HISTORY OF ALPHA PI CHAPTER OF SIGMA THETA TAU
Dean Amelia Leino began the process of gaining national affiliation with Sigma Theta Tau in November, 1964. It was not until May 22, 1966, that the chapter of Alpha Pi was established. The national president of Sigma Theta Tau and Dean of the College of Nursing at the University of New Mexico came to the University of Wyoming to conduct the initiation of twenty students, faculty, and alumni. Suzanne Dahlman of Gillette, Wyoming, was the first president. This charter was the first honorary of its type at the University of Wyoming.

OVERVIEW OF SIGMA THETA TAU INTERNATIONAL
Sigma Theta Tau International is dedicated to improving the health of people worldwide by increasing the scientific base of nursing practice. Members are nursing scholars committed to the pursuit of excellence in clinical practice, education, research and leadership.

We believe that broadening the base of nursing knowledge through knowledge development, dissemination and use offers great promise for promoting a healthier populace.

We are committed to furthering nursing research in health care delivery and public policy.

We sustain and support nursing's development and provide vision for the future of nursing and health care through our network of worldwide community of nurse scholars.

We make available our diverse resources to all people and institutions interested in the scientific knowledge base of the nursing profession.

VISION/MISSION
A Vision to Lead: To create a global community of nurses who lead in using scholarship, knowledge and technology to improve the health of the world's people. A Mission to Serve, Support and Improve: Sigma Theta Tau International, Honor Society of Nursing provides leadership and scholarship in practice, education and research to enhance the health of all people. We support the learning and professional development of our members, who strive to improve nursing care worldwide. Strategic Plan 2005

HISTORY
A rich tradition Sigma Theta Tau was founded in 1922 by six nursing students at Indiana University. Modern nursing was barely 20 years old when Mary Tolle, Edith Moore, Marie Hippensteel, Dorothy Garrigus, Elizabeth Russell and Elizabeth McWilliams met to found a Society to advance the status of nursing as a profession. They recognized the value of scholarship and the importance of excellence in practice. With the full idealism of women forging pathways of change in the 1920s, they wanted to build a framework to encourage future leaders to effectively improve health care. In 1936, Sigma Theta Tau was the first organization in the U.S. to fund nursing research. Since then the Society has underwritten more than 250 small or "seed" grants, which often begin a whole body of research. These peer-reviewed grants are often the first recognition of potent concepts that eventually lead to major, wide-scale research projects and innovation in the nursing profession.

ORGANIZATION
In 1922, six students from the Indiana University Training School for Nurses in Indianapolis, Indiana founded the honor society of nursing. The founders chose the society’s name from the meaning of the Greek words Storge, Tharsos, and Time: “love,” “courage” and “honor.” As women ahead of their time, the founders’ vision for the society helped bring recognition to nursing as a science. The society became incorporated in 1985 as Sigma Theta Tau International, Inc., to support and connect the global community of nursing scholars who enhance health care worldwide. The society is a not-for-profit organization with a 501(c)(3) status.