About OΔK

 

Mission:
Identify, honor and develop leaders in collegiate and community life. Encourage collaboration among students, faculty, staff and alumni to advance leadership. Promot e and publicize our ideals.

Vision:
As the most respected and effective leadership honor society, Omicron Delta Kappa strives for excellence in leadership and character development.

ODK Ideals:
Scholarship, Service, Integrity, Character, Fellowship

Diversity Statement:
The ODK i dea affirms and promotes openness and inclusiveness among all people. Membership selection shall be free of bias so that all qualified will be considered equitably for membership.

Commitment to Equal Opportunity:
Omicron Delta Kappa does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, biological sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, disability, veteran’s status, or genetic information in its programs, activities, membership, and with regard to employment.

 

Why Join OΔK 
Becoming a member in OD K is a mark of the highest distinction and honor in the leadership arena and is well recognized by leaders in both the academic and business worlds.

Junior, Senior, or Graduate Students who have displayed exemplary character, scholarship , service, and leadership at Florida State University and/or in community life are eligible to apply for membership. Additionally, student membership candidates must rank in the upper 33 percent in scholarship of t he Florida State University student body.

 

OΔK History 
Omicron Delta Kappa was founded on Dec. 3, 1914 on the campus of Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va. The Society was founded by a group of 15 students and faculty who believed that leadership at the collegiate level should be recognized and encouraged across all phases of campus life. The motives which guided the founders sprang from the desire to bring together one body for the general good of the institution, leaders from all parts of the college or university community. The success of the O∆K Idea, an essential part of which is its inter-generational nature and a determination to maintain a consistent and high standard of leadership recognition, led to the establishment of chapters, which we call circles, at other colleges.

Founders

J. Carl Fisher
Rupert Nelson Latture
William Moseley Brown
Dr. Henry Louis Smith
Dr. De la Warr Benjamin Easter
Professor David Carlisle Humphreys
James Edwin Bear
Carl Shaffer Davidson
Edward Parks Davis
Edward A. Donahue
Philip Pendleton Gibson
Thomas McPheeters Glasgow
John Eppes Martin
William Caulfield Raftery
John Purver Richardson, Jr.

Initially, the founders had no intention of extending the Society to other college campuses. However, requests for charters began to come in from local groups at The Johns Hopkins University, the University of Pittsburgh and Davidson College. It was clear that the OΔK Idea was one that could benefit other institutions of higher learning. By 1917—just three years after founding the Washington and Lee Circle—Omicron Delta Kappa became a national leadership honor society.

During World War I, OΔK remained intact in large part because of its faculty members—many of whom were too old to serve in the Army or Navy. After the war when students returned to their campuses, OΔK continued to grow and develop, chartering new circles at colleges and universities across the country.

In 1974, the OΔK National Convention approved the initiation of women into the Society. Twelve women were initiated at the Convention. The Florida State University Circle was one of the first to admit women as members. In 1998, another woman made OΔK history—Cheryl M. Hogle became the first woman elected to serve as OΔK National President. In 2003, Sally Jones Hill became the first woman to receive the Laurel Crowned Circle Award.