Eta Sigma Gamma

The History of Eta Sigma Gamma

Eta Sigma Gamma has a rich history. The history of an organization provides an opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished in the past which in turn provides direction for the future.

1967–1968: The Beginning

The idea of a health education honorary was conceived in the minds of Robert Synovitz, HSD, William Bock, PhD, and Warren Schaller, HSD, professors of Physiology and Health Science at Ball State University. Dr. Schaller’s and Dr. Synovitz’s membership in a professional honorary in the 1950’s at the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse, and Dr. Bock’s experience in an honorary in education, influenced their vision for a similar organization for health educators. This vision led to the reality of Eta Sigma Gamma, a national honorary for the profession of health education, when the Articles of Incorporation were filed with the State of Indiana on August 14, 1967.

Pictured: Drs. William Bock, Warren Schaller, and Robert Synovitz

Students and faculty at Ball State University developed the basic documents which provided guidelines for the structure and operation of the honorary as well as for collegiate chapters. The purpose of Eta Sigma Gamma, initially defined by the founders, is to “elevate the standards, ideals, competence and ethics of professionally trained individuals in and for the health science discipline through teaching/education, service and research.” With the articles of incorporation filed, basic guidelines developed, and the constitution and bylaws written, the installation of the first chapter and the initiation of its first 30 members took place on the campus of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana on May 12, 1968.

1968–1977: The Early Years - A Period of Growth

As with any new organization, Eta Sigma Gamma’s major focus in its first years of existence was to expand by establishing new chapters and recruiting members. The first attempt at doing this was a reception in conjunction with the American School Health Association’s annual convention in Philadelphia in the fall of 1969. By the end of 1970, six new chapters were installed. National membership dues at that time were $2.00.

In 1969, the first issue of The Eta Sigma Gamman, the official newsletter of the organization, was published. Over the years this evolved into a professional journal titled The Health Educator, which became a refereed publication.

A rapid increase in growth occurred during 1973-74, with 18 new chapters. In 1973, the first annual meeting took place in conjunction with the American School Health Association convention in Chicago. It was also the year the first A National Directory of College and University School and Public Health Educators was published.

During 1975-76, emphasis was directed toward recognition of chapters and their members. The Chapter of the Year and Gamman of the Year awards were established. Cash awards were made available to the recipients by the generosity of the John P. McGovern Foundation. Dr. McGovern also provided funding for the John P. McGovern Scholarship award, which is given annually to a Gamman graduate student demonstrating high scholastic achievement and participation in chapter activities.

 

Pictured: Drs. Warren Schaller and John McGovern

Significant growth continued with active members increasing to 1,770 in 1977. During 1976 and 1977, 15 new chapters were added to make a total of 40 chapters at the completion of the honorary’s 10th year, which was celebrated at the annual conference of the American School Health Association in Atlanta, Georgia.

Pictured: Dr. William Bock receiving the first National

Distinguished Service Award from Dr. Herbert L. Jones

1978–1986: The Years of Professional Maturity

The following decade became a period of professional maturation for the honorary. During this time, Eta Sigma Gamma engaged in greater participation in national health education affairs, including representation on the Coalition of National Health Education Organizations, sponsorship of programs at national conferences, and the first national Eta Sigma Gamma Conference held in Detroit in 1978. Other involvements were co-sponsorship of the National Conference for Institutions Preparing Health Educators, publication of Selected Sources of Instructional Materials: A National Directory of Sources of Instructional Materials in Health Education, as well as publishing the Research Council Scientific Forum Abstracts, for the American School Health Association.

In the early 1980s Eta Sigma Gamma was invited to serve on the National School Health Education Coalition. In 1985, the honorary became involved with the award for “Innovations in Health”, sponsored by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Herb Jones, ESG National Secretary/Treasurer, served on the department’s national award committee. The National Directory of Health Educators, in its 7th edition, became a major resource for the profession as well as for agencies, organizations, and corporations with an interest in health education and health promotion. A further contribution to the profession was the publication of the Eta Sigma Gamma Monograph Series in 1982, funded by the John P. McGovern Foundation.

1987–1997: A Decade of Continued Expansion and New Leadership

The year 1987 was significant in celebrating Eta Sigma Gamma’s twentieth anniversary. The event was commemorated by a special issue of the Eta Sigma Gamman (Vol. 19 No 2) and a national two-day convention, held in Indianapolis on October 9 and 10. In 1998, Dr. Smith published the complete history (1967-1987) in the February issue of the Eta Sigma Gamma Monograph.

During the twentieth anniversary year, Dr. Warren E. Schaller, national president and co-founder of the honorary, passed away. This ended 20years of leadership as the honorary’s president. His commitment to the honorary has been unsurpassed. In honor and recognition of Dr. Schaller’s influence, the Warren E. Schaller Presidential Citation was crated and is presented annually by the president of the honorary to one or more distinguished contributor(s) and scholar(s) in health education. In addition, the 1988 annual meeting was devoted to recognizing Dr. Schaller’s contributions to the honorary and the profession.

