Welcome to Nu Upsilon website!

We are honored to be the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society associated with Grand Canyon University

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Connecting, Collaborating and Caring

Drop-in chats to will be held on the 4th Tuesday of the month, at 5 PM Arizona Time...

We invite you to join the President of our GCU Nu Upsilon Chapter of Sigma to have open conversations about nursing, professional growth, and opportunities. We would love to welcome you and even have some of you meet each other for the first time. Please click HERE to register.

Chapter Events

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  Dear

Nu Upsilon Members, 

As we approach the holiday season, I want to extend my heartfelt gratitude to each of you for your unwavering support, commitment, and engagement throughout the past year. Your dedication is the foundation of our success, and it is truly a privilege to count you as valued members of the Nu Upsilon family. I would especially like to recognize and thank our board members, committee members, and executive director for their ongoing devotion to the Chapter’s mission and continued excellence. Working alongside such accomplished and passionate professionals has been an honor, and I am deeply appreciative of all their efforts.

As the year comes to a close, we have much to reflect on together—as colleagues, leaders, and friends. This year, we celebrated the successful launch of our mentorship program under the leadership of Dr. Emily Tyler. Dr. Sarah Schroyer, Jelena Peric Kljajic, and Shelly Liu devoted considerable effort to updating our policies and bylaws. Naomi Brown and the education committee, building on the work started by Dr.’s Kate Fetter and Brandi Wilford, created a robust schedule for 2026. Dr. Jenn Brodie and Sandi McDermott ensured the continued support of professional growth through multiple scholarships and awards. Our Chapter Counselor, Shelly Liu, organized several well-attended induction ceremonies—it was inspiring to welcome almost 100 new Nurse Leaders, and see 1,585 members join or renew their membership in 2025. In addition, our chapter ambassador and Dean of our sponsoring university, Dr. Lisa Smith, was honored with the international Melanie C. Dreher award at the 48th Biennium Convention, where Nu Upsilon also received its third prestigious Key Award for chapter excellence.

The holiday season offers us a meaningful opportunity to pause and appreciate the collaboration, resilience, and achievements that have shaped our journey. None of this would be possible without your dedication and participation, and I am sincerely grateful for each and every one of you.

Wishing you and your loved ones a joyful Holiday Season and a New Year filled with health, inspiration, and continued accomplishments.

With deep appreciation, love, courage and honor.
Christy

Blessings with Love, Courage and Honor

Christy Torkildson, Ph.D, RN, PHN, FPCN, HEC-C
Program Lead, MSN-Public Health Nursing & MSN-Health Care Quality and Patient Safety
Professor, College of Nursing & Health Care Professions, Grand Canyon University
President, Nu Upsilon Chapter of Sigma

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Mentoring Program

The Nu Upsilon Mentoring Committee is accepting requests for mentors from GCU senior pre-licensure and graduate nursing students and Nu Upsilon members who are early professionals. This will be an informal, virtual mentor/mentee relationship. We have a dynamic group of volunteers eager to mentor. Mentees must be eligible for Nu Upsilon membership.

Please reach out to our executive director if interested...welcome@nuupsilon.com.

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Nu Upsilon Cares Award...Our Awards and Scholarship Committee proposed adding the Nu Upsilon Cares Award, a one-time grant to help alleviate the hardship membership dues may cause a new member. This passed unanimously by our board of directors and has already gone into effect. 

Doubling the Grants we offer...Additionally, our Awards and Scholarship Committee proposed doubling the grants we offer each year, dividing the grants between educational scholarships for members who are current students and professional development grants to help our members present their work or complete research/quality improvement projects.

Service Projects...Educational webinars, On-campus Heart Health Day, providing free ‘Hands-Only CPR’ for students and faculty at our sponsoring university – Grand Canyon University, “Connecting, Collaborating, and Caring” monthly calls with our chapter president and special guests, American Heart Association Heart Walk with teams across the US, volunteer at GCU CityServe not-for-profit providing essentials to those less fortunate, the National Alzheimer Walks, with teams representing Nu Upsilon across the country. 

Any and all suggestions welcome!  Please email us at welcome@nuupsilon.com. 

