Alpha Sigma Nu

Alpha Sigma Nu (ΑΣΝ) 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 70,000 members emulate St. Ignatius through excellence in scholarship, loyalty, and service. This Ignatian heritage is relevant today as Alpha Sigma Nu celebrates its 97th year. Some 1,900 members are inducted each year.