Order of the Sword & Shield

The Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society (OSSNHS or ΟΣΣ) is an international honor society for undergraduate students, graduate students, and professionals in the fields of homeland security, intelligence, emergency management, and all protective security disciplines.^[1]

History

The Order of the Sword & Shield was established in 2010 at St. Johns University by Professor Jeffrey Grossmann.^[2] The organization was created to be the first national honor society dedicated exclusively to homeland security, intelligence, emergency management and all protective security disciplines.^[2] Grossman serves as its executive director.^[2] Its headquarters are in Coram, New York.^[2] It has chartered more than 100 collegiate chapters.^[3]

Symbols

The National Honor Society is also known by its Greek designation Omicron Sigma Sigma (ΟΣΣ).^[2] Its colors are gold and blue.^[4] Its motto in Latin is Ex scientia pax which means "Out of knowledge comes peace".^[5]^[2] Its core values or pillars are excellence, knowledge, ethics, and peace.^[6]

Membership

In order to qualify, undergraduate students must have a 3.25 overall grade point average or higher (on a 4.0 scale) and have completed 50 percent of their overall program if they are majoring in a field within the honor society's charter. For graduate students to qualify, they must have a 3.5 overall GPA or higher (on a 4.0 scale) and must also have completed over 50 percent of their program to apply for membership. In addition, a letter of recommendation and an unofficial transcript is required.^[1] Professionals who have demonstrated significant achievement in a homeland security, intelligence, emergency management, or security-related occupation may also apply. They must have five years of experience and submit a letter of recommendation and resume.^[7]

Chapters

Collegiate chapters

Following is a list of the Order of the Sword collegiate chapters.^[3] Inactive institutions are indicated in italics.

Charter date and range	Institution	Location	Status	Ref.
2010	St. John's University	New York City, New York	Active
2013	Adelphi University	Garden City, New York	Active	^[8]
2015	Angelo State University	San Angelo, Texas	Active	^[9]
November 2023	Pennsylvania State University	State College, Pennsylvania	Active	^[10]
Anderson University	Anderson, South Carolina	Active
Albertus Magnus College	New Haven, Connecticut	Active
American Military University and American Public University	Charles Town, West Virginia	Active	^[11]^[12]
Augusta University	Augusta, Georgia	Active
Bellevue University	Bellevue, Nebraska	Active
Brevard College	Brevard, North Carolina	Active
Calhoun Community College	Tanner, Alabama	Active	^[13]
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona	Pomona, California	Active
Campbell University	Buies Creek, North Carolina	Active
Coastal Carolina University	Conway, South Carolina	Active
Collin College	McKinney, Texas	Active
Columbia Southern University	Orange Beach, Alabama	Active	^[14]
xxxx ?–2020	Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security	Capitol Heights, Maryland	Inactive	^[15]^[16]^[17]
Davis Technical College	Kaysville, Utah	Active
DeSales University	Center Valley, Pennsylvania	Active
Dillard University	New Orleans, Louisiana	Active
Eastern Kentucky University	Richmond, Kentucky	Active	^[18]
Elizabeth City State University	Elizabeth City, North Carolina	Active
Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University	Daytona Beach, Florida	Active	^[19]
Emmanuel College	Boston, Massachusetts	Active
Fairleigh Dickinson University	Madison, New Jersey	Active	^[20]
Fayetteville State University	Fayetteville, North Carolina	Active	^[21]
Florida Southwestern State College	Fort Myers, Florida	Active
Franklin University	Columbus, Ohio	Active
Georgia Southern University	Statesboro, Georgia	Active
Grand Canyon University	Phoenix, Arizona	Active
Hilbert College	Hamburg, New York	Active
Immaculata University	East Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania	Active
Jefferson Community College	Watertown, New York	Active
Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, Maryland	Active
Keiser University	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	Active
Kennesaw State University	Kennesaw, Georgia	Active	^[22]
LeTourneau University	Longview, Texas	Active
Liberty University	Lynchburg, Virginia	Active	^[23]
Long Island Business Institute	New York City, New York	Inactive	^[24]^[25]
Louisiana State University Shreveport	Shreveport, Louisiana	Active
MacMurray College	Jacksonville, Illinois	Inactive	^[26]
Marian University	Active
Marymount University	Arlington County, Virginia	Active
Marist College	Poughkeepsie, New York	Active
Medaille College	Buffalo, New York	Active
Mercyhurst College	Erie, Pennsylvania	Active
Millersville University of Pennsylvania	Millersville, Pennsylvania	Active
Mitchell College	New London, Connecticut	Active
Monmouth University	West Long Branch, New Jersey	Active
National University	Active
National American University	Rapid City, South Dakota	Active	^[12]
New Jersey City University	Jersey City, New Jersey	Active
Northeastern University	Boston, Massachusetts	Active
Northeastern State University	Tahlequah, Oklahoma	Active
Notre Dame College	South Euclid, Ohio	Active
Oakland City University	Oakland City, Indiana	Active
Oklahoma Christian University	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma	Active
Pacific Union College	Angwin, California	Active
Palm Beach State College	Lake Worth Beach, Florida	Active
Paul D. Camp Community College	Franklin, Virginia	Active
Point Park University	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Active
Purdue University	West Lafayette, Indiana	Active
Purdue University Global	Active
Rabdan Academy	Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	Active
Robert Morris University	Moon Township, Pennsylvania	Active	^[27]
Saint Leo University	St. Leo, Florida	Active
Saint Louis University	St. Louis, Missouri	Active
Sam Houston State University	Huntsville, Texas	Active
San Diego State University	San Diego, California	Active
Sheridan College	Ontario, Canada	Active
Slippery Rock University	Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania	Active
Southeast Missouri State University	Cape Girardeau, Missouri	Active
Stevens Institute of Technology	Hoboken, New Jersey	Active
State University of New York at Albany	Albany, New York	Active
State University of New York at Canton	Canton, New York	Active
State University of New York at Farmingdale	East Farmingdale, New York	Active
State University of New York at Potsdam	Potsdam, New York	Active
Tiffin University	Tiffin, Ohio	Active
The Citadel	Charleston, South Carolina	Active
Thomas Edison State University	Trenton, New Jersey	Active	^[28]
Thomas Jefferson University	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania	Active
Cooley Law School	Lansing, Michigan	Active
Tidewater Community College	Virginia	Active
Towson University	Towson, Maryland	Active
Tulane University	New Orleans, Louisiana	Active
University of Alabama at Birmingham	Birmingham, Alabama	Active
University of Alaska Fairbanks	College, Alaska	Active	^[29]
University of Central Arkansas	Conway, Arkansas	Active
University of Central Florida	Orlando, Florida	Active
University of Detroit Mercy	Detroit, Michigan	Active
University of Findlay	Findlay, Ohio	Active
University of Lynchburg	Lynchburg, Virginia	Active
University of Maryland, College Park	College Park, Maryland	Active	^[30]
University of Mississippi	University, Mississippi	Active
University of New Hampshire	Durham, New Hampshire	Active
University of Phoenix	Phoenix, Arizona	Active
University of South Florida	Tampa, Florida	Active
University of Texas at El Paso	El Paso, Texas	Active
University of the District of Columbia	Washington, D.C.	Active
Vincennes University	Vincennes, Indiana	Active
Walden University	Minneapolis, Minnesota	Active	^[12]
Waldorf University	Forest City, Iowa	Active
Coalinga College	Coalinga, California	Active	^[31]
Western Governors University	Millcreek, Utah	Active	^[12]
Westminster College	Fulton, Missouri	Active
York College of Pennsylvania	Spring Garden Township, Pennsylvania	Active

