Sigma Alpha Epsilon is a North American

North American

North American generally refers to an entity, people, group, or attribute of North America, especially of the United States and Canada together.-Culture:*North American English, a collective term used to describe American English and Canadian English...

 Greek-letter social college fraternity

Fraternities and sororities

Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...

 founded at the University of Alabama

University of Alabama

The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....

 on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is the only one founded in the Antebellum South

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

. Its national headquarters, the Levere Memorial Temple, were established on the campus of Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 in Evanston, Illinois

Evanston, Illinois

Evanston is a suburban municipality in Cook County, Illinois 12 miles north of downtown Chicago, bordering Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, and Wilmette to the north, with an estimated population of 74,360 as of 2003. It is one of the North Shore communities that adjoin Lake Michigan...

 in 1929. At the time the Levere Memorial Temple was built, the building cost $400,000, it is now said that the building is priceless due to its extensive collections of Tiffany

Tiffany

-People:* Tiffany * Tiffany * Tiffany , an American pop artist* Tiffany , a K-pop artist* Charles Comfort Tiffany, American Episcopal clergyman* Charles Lewis Tiffany, a founder of Tiffany & Co....

 Stained-glass windows.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon is one of the largest college fraternities

Fraternities and sororities

Fraternities and sororities are fraternal social organizations for undergraduate students. In Latin, the term refers mainly to such organizations at colleges and universities in the United States, although it is also applied to analogous European groups also known as corporations...

 by total initiates, with more than 300,000 initiated members and more than 11,800 undergraduates at 246 chapters and 17 colonies in 49 states and provinces at present.