2023 Update from the National Diversity Officer

Dear Member,

As this semester begins, I am concluding my first three-year term as Omicron Delta Kappa’s inaugural National Diversity Officer. While there is always more work to be done, I am pleased with the progress that the Society has made since my position was established in 2020.

In 2019, the Boulé Foundation provided a grant to help to support the establishment of new circles (chapters) of Omicron Delta Kappa at historically black colleges and universities (HBCU institutions). The Society is actively working with an HBCU institution to establish a new circle during 2023. This new circle’s establishment will be partially funded by the Boulé grant. When this circle is established, it will bring the number of HBCU institutions with O∆K circles to six. The Society also currently has circles at 22 schools that are designated as Hispanic serving institutions (HSI).

The Key Fund was a significant focus of last year’s National Day of Giving. More than $16,000 for this fund was raised in conjunction with the Society’s giving day. Those dollars have been evenly split between providing outright support and creating an endowment. Thanks to the generosity of our donors, four Key Fund scholarships were awarded to collegiate members from historically underrepresented and marginalized populations this year. In addition, nine other students from these groups received other scholarships from O∆K. This year’s group of scholarship recipients also included three collegiate members who received awards specifically designated for LGBTQ+ students. You may read about all of the 2022-23 scholarship recipients at the link located here.

The gift of membership program was also supported by Key Fund development efforts. In the 2021-22 academic year, five students from historically underrepresented and marginalized populations had their O∆K lifetime initiation fee covered by the Key Fund. In the 2022-23 academic year, five students have already received the gift of membership this year.

The 2022 National Leadership Conference (NLC) featured three keynote speakers, all of whom discussed leadership opportunities and challenges facing individuals from different backgrounds. Steve Rohr (Concordia College, 1991), an award-winning publicist, addressed his experience with Asian American hate. Everett McCorvey (University of Alabama, 1981), the founder of the American Spiritual Ensemble, shared several leadership lessons he had learned along his personal and professional journey. Finally, Sydnee McElroy (Marshall University, 2003), a Huntington, West Virginia, physician talked about her work with homeless individuals. Each stressed the importance of giving respect to all individuals. The keynotes from the 2022 NLC may be viewed on the Society’s YouTube channel.

In the previous fiscal and academic year, O∆K began to collect a more expansive set of demographic information about the individuals who were being initiated. Here is a brief summary of the new member profile from the 2021-22 academic and fiscal year:

• Female – 72%, Male – 26%, Non-Binary – 1%, Not Reported – 0.25%, Genderqueer – 0.23%, Transgender – 0.22%,
• White – 74%, Black – 12%, Asian – 8%, Not Listed – 4%, Native American – 1%
• Hispanic or Latino – 10%, Bi-Racial – 6%, Multi-Racial – 3%

The position of National Diversity Officer was first established in Summer 2020, following the numerous protests and discussions were taking place after the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery. At that time, a series of resources were added to the Omicron Delta Kappa website to assist members who have an interest in promoting leadership which embraces diversity, equity, inclusivity, and social justice. Many of those resources were focused on racial and ethnic concerns. More recently, additional resources have been added to support LGBTQ+ members and their allies. If there are some resources that you think specifically should be added, please forward me those links at [email protected].

Finally, nominations for O∆K’s national service and diversity, equity, and inclusivity awards are now open. Information about the overall awards program may be found here. Please consider nominating a member of the Society for one of these honors. You may read about the most recent award recipients at this link.

My fellow members of the Board of Trustees and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity Committee will continue our work to make O∆K more diverse, equitable, just, and inclusive in the future. If you have any questions or recommendations to guide our work, please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

Thank you for your service and leadership!

Moneque 
Moneque Walker-Pickett, J.D., Ph.D.
National Diversity Officer
University of Miami Circle, 1994