Omicron Delta Kappa

College of Charleston

Circle established re- December 1, 2011 • Circle Website • College of Charleston

About the Circle

The Omicron Delta Kappa Society, Inc., the National Leadership Honor Society, consists of more than 300,000 members who display exemplary character, superior scholarship, genuine fellowship, and responsible leadership and service in campus and community life. More than 285 active circles at colleges and universities across the United States recognize achievement across five phases of campus life: scholarship; athletics; campus or community service, social or religious activities, and campus government; journalism, speech, and the mass media; and creative and performing arts.

 

Omicron Delta Kappa, the National Leadership Honor Society, was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia by 15 student and faculty leaders. The founders formulated the idea that leadership of exceptional quality and versatility in college should be recognized, that representatives in all phases of college life should cooperate in worthwhile endeavors, and that outstanding students, faculty, and administrators should meet on a basis of mutual interest, understanding, and helpfulness. OΔK was the first college honor society of a national scope to give recognition and honor for meritorious leadership and service in extracurricular activities and to encourage development of general campus citizenship. Since its founding, Omicron Delta Kappa has initiated more than 300,000 members.”

The College of Charleston’s Circle was initially founded in 1975, but it was temporarily disbanded in 2001; more than 1,100 students and faculty were initiated during those 26 years. By the spring of 2010, a group of interested students, advisors, and other invested parties on campus completed a new application and held their first renewed initiation on December 1, 2011. Since then, more than 120 new initiates have defined what it means to be a leader in the College of Charleston community and beyond.

Honors and Awards

2018 Membership Growth & Stability Award

2013 Circle of Distinction