Gamma Iota Sigma


Gamma Iota Sigma is a college academic fraternity, founded on April 16, 1966 at The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Gamma Iota Sigma is an international professional fraternity organized to promote, encourage and sustain student interest in insurance, risk management and actuarial science as professions. It aims to encourage high moral and scholastic attainments and to facilitate the interaction and cooperation of educational institutions, industry, and professional organizations by fostering research, scholarship, and improved public relations.

History

The idea of a national scholastic insurance fraternity actually started to become a reality when the Griffith Foundation for Insurance Education filed for incorporation in 1965. The following year, the OSU Insurance Society, which started at The Ohio State University in the early 1960s, petitioned and was chartered as the first Gamma Iota Sigma Chapter, thereafter called Alpha Chapter. At Bowling Green State University, Beta Chapter received its charter in 1967, and in 1969, the University of Cincinnati was chartered as Gamma Chapter. There's the beginning of what has now grown into a nucleus of 48 chapters located from California to Washington, D.C., and from Canada to Florida. In October 2001 with the chartering of our 41st chapter at Fanshawe College, London Ontario, Canada, Gamma Iota Sigma became an international fraternity.
A Grand Chapter or Executive Committee of Gamma Iota Sigma was formed from the original fraternity planning committee, appointed by the Griffith Foundation.
The first Grand Chapter President was Warren L. Weeks, then a Griffith Foundation trustee. It was his commitment to the concept of a national student organization that lead to the eventual formation of Gamma Iota Sigma.

Symbols

Gamma Iota Sigma Emblem
The Emblem is a shield in the shape of inverted triangle. Inside a narrow border are Greek letters for Gamma Iota Sigma. Each of three sides symbolizes three of four fraternal ideals.
Gamma Iota Sigma Coat of Arms
The Coat of Arms for Gamma Iota Sigma is in the shape of what is known as a fire mark. Fire marks were made of iron and placed on the exterior of the buildings on insured properties so as to identify the specific fire company that, in the event of a fire, would serve to extinguish it. The fire mark is decorated with the symbol of the four clasped right hands. Each hand is representative of one of the four ideals upon which the fraternity is based: friendship, knowledge, integrity, and fidelity. Beneath clasped hands are the Greek letters for Gamma Iota Sigma.

Chapters

*Indicates Inactive Chapter

Executive committee