Alpha Sigma Nu Alumni Clubs have as their purpose the encouragement of our alumni’s lifelong commitment to the ΑΣΝ values of scholarship, loyalty and service, the ideals of Jesuit education. Alumni Clubs should provide concrete opportunities for expression of that commitment. Clubs participate in service projects, present speaker events, develop programs that connect faith with life, and provide a venue for career and social networking. Each Club determines its own activities and agenda, with the ΑΣΝ values of Scholarship, Loyalty and Service acting as the focus.
Alpha Sigma Nu Mission
Alpha Sigma Nu, the honor society of Jesuit institutions of higher education, recognizes those students who distinguish themselves in scholarship, loyalty and service. The only honor society permitted to bear the name Jesuit, ΑΣΝ encourages its members to a lifetime pursuit of intellectual development, deepening Ignatian spirituality, service to others, and a commitment to the core principles of Jesuit education.
Alpha Sigma Nu Purpose
The purpose of the Society shall be to honor students of Jesuit institutions of higher education who distinguish themselves in scholarship, loyalty and service; to honor persons who may or may not be Alumni of Jesuit institutions of higher education who have distinguished themselves in scholarship, loyalty and service in their intellectual, civic, religious, professional or commercial pursuits; to band together and to encourage those so honored to understand, to appreciate and to promote the ideals of Jesuit education; to encourage the establishment and proper functioning of Chapters in accredited Jesuit institutions of higher education; and to encourage the establishment and proper functioning of Alumni Clubs.
History
Alpha Sigma Nu was founded at Marquette University in 1915 by John Danihy, S.J., Dean of Journalism. In his travels and reading, Father Danihy had encountered and admired honor societies. In the first half of the 20th century, administrators of Catholic institutions of higher education found that their students were being systematically locked out of other honor societies, especially Phi Beta Kappa. The society, known as Alpha Sigma Tau until 1930, spread from Marquette to Creighton University, to St. Louis University and to the University of Detroit in its first decade. By 1924, Gamma Pi Epsilon was founded to honor outstanding women. Alpha Sigma Nu and Gamma Pi Epsilon pursued separate but similar paths for almost 50 years, expanding nationally and cooperating on campuses where they existed together. The society born of their merger in 1973 is open to men and women at the 29 Jesuit institutions of higher education in the United States, two in Canada and one in South Korea. Alpha Sigma Nu, in seeking the best of Jesuit education, requires that its now 60,000 members emulate St. Ignatius through excellence in scholarship, loyalty, and service. This Ignatian heritage is relevant today as Alpha Sigma Nu celebrates its 93rd year.
