Eta Sigma Gamma (ESG) is a professional organization created for students in the Health Education and Public Health disciplines. Eta Sigma Gamma is a national health honor society founded on August 14, 1967 at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. The mission of Eta Sigma Gamma is to elevate the standards, ideals, competence, and ethics of professionally trained men and women in the Health Science discipline. Eta Sigma Gammas’ objectives include: recognizing service and academic achievement, developing methods, materials and programs, and raising professional standards and ethics. Currently there are over 100 active chapters nationwide, including five at Illinois universities. The Northern Illinois University (NIU) chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma, sponsored by Nancy LaCursia in the School of Nursing and Health Studies, has collaborated with the NIU chapter of the Illinois Public Health Association. Eta Sigma Gamma is also the publisher of two referred journals, the Health Educator as well as the Health Education Monograph.
Meeting times for Eta Sigma Gamma & Public Health Student Association are monthly.
Eta Sigma Gamma at NIU has been involved in fundraisers and activities such as: Valentines Day raffle, Relay for Life, t-shirt sales, and the Disaster Drill. The organization encourages future professionals to inform and involve the student body on current health care issues, in a professional way, to prepare themselves for real world situations.
Membership eligibility for Eta Sigma Gamma requires that the student be an undergraduate or graduate student in either Health Education or Public Health disciplines. In addition, undergraduate students must have a minimum cumulative G.P.A. of 3.0 after 30 hours of course work and graduate students must have a G.P.A. of 3.0 after one semester hour.
Eta Sigma Gamma Faculty Sponsor — Nancy LaCursia, nlacursia@niu.edu