High school chapters

Chapter	Charter date	Institution	Location	Status	Location
HS Alpha	2021	Bob Jones High School	Madison, Alabama	Active	^[3]^[32]
James Clemens High School	Madison, Alabama	Active

Professional chapters

Institution	Location	Status	Location
Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRI)	Dearborn, Michigan	Active	^[3]
International Society for Preparedness, Resilience, and Security	Active	^[3]
Loss Prevention Foundation (LPF)	Mooresville, North Carolina	Active	^[3]

References

1.[1.2]"Order of the Sword & Shield". Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society.
2.[2.2][2.3][2.4][2.5][2.6]"Security Studies Adds 'Sword and Shield' Chapter". angelo.edu.
3.[3.2][3.3][3.4][3.5][3.6]"Chapters". Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
4.Bylaws of the Order of the Sword and Shield
5."Alumni Organizations - Order of the Sword and Shield". columbiasouthern.edu.
6."About". Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
7.Professional Membership requirements
8.Donohue, Erin (2013-06-11). "Adelphi University Inducts its First Class to the Order of the Sword and Shield". Garden City, NY Patch. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
9."About". ASU Chapter OSS. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
10.Fetzer, Mary (November 17, 2023). "Order of the Sword and Shield National Honor Society installs Penn State chapter". Penn State University. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
11."Order of the Sword". American Military University. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
12.[12.2][12.3][12.4]This is an online college.
13."Order of the Sword and Shield". Calhoun Community College. 2023-05-25. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
14."Order of the Sword and Shield". Columbia Southern University. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
15."Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society". Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
16."Daniel Morgan Graduate School | Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security". danielmorgangraduateschool.com. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
17.School closed on July 31, 2020.
18."The Order of the Sword and Shield: Homeland Security's Honor Society". Eastern Kentucky University. 2023-02-09. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
19."PATHWAYS". Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University - Worldwide. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
20."SPGA Honor Societies". Fairleigh Dickinson University. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
21."Clubs and Organizations". Fayetteville State University. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
22."Student Activities - Coles College of Business". Kennesaw State University. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
23."Omicron Sigma Sigma | Helms School of Government". Liberty University. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
24."Closed School Information". Long Island Business Institute. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
25.The institute closed on January 27, 2024.
26.The college closed in May 2020.
27."Honor Societies". Robert Morris University. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
28."Order of the Sword & Shield National Honor Society". Thomas Edison State University. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
29."Order of the Sword and Shield | College of Business and Security Management". University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
30."The Order of The Sword and Shield | START". University of Maryland. Retrieved 2024-08-23.
31.Chapter formed at West Hills College Coalinga, now called Coalinga College.
32.Zedeck, Nicole (2021-07-01). "Bob Jones High School gains national recognition for cybersecurity program". WAAY 31 News. Retrieved 2024-08-23.