Integrity

What is Integrity and Why Does It Matter?

Integrity refers to honesty in all personal, professional and academic endeavors.

Integrity matters because it’s at the foundation of any successful community. Without integrity, a leader cannot engender trust. Without integrity, academic accomplishments are almost meaningless. Without integrity, service to one’s community is hollow.

That’s why we consider it the foundation of our pillars of Scholarship, Leadership and Service.

How Did This Initiative Begin?

NSCS’ integrity initiative was inspired by a national ethics project created by The Association of College Honor Societies, which serves as an accrediting agency for honor societies.

What is NSCS doing about Integrity?

NSCS is tying integrity to everything it does. Here are the various segments of our Integrity Initiative:

• Scholarships: NSCS will award five $1,000 Integrity Scholarships to members who have displayed integrity when confronting an ethical dilemma.
• I Stand for Integrity Week: NSCS has designated this February 8-12, 2010 to celebrate Integrity at NSCS chapters across the nation.
• Inspire Integrity Awards: These annual awards recognize professors who instill integrity in their students. This is the only national student-nominated faculty award that recognizes professors for their contributions to integrity.

Listen to NSCS staff talk about what integrity means to them.

Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking. There are too many people who think that the only thing that's right is to get by, and the only thing that's wrong is to get caught. -J.C. Watts