By Laura Gasque
The Nu at-Large Chapter of Sigma, based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Nursing with affiliates UAB Medicine and Tuskegee University, has received its fifth Chapter Key Award from Sigma, the international nursing honor society. Sigma gives the award every two years, recognizing chapters that excel in membership recruitment and retention, programing, professional and leadership development, and in collaboration.
Chapter President, Instructor and Co-Director of the Accelerated Master’s in Nursing Pathway Kristin Ashley, PhD, RN, CNE (MSN 2015, PhD 2022), said the award sets the chapter apart.
“Receiving this honor isn’t just a recognition—it’s a testament to the collective dedication of our chapter and its members,” Ashley said.
The Nu at-Large Chapter was founded in 1958 as the Nu Chapter at the UAB School of Nursing. In 2019, it became an at-large chapter, welcoming in members from UAB Hospital and Tuskegee University. Members who are invited to join Sigma are baccalaureate and graduate nursing students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship.
Ashley said a high level of student involvement and added collaboration as an at-large chapter are some of the Nu at-Large Chapter’s greatest strengths.
“The mission of Sigma is developing nurse leaders anywhere to improve health care everywhere, which fits directly within the mission of the School to prepare diverse leaders who excel in practice, scholarship and education in Alabama, nationally and internationally,” Ashley said.
