By Erica Techo
The Nu at-Large Chapter of Sigma, based at UAB with affiliates UAB Hospital and Tuskegee University, has received its fourth Chapter Key Award from Sigma, the international nursing honor society.
The Chapter Key Award is given every two years, recognizing chapters that excel in membership recruitment and retention, programing, professional and leadership development, and in collaboration.
“This award really sets the Nu at-Large Chapter up as an exemplar,” said Chapter President, Associate Professor and Interim Assistant Dean for Graduate Clinical Education Curry Bordelon, DNP, MBA, NNP-BC, CPNP-AC, CNE (DNP 2016). “This is our chapter’s fourth time winning this award, and the criteria to receive a Chapter Key Award provides a strong framework for our organization. That coupled with our overall strategic plan and healthy membership provides an opportunity to really build a great leadership and scholarship organization and to give back.”
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.
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, Bordelon said, and have enables the organization to maintain strong member involvement and community activity throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We made a lot of shifts to virtual presence and virtual opportunities, but we also gave back through donating PPE, donating to the Sigma foundation and helping with vaccine clinics,” he said. “For our members to continue to be engaged throughout COVID, it shows a high level of dedication. We’ve been able to continue a lot of work in the community, giving back to our members and to our community.”