After Dr. Schaller’s leadership, Dr. Robert Synovitz, another co-founder and national vice president, became the second president of the honorary. Assisting President Synovitz was Dr. Herb Jones, national secretary-treasurer. Dr. Jones had also helped Dr. Schaller with administrative duties during his illness.

The following year (1989) was a remarkable year for the honorary for several reasons. Foremost, the first presidential election was held and on September 1, 1989, Dr. Richard Eberst became the first elected president of the organization. Secondly, a $208,000 grant was awarded to the national office for the development of educational materials for the prevention of alcohol and drug abuse on college campuses. This effort was to become known as Project Direction and was directed by Dr. Gordon Lindsay of Ball State University. Several outstanding national leaders in substance abuse were employed by Project Direction to develop the materials. Thirdly, the national office hired a full-time executive director to provide support for the organization’s activities. This was a major step for the honorary in making it independent from Ball State University’s Department of Physiology and Health Science and its support over the previous 22 years.

During the 1991-92 academic year, Eta Sigma Gamma celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary. In celebration of this event the honorary sponsored a special meeting in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Association for the Advancement of Health Education in Indianapolis, Indiana. Two hundred Gammans, representing several chapters, were present. It was also in 1992 that the Eta Sigma Gamma Historical Library was established for the preservation of historical books, documents ,and audio and videotapes. During the silver anniversary year, Amy Bernard, a graduate student at Ohio State University became the first student representative elected to the National Board of Directors. She served as the editor of The Vision, the national newsletter which was published for the first time in the spring of 1993. The silver anniversary year found the title of the official journal of the honorary, The Eta Sigma Gamman, changed to The Health Educator: Journal of Eta Sigma Gamma. The first issue was also the last issue for Dr. Denise Amschler, who had served as its editor for 15 years. President Eberst, in his 1992-93 annual report, paid tribute to Dr. Amschler, when he stated, “She effectively elevated The Health Educator from a small, photocopied newsletter to a high quality, peer-reviewed publication, which is significantly respected within the health education discipline.”

In September 1993, Dr. Steve Dorman became the fourth national President. This concluded the presidency of Dr. Eberst who, along with Dr. Synovitz, had served the honorary with distinction during the transition period following the death of Dr. Schaller. By this time the honorary had grown to 82 chapters. President Dorman brought to the office of the presidency a strong commitment to students and chapters. The concept of chapter development, along with the appointment of a director for its responsibility, became a reality during his term of office. President Dorman was also instrumental in increasing the number of student members attending national meetings. This was partially due to the establishment of chapter grants to assist Gammans with travel to the ESG annual conferences. The first regional conference for Eta Sigma Gamma was held in Muncie, Indiana in 1993. This was attended by representatives of seven chapters from Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan. The success of the conference served as a model for future regional meetings.

The first female President of Eta Sigma Gamma was Kelli McCormack-Brown (1994-1997). Under McCormack-Brown’s leadership, along with Beverly Mahoney, the second female president of Eta Sigma Gamma, the first five-year strategic plan was proposed. The plan outlined a number of strategic areas and provided direction and guided the organization to a purposeful direction. The goals and objectives of the strategic plan provided a framework for subsequent organizational activities for growth, development, and leadership.

1998–2017: Diversity and Collaboration

Over the next two decades the board expanded to become more representative of the demographics of its membership. Dr. Susan Ward’s presidency (1999-2001) led the organization to participate in the National Coalition of Professional Health Education Organization planning. Under the leadership of Dr. Malcolm Goldsmith (2001-2003), Eta Sigma Gamma was a participant in the Progress Report – Health Education Profession in the 21st Century. This led to Dr. Kathleen Conley’s (2003-2005) effort to increase Eta Sigma Gamma’s role in the National Coalition of Health Education Organizations and promoting professional ethics among the honorary’s members. In 2007, Eta Sigma Gamma joined with the Society for Public Health Education (SOPHE) for its annual meeting and to celebrate the honorary’s 40th anniversary.

In 2007, Eta Sigma Gamma celebrated its 40th Anniversary in Alexandria, Virginia at its annual conference in partnership with the 2007 SOPHE annual meeting. The Eta Sigma Gamma Annual Meeting included the presentation of awards, student poster sessions, panel presentation and a social event for the 40th anniversary celebration. The panel presentation included a DVD presentation of interviews with individuals involved in the founding of the organization followed by a panel discussion. The social event included a genealogy tree of Gammans, a timeline of events, and a short presentation by President-elect, Kelly Alley (2007-2009). In 2008, Ranjita Misra (2009-2011) became the 12th president of the honorary. Under her leadership, the second strategic plan for the organization was initiated in 2009. Phase I (key leader’s survey) and phase II (membership survey) of the strategic planning activities was conducted by Dr. Michael Kelly from the Paso Del Norte Health Foundation. Although Eta Sigma Gamma’s Facebook page was initially launched by Jeffrey Clark, Secretary in 2009, it was revised in February 2011 to include social media as a medium to connect with its local chapters and members. The honorary was guided by numerous other presidents who continued to expand the reach of Eta Sigma Gamma during this period, including Drs. Marianne Frauenknect (2005-2007), Amy Thompson (2011-2013), Jodi Brookins-Fisher (2013-2015), and Kelly Wilson (2015-2018). The third strategic plan for Eat Sigma Gamma was also developed and implemented during this period (2015).

