Alpha Sigma Nu () is the

honor society In the United States, an honor society is an organization that recognizes individuals who rank above a set standard in various domains such as academics, leadership, and other personal achievements, not all of which are based on ranking systems. ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

colleges and universities. Founded in 1915 at

Marquette University Marquette University () is a Private university, private Jesuit research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It was established as Marquette College on August 28, 1881, by John Henni, the first Archbishop of the Roman Catholic Ar ...

as Alpha Sigma Tau, it adopted the current name in 1930. The society is open to both men and women of every academic discipline in the

Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) is a consortium of the 28 Jesuit colleges and universities and three theological centers in the United States, Canada, and Belize committed to advancing academic excellence by promoting an ...

and other Jesuit higher education institutions worldwide. It is present in 32 Jesuit institutions of higher education, 27 of which are in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Alpha Sigma Nu currently has over 90,000 lifetime members and admits around 2,000 new members each year. It is a member of the

Association of College Honor Societies The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a voluntary association of national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. It was established on December 30, 1925 by six organizations: Alpha Omega Alpha, the Order of the Coif, Phi B ...

History

In 1915, the original society, Alpha Sigma Tau was founded by Father John Danihy, S.J. He was the dean of journalism at

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He sought to emulate the various honor societies present in the country. Furthermore, Catholic higher education institutes found their students being overlooked in other honor societies at the time. In 1921, a second chapter was founded in

Creighton University Creighton University () is a private research university in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1878, the university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. In 2015 the university enrolled 8,393 graduate ...

in Nebraska, United States. In 1925, a women-only society, Gamma Pi Epsilon, was founded. It had the same purpose as Alpha Sigma Nu, but the two societies remained independent. In 1930, Alpha Sigma Tau became Alpha Sigma Nu. On March 30, 1973, Alpha Sigma Nu and Gamma Pi Epsilon merged. Alpha Sigma Nu is an honor society for Jesuit institutions of higher education and recognizes students for scholarship, loyalty and service. Alpha Sigma Nu joined the

in 1975. By 2012, the society had 31 active chapters, 14 alumni clubs, 3,100 annual members, and 72,000 initiates. As of 2016, the society has 32 chapters: 27 at Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States, two in Canada, and one in South Korea, Spain, and Peru. Alpha Sigma Nu currently has over 90,000 lifetime members and admits around 2,000 new members each year. Its national headquarters is at 707 N. 11th Street in

Symbols

The Greek letters Alpha Sigma Nu stand for the Greek words or "Company of Honor Students". The society's key bears the three Greek letters with the eye of wisdom. Its colors are maroon and gold, selected because these colors are used on the family seal of St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. The society's publication is '' Newsletter''.

Activities

In 1979, Alpha Sigma Nu created the Alpha Sigma Nu Jesuit Book Awards. The annual awards recognize publishing achievements of faculty and administrators of at Jesuit colleges and universities in the categories of the humanities, the sciences, and professional studies. Some chapters present lectures, provide tutoring, or assistant with convocations.

Membership

Membership is open to juniors, seniors, and graduate students who are in the top fifteen percent of their class and show service and loyalty to Jesuit ideals in higher education. No more than four percent of a given class may be offered membership.

Chapters

These chapters were given charters as follows:

Notable members

* J. Philip Calabrese, judge of the

United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio (in case citations, N.D. Ohio) is the federal trial court for the northern half of Ohio, encompassing most territories north of the city of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The court has courthou ...

* Timothy Creamer, NASA flight director and astronaut * John Demers,

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for the National Security Division * Paul Elward,

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* Chester Gillis, dean of Georgetown College * Michael W. Higgins, interim principal of St. Mark's College and president of Corpus Christi College * Joseph John Issa, businessman * Robert Kaske, medieval literature professor at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

* Michael J. Kaufman, dean and professor at

Santa Clara University School of Law The Santa Clara University School of Law (Santa Clara Law) is the law school of Santa Clara University, a Jesuit university in Santa Clara, California, United States, in the Silicon Valley region. The School of Law was founded in 1911. Santa Cla ...

. * Brett Kissela, vascular neurologist * Frank Lazarus, president of the

University of Dallas The University of Dallas is a Private university, private Catholic church, Catholic university in Irving, Texas, United States. Established in 1956, it is Higher education accreditation in the United States, accredited by the Southern Associat ...

* Mark Maybury,

Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force The Chief Scientist of the Air Force is the most senior science and technology representative in the United States Department of the Air Force. The current Chief Scientist of the United States Air Force is Victoria Coleman, sworn in on April 6, ...

* Ralph Metcalfe,

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and Olympian * Kelsey Neumann, professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player * Phil Olsen, professional football player * Joseph A. Panuska, president of the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

* Mary Rakow, novelist *

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served since 1991 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President George H. W. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall. Afte ...

, US Supreme Court justice * Ellen Umansky, professor of Judaic Studies and Director of the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies at

Fairfield University Fairfield University is a private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Fairfield, Connecticut. It was founded by the Jesuits in 1942. In 2023, the university had about 5,000 full-time undergraduate students and 1,200 gra ...

* Mary Alice Williams, news anchor

References

External links

* {{Association of College Honor Societies Association of College Honor Societies Student organizations established in 1915 1915 establishments in Wisconsin