In the early spring semester of 1986 at the
University of Iowa, Baltazar Mendoza-Madrigal a member of Phi Beta Sigma, wanted to further expand the possibility of a Latino based organization with multicultural membership that would grow just as notable. The purpose of creating such an organization came from the social and cultural dynamics at the time. Minorities on campus were under represented and lacked interaction amongst each other. Thus, Mendoza along with seventeen other men began to explore the idea of establishing a Latino-based fraternity in order to unify all under represented minorities and to promote cultural understanding along with academic excellence.
The men met officially on
March 7,
1986 with some of the Latino students at the
University of Iowa
On
April 4,
1986, the members finalized the philosophy of the organization and the eighteen men who came to study in the US from Latin America, Africa & Asia became the eighteen Founding Fathers of Sigma Lambda Beta. They were inducted as brothers at the university's Danforth Chapel with the following principles in mind: brotherhood, scholarship, community service and cultural awareness.
The Founding Fathers were:
- Baltazar Mendoza-Madrigal
- Mario Buendia
- Enrique Carbajal
- Thomas Carrasquillo
- Manuel Chavarria
- Jose Fong
- Rudolfo Garza
- Luis Jimenez
- Luis Marquez
- Eric Montes
- Kuy Ou
- Olakunle Oyeyemi
- Jaime Ramirez
- Olivero Rivera
- Juan Jose Rojas Cardona
- Eugenio Soria
- Juan Valdez
- Ricardo Zamudio