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Dr. Smith receives top Sigma award...

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We are thrilled to announce that our esteemed Membership Ambassador and Dean of the College of Nursing and Health Care Professions (CONHCP), Dr. Lisa Smith, has been awarded the prestigious Melanie G. Dreher Award for Outstanding Chapter Support by SIGMA International! Dr. Smith will be honored at the Tribute Awards Luncheon on Sunday, November 9, 2025, during the Biennium Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana.

This recognition is truly well deserved. Since stepping into her role as Dean, Dr. Smith has been an unwavering advocate for increasing membership and fostering active engagement within our chapter. Through her leadership and dedication, we have grown from a small chapter of a few hundred members to an impressive community of nearly 2,000 active members. Her impact has been profound, and we are incredibly grateful for her continued support.

A huge thank you to SIGMA International for recognizing Dr. Smith's invaluable contributions!

Please join us in celebrating this incredible achievement!

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Nu Upsilon receives 3rd KEY AWARD
Sigma's highest honor for Chapter excellence!

With great pride and excitement, we announce that the Nu Upsilon Chapter has become a 3-time recipient of the Chapter Key Award! THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this happen. For those who may not know, the Key Award is the highest recognition for a Sigma Chapter, "The Chapter Key Award, established in 1991, honors Sigma chapters that excel in chapter-related activities". 

This award is due to the efforts of many of our members, past and present, committed to excellence in scholarship, leadership, and service. Our commitment to Nu Upsilon and all of you has been strengthened with this recognition, and we hope it also motivates you to renew your commitment to Sigma and Nu Upsilon. We look forward to all we can do together!

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.If you are not currently a member of our Nursing Honor Society,  we would be honored to have you visit our  Sigma membership page  for information. 
There are two ways to become a member ... as a student or as a nurse professional.

Students that meet the criteria will be nominated by GCU and sent an invitation.
Nurse Professionals may apply here.

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We are honored to be the Sigma Theta Tau
Nursing Honor Society associated with Grand Canyon University.
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Caring for Those Who Cared for Us

Nu Upsilon is honored to announce our Call to Action...This year our focus will be ... Alzheimer's.
All of our leaders and committees are coming together to virtually connect, share, and support each other. Nu Upsilon will strive to educate and engage our members through a variety opportunities to become involved. Watch the events on our website service projects, continuing education, conferences and more. For more information, see our Embracing our Seniors page.

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CityServeNu Upsilon is proud to support the GCU CityServe Program. GCU CityServe is a compassionate Christian outreach ministry of Grand Canyon University that mobilizes resources and collaborative partnerships to provide life-transformational solutions to individuals and families in need. For more information, see the GCU CityServe page, and join us to meet needs, build relationships and transform lives.

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Grow. Lead. Thrive.

The Nurse Learning Exchange is here to help you unlock your potential, boost your confidence, and earn contact hours—all with FREE, high-quality courses that meet you where you are in your career. Thanks to support from Johnson & Johnson, you now have access to a powerful collection of learning designed just for nurses like you.

Explore the courses that inspire you and start learning today 

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The origin of Nu Upsilon began at Grand Canyon University in 1987 when the first steering committee met at a Greek dinner to form a nursing honor society. The society inducted 41 members at its first charter meeting in April 1998, using the Sigma Theta Tau International criteria.

The purpose of the society reflected the mission and goals of Sigma and had as its goal to become an official chapter as soon as all the criteria were met.

Nu Upsilon became an official chapter of Sigma Theta Tau in April 1994 and has been an active chapter since that time.

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The future of Nu Upsilon is bright and promising.  

Within the last few years, our chapter has almost quadrupled the size of our membership.  We have partnered with GCU with the goal of becoming the largest and most member-oriented chapter in Sigma.

We would love to have you stay with us and take advantage of Nu Upsilon's volunteer opportunities, scholarships, service projects, and much, much more.  We look forward to exciting times ahead.

We would like to thank all the friends, family and faculty who have supported us throughout the years.  We are honored by your membership, success and dedication.  You made it possible to become the honor society we are now!  

Blessings with Love, Courage and Honor

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