About

Lambda Phi Epsilon was founded on February 25, 1981 by a group of nineteen dedicated men led by Principal Founder Master Craig Ishigo. The goal of the founders was to transcend the limitations faced by traditional Asian-interest organizations on campus. While these organizations were often split along lines of national origins, the founders sought an establishment that drew its membership equally from the different segments of the Asian American community. Their vision was that the members would eventually become the leaders of their respective ethnic communities, and thus, bridge the gaps fragmenting the Asian American community through their affiliation with a common organization.

The greatest hurdle in reaching this goal of unification was the lack of continuity among the memberships inherent in traditional campus organizations. At best, student associations provided a circle of friends spanning the years of undergraduate study, and at worst, a group of familiar strangers meeting periodically at social functions. The yearly turnover of most organizations’ officers made it extremely difficult to pursue any extended project as each new officer core set its own agenda. The founders’ solution to this dilemma was the adoption of a fraternal structure. By forming Lambda Phi Epsilon as a new Asian-interest fraternity, they aimed to set new standards of excellence for Asian American organizations. The brothers not only formed strong bonds of brotherhood with each other during their undergraduate experience but also made lifelong commitments to the organization as alumni even after graduation.

While the initial charter was comprised of Asian Pacific Americans, the brotherhood was open to all who were interested in supporting these goals. Establishing Alpha Chapter at UCLA, Mr. Craig Ishigo and Mr. Darryl L. Mu signed the charter as President and Vice President, respectively.

On May 28th, 1990, the fraternity, now with six chapters total, convened on the campus of the University of California, Irvine for the first annual National Convention, which to this day has been held regularly over Memorial Day weekend. A national governing body was established to oversee the development of individual chapters and the fraternity as a whole, with Mr. Robert Mimaki of Beta Chapter, Mr. Eric Naritomi of Epsilon Chapter, and Mr. Doug Nishida of Delta Chapter appointed as National President, Northern Governor and Southern Governor, respectively.

On September 8th, 1990, Lambda Phi Epsilon reached another milestone and became the first and only nationally recognized Asian-interest fraternity in the United States with the admission to the National Interfraternity Conference. In 2004, Lambda Phi Epsilon expanded as an international fraternity by chartering its first chapter outside of the United States at the University of Toronto. In 2006, Lambda Phi Epsilon joined the National Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Panhellenic Association to increase collaboration and partnership between fellow APIDA Greek organizations.

Today, Lambda Phi Epsilon is widely renowned as the preeminent international Asian-interest fraternal organization, providing outstanding leadership, philanthropy, and advocacy in the community.

The nineteen Founding Fathers of Lambda Phi Epsilon are: Mr. Hunter Chang, Mr. Randy Fujimoto, Mr. John Hanvey, Master Craig Ishigo, Mr. Jeff Kaku, Mr. Bobby Kawai, Mr. Dean Kumagawa, Mr. Jim Lee, Mr. Bruce Mau, Mr. Ted Mihara, Mr. Neil Miyazaki, Mr. Darryl L. Mu, Mr. Kelvin Sakai, Mr. Kevin Shida, Mr. Albert Sun, Mr. Weyton Tam, Mr. Jamie Watanabe, Mr. Bennett Wong, Mr. Fred Wong.

Rapid expansion followed throughout the 1990s. Chapters were chartered across the nation through the acquisition of existing Asian-interest fraternities (such as Delta Gamma Tau at State University of New York, Buffalo) and the formation of student-led Interest Groups at places like the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Growing demand for Lambda Phi Epsilon led the fraternity to have a notable presence in all major regions of the country.

After becoming a California nonprofit organization and incorporating in 1995, the fraternity changed its official name to Lambda Phi Epsilon National Fraternity, Inc. The next decade brought the fraternity international status with the formation of a chapter at the University of Toronto in 2004, making it the first Asian interest fraternity established in Canada. With the organization’s rapid expansion across North America thus far, the national officer corps has begun to revitalize and refocus the efforts of individual chapters and the fraternity as a whole to better reflect its size and influence in the Asian community through academics, leadership, brotherhood, and service.

The next decade brought the fraternity international status with the formation of a chapter at the University of Toronto in 2004, making it the first Asian-interest fraternity established in Canada. With the organization’s rapid expansion across North America thus far, the International Board has begun to revitalize and refocus the efforts of individual chapters and the fraternity as a whole to better reflect its size and influence in the Asian community through academics, leadership, brotherhood, and service.

Lambda Phi Epsilon works with the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP) to save the lives of patients requiring bone marrow transplants. Additionally, the fraternity promotes awareness for leukemia and other blood disorders. Individuals who suffer from these types of illnesses depend on donors with similar ethnic backgrounds to find compatible bone marrow matches. Thus, the fraternity aims to register as many committed donors to the cause through local NMDP campaigns to increase the chances for patients to find a committed donor.

In 1995, Evan Chen, a member of Theta Chapter at Stanford University, was diagnosed with leukemia. Their chapter, along with Evan’s friends, organized a joint effort to find a bone marrow donor. What resulted was the largest bone marrow typing drive in the history of the NMDP and Asian American Donor Program (AADP). In a matter of days, over two thousand people were typed into the NMDP Registry. A match was eventually found for Evan, but unfortunately, by that time, the disease had taken its toll on him and he passed away in 1996. In Evan’s memory, the flagship philanthropy for Lambda Phi Epsilon was established and the fraternity has been working with the organization from that point forward.

Every Lambda Phi Epsilon chapter works with non-profit organizations such as AADP, Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches, and the Cammy Lee Leukemia Foundation to hold marrow typing drives on their campuses to encourage Asians and other minorities to register as committed bone marrow and stem cell donors. Since the fraternity’s inception, Lambda Phi Epsilon has educated thousands of donors to commit to saving the life of a patient in need.