Eta Sigma Gamma’s 50th anniversary was celebrated throughout 2017, with the culminating celebratory event being the Green & Gold Gala, held in Denver, Colorado. At this event the first Eta Sigma Gamma fellows were announced. These individuals were instrumental in the formation and development of the honorary and included:

Dr. Amos Aduroja
Dr. Denise Amschler
Dr. Trent Applegate
Dr. Loren B. Bensley, Jr.
Dr. Jodi Brookins Fisher
Dr. Kelli McCormack Brown
Dr. Jeff Clark
Dr. Kathleen Conley
Dr. Randy Cottrell
Dr. Carolyn Cox
Dr. Steve Dorman
Dr. Rick Eberst
Dr. Judith Luebke
Dr. Beverly Mahoney
Dr. James McKenzie
Dr. Elisa (Beth) McNeil
Dr. Ranjita Misra
Dr. Holly Turner Moses
Dr. Irene O’Boyle
Dr. Roberta Ogletree
Dr. Sheila Patterson
Dr. Morgan Pigg
Dr. Keely Rees
Dr. Barbara Rienzo
Dr. Denise Seabert
Dr. Debra Sutton
Dr. Amy Thompson
Dr. Mohammad Torabi
Dr. Joseph Visker
Dr. Susan Ward
Dr. Kelly Wilson

Pictured: 2017 Eta Sigma Gamma Fellows

2018–Present: The Modern Era

Eta Sigma Gamma entered its 2nd half-century in 2018, guided by president Dr. Holly Moses. In 2021 planning began for Eta Sigma Gamma 2.0, an initiative focused on bringing the honorary in line with the technological and other advancements that have been made since the founding of Eta Sigma Gamma. This year-long effort was spearheaded by Keely Rees (president), Robert Bensley (vice president), Holly Moses (past president) and Denise Seabert ( treasurer/secretary) and culminated with the honorary’s 4th strategic plan with numerous changes to the Eta Sigma Gamma Constitution and Bylaws, which were overwhelmingly approved in October 2022 by a vote of the members. The structure of the Board of Directors was changed as well, including the development of the “D-Suite”  of directors responsible for specific functions of the honorary (membership, advisor development, chapter development, programming, and publications).

Dr. Bill Potts-Datema was named National Executive Director in 2022, separating the long-term duties of office manager role also serving as executive director. The years 2022-present saw the transition to ESG 2.0 under the leadership of presidents Robert Bensley (2022-2024) and Jennifer Evans (2024-present).

During this era, historian Alan Sofalvi spearheaded the development of the Eta Sigma Gamma Health Education Historical Library, created to preserve historical documents and make them available to students and scholars for research.

In this brief summary of the history of Eta Sigma Gamma, we can appreciate the rich heritage and take pride in what has been accomplished. As we enter our sixth decade, we honor traditions of the past and blend them with the ideas and hopes for the future. By so doing, we perpetuate the mission and vision of Eta Sigma Gamma to promote the Health Education discipline by elevating the standards, ideals, competence and ethics of students enrolled in professional preparation programs that subscribe to and align with the national Health Education Competencies.

Past Presidents

Name	Term
Dr. Warren E. Schaller (Founder)	1967-1988
Dr. Robert Synovitz (Founder)	1988-1989
Dr. Richard Eberst	1989-1992
Dr. Steve Dorman	1992-1994
Dr. Kelli McCormack-Brown	1994-1997
Dr. Beverly Mahoney	1997-1999
Dr. Susan Ward	1999-2001
Dr. Malcolm Goldsmith	2001-2003
Dr. Kathleen Conley	2003-2005
Dr. Marianne Fraunkenecht	2005-2007
Ms. Kelly Bishop-Alley	2007-2009*
Dr. Ranjita Misra	2009-2011
Dr. Amy Thompson	2011-2013
Dr. Jodi Brookins-Fisher	2013-2015
Dr. Kelly Wilson	2015-2018**
Dr. Holly Moses	2018-2020
Dr. Keely Rees	2020-2022
Dr. Robert Bensley	2022-2024
Dr. Jennifer Evans	2024-2025 (current)

*Kelly Bishop-Alley resigned in Jan 2009 and Dr. Misra, the Vice President, began her presidency 10 months early

**Kelly Wilson served an extra year to move elections to the fall term and start new positions in the spring.