Elizabeth Kiss (Davidson College, 1982) accepted the Laurel Crowned Circle Award, O∆K’s highest individual honor. Presented by President and CEO, Jennifer L. Waller, Ph.D. (left) and Maureen E. Morgan O∆K Board Chair-Elect (right).
Honored For a Life of Leadership
Lexington, Va. (September 12, 2024) – The Omicron Delta Kappa Society and Educational
Foundation Board of Trustees have presented Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the
Rhodes Trust Elizabeth Kiss (Davidson College, 1982) as the 2024 recipient of the Laurel
Crowned Circle Award. First presented in 1980, the Laurel Crowned Circle Award is the
highest individual honor awarded by Omicron Delta Kappa. Recipients are exceptional
leaders in their respective fields or noted for their service in advancing leadership
development. Award winners also demonstrate the highest ideals of the Society: scholarship,
service, integrity, character, and fellowship.
The award was presented on Monday, August 26, 2024, in a ceremony held at The City Club
of Washington in Washington, D.C.
Kiss currently serves as the Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the Rhodes Trust.
Previously, Kiss served as the President of Agnes Scott College (2006-2018), where she led
the transformation of the curriculum to focus on leadership development and global learning
that resulted in an increase in enrollment of 21% and a retention rate of 87%.
Kiss has a long and distinguished career in education. She has served as a faculty member
at several institutions, led Duke University’s Kenan Institute for Ethics, and has been
dedicated to moral education, human rights, and justice. She exemplifies the qualities of
leadership, collaboration, and service throughout her life and work that make her an
exceptional Omicron Delta Kappa Laurel Crowned Circle Award recipient.
Kiss earned her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from Davidson College. As the first female
Rhodes Scholar from Davidson College, she earned a BPhil and DPhil in Philosophy at the
University of Oxford.
Past recipients of the Laurel Crowned Circle Award include business leaders, scholars,
heads of large nonprofit organizations, journalists, academic administrators, and
philanthropists, including former U.S. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, President of the
United Negro College Fund Michael Lomax, former Congresswoman Donna Shalala, former
Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, Former Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx, and a
host of university presidents and philanthropists.
Omicron Delta Kappa Society, the National Leadership Honor Society, was founded at
Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Va., on Dec. 3, 1914. The Society seeks to
recognize and advance leadership. The headquarters are located in Lexington, Va.
Contact:
Jennifer L. Waller, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer, Omicron Delta Kappa, (540)
458-5340, jennifer@odk.org
