beth Soule. Lulu Hassenplug and Jessie Scott.

Although Sigma Theta Tau was formed as a student organization, early in i t s his- tory it provided for the election of non- students as associate members. This cate- gory comprised nurses with a baccalaure- ate or higher degree who were faculty members, who had shown marked achieve- ment in the field of nursing, or who were pursuing graduate study in an area other than nursing. In the 1965 revision of the National Bylaws associate membership was discontinued and r:urses in this category were henceforth regular members.

With changes in the national organiza- tion. emphasis in the chapters has altered. In the early years chapter meetings were often social in nature and featured Christ- mas parties, fashion shows and the like. Money-raising activities included cake sales. bridge drives and spaghetti suppers. Gradually it came to be realized that, pleasant as these occasions might be, the energies and efforts of a true honor soci- ety could be utilized more constrpctively

and effectively in other ways. Today chapters of Sigma Theta Tau plan pro- grams which are professional and educa- tional in nature, often deal with current research in health care, are often open to the university or community. Thus the society seeks to be an educational force in the college communities where i t s chapters are located.

In order to provide guidance to chap- ters the National Officers in 1965 insti- tuted a program of visiting the established chapters. During the next three years al l of the chapters were visited by a National

.Officer. questions were answered and rec- ommendations were made.

Sigma Theta Tau's road has not been uniformly smooth; much has had to be learned by trial and error, and i t s objec- tives have not always been attained. But it does seem to have shown overall pro- gress in becoming a force for the stimu- lation of excellence, creativity and lead- ership in nursing, qualities which the pro- fession has needed over the years and can well use today.

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a celetlration 01 lilt! Ruth Hepler, National President

"Let today embrace the pasr with remembrance and the future with longing"

THE PROPHET

The celebration of the fiftieth anniver- sary of the founding of Sigma Theta Tau i s an event with a variety of meanings. It i s first of a l l an event which, by i t s very nature, cal ls for a meaningful look a t the past. For this we have the unique privi- lege of sharing in a t least f i fty years of memories with our founders as they re- create for us some of their early exper- iences encountered as the roots of the so- ciety were being established. We are in- deed grateful for this past - for this vis-

ion of our founders and for the sound ba- sis which they laid for the future growth of Sigma Theta Tau.

Another meaning of this historical e- vent is one that speaks more directly to al l of us who are privileged t o be members of Sigma Theta Tau - t h e meaning of the or- ganization in the context of today. While memories of the past are meaningful in themselves and may even provide us with some sense of pride, real evidence of a

nursing on the national level, involvement in innovative programs in nursing service and education, involvement in a variety of community activities, a l l these are areas in which members of Sigma Theta Tau are significantly active. The progress of our organization to this point, including i t s contributions to the profession, reflect the commitment of individual members to the ideals and purposes of nursing - a com- mitment which must involve a sense of vision of what nursing can be and where it can go in the provision of quality health care to the people whom we serve. A few lines from the currently popular book, JONATHAN LIVINGSTONE SEAGULL, provide what I consider an accurate de- scription of, as well as B tribute to, a l l of those individuals who are consistently stri- ving to move Sigma Theta Tau and nursing in meaningful directions:

It’s strange. The gulls who scorn perfection for the sake of travel go nowhere, slowly. Those who put aside travel for the sake of perfection go anywhere, instantly.

(Bach, p. 5s) . I have attempted in the preceding dis-

cussion to convey - briefly a t best -the present operationally defined status of Sigma Theta Tau as not only a viable, but also a vital organization. If viable and vi- t a l today - what of the future? What might one expect of Sigma Theta Tau as an ongoing organization?

In the past two years that I have served as president, among my most pleasant re- sponsibilities have been those in which I was privileged to meet with local chapters and individual members and to share with them some of their thoughts about Sigma Theta Tau and i t s relevance to nursing. I have been most impressed with the sense of enthusiasm I have encountered, espec- ially among newly installed chapters and/ or newly inducted members who have as- sumed, with us, responsibility for the fu- ture. In his significant work, CIVILISA- TION, Kenneth Clark has proposed a for- mula for the continuing life and success of any civilization which, I believe, can be accurately applied in our own situation:

Civilisation requires confidence - confi- dence in the society in which one lives, belief in its philosophy, belief in its laws, and confidence in one‘s mental po wen.

(Clark, p. 4)

With a confidence in our organization and with the necessary continued belief in i t s programs and purposes who is to say where we might go in the future? We could predict the continued enlargement of our membership, we might predict the broadening scope of our programs, both nationally and locally, we might even pre- dict the emergence of Sigma Theta Tau as a cohesive force and a significant corpor- ate voice within the profession. Future- oriented specualtions are exciting, and may, in many instances, be valid. They are at best, however, ofily speculations and, as Kenneth Clark has also indicated, we probably don’t really have an idea of where we might be going and that confi- dent, sweeping speculations may be actu- ally intellectually disreputable (Clark, p. 344-45). What is more important than where we are going i s instead an ever-pre- sent sense of “going” as we proceed in a forward direction while meeting the chal- lenges of today. Margaret Mead has of- fered a description of responsibility for the future which I would like to include here as a challenge to each of us who share an interest in Sigma Theta Tau and in nursing, that profession of which we are an inextricable and meaningful part:

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We .must place the future, like the unborn child in the womb of a woman, within a community of men, women and children, among us, already here, already to be nour- ished and succored and protected, already in need of things for which, if they are not prepared before i t is bom, i t will be too late. So, as the young say, The Future Is Now.

(Mead, p. 76)

And so we celebrate this anniversary of our fifty years. We celebrate the past with i t s traditions and i t s strong roots, we celebrate the present with i t s varied and constant activities, and we celebrate the future - that which we may not know but for which we are ever responsible!

works Cited:

bCh. Richard, JONATHAN LIVINGSTONE SEA- GULL. The Macmllllan Company, New York, 1970.

York, 1969. Clark. Kenneth. CIVILISATION. Harper & Row, New

Mead, Margaret. C U L i U R E A N D COMMITMENT. Natural History Presr/Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden CIty. New York, 1970.