About the Circle

Founded in 1816, and located on the outskirts of the beautiful Adirondack Park, The State University of New York at Potsdam is one of America’s first 50 colleges. SUNY Potsdam currently enrolls approximately 4,350 undergraduate and graduate students. Home to the world-renowned Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam is known for its handcrafted education, challenging liberal arts and sciences core, excellence in teacher training and leadership in the performing and visual arts.
The SUNY Potsdam Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa was chartered in 2001 and currently inducts approximately thirty new members each year. Nominations are received each October and are provisionally accepted based on meeting the national ODK standards of leadership and scholarship. Additionally, each accepted nominee must meet our local Circle requirement of earning six ODK participation points through involvement in Circle events such as meetings, fundraisers and community service activities. The Circle currently meets bi-weekly on Tuesday evenings at 5:00 p.m.and holds events throughout the year. Upon successfully earning their points, provisional members achieve full approval and participate in our spring induction ceremony in late April or early May in the company of friends and family.

Programs

SUNY Potsdam ODK created our 4C Service Program in 2013 as a way to organize Circle events. Throughout the year, we plan and conduct service programs to benefit four areas: Campus, Community, Country and Cosmos (world). Circle officers chair each of the sub-committees and work with members to plan events. Some of last year’s events include the following:
• Making Healing Stones for Hospice under the direction of Ada Santaferra, an ODK faculty member and Internship Coordinator for Community Health, who volunteers for our local Hospice.
• Sponsoring a Mohawk Social put on by the Native North American Traveling College of Ontario and attended by students campus-wide.
• Holding our second annual Trick-O-Treat with ODK where our members baked goodies or bagged Halloween candy to help us raise money for Shauna’s Walk for Wishes and the “Make a Wish Foundation.”
• Hosting 2 speakers open to the general campus: Dr. Michael Schaff spoke about his second career as a Vet Tech and Julie Dold from Campus Life presented a leadership workshop at the Union MPR.
• Making Valentine cards in February for Meals on Wheels recipients and local senior citizens.
• Holding our second annual “Goodies for Goats” fund raiser to buy domesticated animals for impoverished families in developing countries through World Vision. We raised $150 and bought a goat and 2 chickens.
• Participating in Relay for Life on campus and holding a lolli-gram sale to raise donations for the American Cancer Society.
• Making stress balls for students to use during finals week at Crumb Library. We went through about 30 pounds of rice doing it, too!

Honors and Awards

2013 Circle of Distinction

2014 Circle of Distinction

2016 Circle of Distinction