About Pi Mu
Mission
Pi Mu at-Large shares the mission of Sigma Theta Tau International (STTI) Honor Society of Nursing: To foster excellence, scholarship, and leadership in nursing to improve health care worldwide. The chapter's local mission is to enhance nursing scholarship, leadership, and networking among students, faculty, and nursing professionals in the Shenandoah Valley.
Purpose
- Recognize superior nursing achievements
- Promote the development of leadership qualities
- Foster the ideals and standards of the profession
- Encourage creative activity and scholarship
- Mentor students to professional excellence
Organization and Membership
STTI Chapters are located on more than 400 university campuses and members are active in more than 72 countries. Pi Mu At-Large Chapter is located a James Madison University and Eastern Mennonite University. Pi Mu was chartered in April, 2000.
Membership is by invitation and is conferred to students who demonstrate excellence in scholarship and to community leaders who demonstrate exceptional achievement in nursing
Brief History
Pi Mu's journey to chapter status began in 1996, when students from JMU's student honor society and faculty decided to make the dream of joining STTI a reality. It is difficult for small schools without graduate programs to recruit enough members to become a Sigma chapter. So this group approached faculty and students in EMU's to talk about ways to become a more dynamic, community-based organization. From there we each had discussions with the faculty and students at our institutions and decided to form the Shenandoah Valley Nursing Honor Society.
We began with several important GOALS (and they're still our goals!):
- One was to promote scholarly excellence - we wanted to provide ways for nurses in the community, faculty, and students to learn from one another and to share their creative ideas and innovations.
- A second goal was to increase interaction and networking among nurses and students in academia and nurses in practice.
- And a third major goal was to hold active membership in Sigma Theta Tau.
During the next year (1997-1998) we began to follow the bylaws of Sigma and added faculty, nurses practicing in the community, and alumni to the board. We teamed students with the officers and committee chairs in a leadership mentoring model that we continue to use.
We also got very busy as we began an intensive 2-year application process to Sigma. In the fall of 1998 we submitted a lengthy printed application. In the spring of 1999 we had a site visit with a Sigma representative. During fall 1999 our application was presented to the board of delegates and approved at the Sigma biennial convention in San Diego. Finally, in April, 2000 we were chartered as Pi Mu at-Large Chapter. During this event we inducted 140 charter members into our new chapter and were launched as a fledgling chapter.
What we Offer
Each year we hold a Fall program and induction. In the spring we sponsor an annual professional development day that features the work of EMU and JMU students and faculty, as well as nurses in the community. We hold board meetings to which all members are invited. And we have a general membership meeting each semester.
Pi Mu is important here in the Shenandoah Valley. We welcome you to join us! Get involved on a committee. Help with fundraising or program planning. Attend the events we sponsor and bring your friends and colleagues to those events. We welcome you and look forward to working with you.
