CHRIS CODUTO/Arizona Daily Wildcat Josh Lucio (left), president of the Beta Sigma Epsilon fraternity, and vice president Ryan Chee stand outside the Native American graduate center Monday afternoon.

Josh Lucio was shocked to hear his name announced as fraternity President of the Year at the Order of Omega greek awards ceremony earlier this month.

Josh serves as the president of Beta Sigma Epsilon, a group of five men who have formed the first Native American fraternity in the Western United States.

Founded at UA in January 2000, Beta Sigma Epsilon did not receive official university recognition until a year later.

This year was the first in which the fraternity participated in the awards ceremony. In addition to Lucio's individual awards, the men also placed second in the new member program category and third in the campus involvement category.

The idea for the fraternity originated in 1999 when one of the group's founders, Nathan Pryor, worked on a homecoming float with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, Lucio said.

When a group of Native American men who Pryor had not seen before helped with the float, he decided that he should try to get the men involved.

Pryor and cofounder Eric Riggs started the fraternity with a solid mission ÷ to improve retention of Native American men by recruiting them. Lucio added that Native American women already outnumber men two to one at UA.

According to the Department of Decision and Planning Support, the retention rate for Native American students at the UA is 23 percent, compared to a 55 percent overall university rate. The retention rate is even lower for men, Lucio said.

"It serves a good purpose to create an organization that will graduate its members," he said, adding that so far the organization has a 100 percent graduation rate.

Beta Sigma Epsilon ensures its members maintain a certain level of involvement on campus and in the Tucson community, in addition to providing a social network and providing or helping members find academic resources.

Its members have participated in the Miss Native America pageant, Cat Walk, Homecoming and services in the Native American Student Affairs Center.

For two years, fraternity members have spent two weeks of their summer at the Native American Youth Entrepreneurship Camp, the fraternity's official national philanthropy. At the camp, the fraternity brothers teach business skills to high school youth from various reservations.

"It's like a support group for Native youth," Lucio said.

The fraternity is currently trying to establish a K-12 outreach program with schools in Native American communities near Tucson, such as the Tohono O'odham and Pasqua Yaqui nations, Lucio said.

"They are always eager to seek out involvement opportunities," said Greek Life Coordinator Chris Bullins added that the men are also dedicated to improving the greek community.

Beta Sigma Epsilon helped organize a caucus about multicultural issues in the greek system, it sent three representatives to "GREAT Greek Weekend," a greek retreat in the fall, and the officers regularly use the services in the Greek Life office, Bullins said.

"They always have a representative at our (Interfraternity Council) meetings," he said.

In order to be recognized by the UA, Beta Sigma Epsilon first had to become a national organization by developing a constitution that meets the national greek standards.

"The fact that these young men were able to establish a national framework was an accomplishment," Bullins said.

That framework laid the groundwork for the fraternity's expansion to other universities.

Northern Arizona University has a Beta Sigma Epsilon colony of about 20 men, Lucio said.

The UA brothers, who also serve as the fraternity's national executives, hope to be able to grant the colony a charter before the end of the semester so it can receive official NAU recognition by the fall. Other groups at colleges in Colorado, New Mexico and Oregon have expressed interest in starting their own chapters, Lucio said.

"Greek organizations that are as young as Beta Sigma Epsilon and operate on budgets as small rarely see the sort of success that this organization has," Bullins said.

The great attitudes and dedication of Beta Sigma Epsilon members led to the group's success in the greek awards and in their community endeavors, Bullins said.

Beta Sigma Epsilon members invite men of any race to join the fraternity.