thought, at both the Society
and chapter levels, so as to encourage lifelong learning for members
and other constituents.
- Enhance the value of Beta Gamma Sigma for student and alumni members
in their professional lives.
- Enhance the visibility and reputation of Beta Gamma Sigma
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Statement of Beta
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.
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Statement of Gamma
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.
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Statement of Sigma
Sigma is the initial letter 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.
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong(CUHK) Chapter
of Beta Gamma Sigma
The CUHK is a pioneer in business education in Hong Kong and has
been offering quality business administration studies since the 1950s.
In 1999, her Faculty of Business Administration became one of the
first two business schools in Asia to be accredited by AACSB International
- The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The AACSB
International accreditation confirms the international standard of
management education achieved by the Faculty. The website of AACSB
International is http://www.aacsb.edu/
The CUHK Chapter of Beta Gamma Sigma (the 1st Chapter outside North
America) was established in 2000 to provide lifetime recognition for
students with outstanding academic achievements. They are second year
undergraduate students with a cumulative GPA in the top 7%, third
year undergraduate students in the top 10%, and graduate students
in the top 20%.
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