Forty-eight students and three faculty/staff members were inducted at a ceremony April 19. An additional six faculty/staff members who are already members of the organization were added to the Southwestern charter.

Seniors inducted into the organization were Eric Baker, Matthew Barnes, Joshua Brack, Jenna Burditt, Clinton Calhoun, Claudia Davidson, Matthew Espinosa, Raime Gerardy, Dorothy Glanz, Angela Granberry, Jay Gupta, Alexandra Hendley, Kristen Johnson, Andrew Kerr, Bhavik Kumar, Anna Matis, Sarah Mayfield, Carlee McConnell, April Mosher, Anna Nau, Traci Norvell, Rebekah Perlstein, Molly Peterson, Mary Beth Pinnell, Margaret Ritzert, Paul Santa Cruz, Dan Slezak, Marguerite Smith, Mindy Smothermon, Jessica Tonahill, Kari Torres and Evelyn Ward.

Juniors inducted into the organization were Ashlee Andrews, Alice Berthelsen, Jacob Beswick, Katelyn Brown, Jennifer Bussell, Joshua Cummings, John Davis, Amanda Faulkner, Jillian Gordon, Stephanie Little, Meghan O’Connor, Erin Ready, Kurt Seilheimer, Ashley Tallent, Myla Tutt and Adrienne Villarreal.

Joshua Brack is president of the Southwestern chapter, or Circle, and Jennifer Bussell is vice president. Other officers include treasurer Erin Ready and secretary Kari Torres. Brack and Bussell attended the organization’s national conference in Washington, D.C., in March.

Faculty and staff members inducted into the organization were President Jake B. Schrum, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students Mike Leese, and Linda McFall, senior secretary in the Dean of Students office. Also inducted into the chapter were four faculty and staff members who already belong to the organization: Jerry Brody, vice president for student life; Don Parks, associate professor of business and economics; Megan Radison, assistant director of alumni and parent relations; and John Ragle, director of counseling, health services and diversity education.

Radison will serve as faculty advisor to the group and Leese will serve as faculty secretary.

Two retired faculty members also were named charter members of the organization - University Historian William B. Jones and former Chaplain Farley W. Snell. Omicron Delta Kappa was started at Washington and Lee University in 1914. To qualify for the organization, students must be juniors or seniors in the top 35 percent of their class and demonstrate distinction in one of five areas of campus life: scholarship, athletics, student government, media, or creative and performing arts.

“Omicron Delta Kappa is a way for students who are leaders in one area of campus life to get to know leaders in other areas,” said faculty advisor Megan Radison, who was inducted into the organization while she was an undergraduate at the University of Kentucky.

Student and faculty members will work together on leadership projects outside the classroom.

“Omicron Delta Kappa is the Phi Beta Kappa of student leadership organizations,” said Jerry Brody, vice president for student life. “This will be a wonderful opportunity for our students.”

For more information on Omicron Delta Kappa, visit www.odk.org.