Omicron Delta Epsilon

History

Omicron Delta Epsilon, one of the world's largest academic honor societies, was created through the merger of two earlier honor societies, Omicron Delta Gamma and Omicron Chi Epsilon. At the time of their merger in 1963, each had 28 chapters, those of the former being primarily located in the Midwestern and Pacific states of the U.S. and those of the latter concentrated at colleges and universities along the Eastern Seaboard and in Texas. Omicron Delta Epsilon has been a member of the Association of College Honor Societies since 1981.

Omicron Delta Gamma (The Order of Artus) was founded in 1915 by John R. Commons, University of Wisconsin, and Frank Taussig, Harvard University, through the union of the economics societies of their Universities. The intent of the society was the encouragement of a closer academic and social relationship between honor students and faculty on an informal basis, facilitating the exchange of information and views.

Omicron Chi Epsilon was the younger of the two organizations, having been founded in 1955 by Alan A. Brown while he was a student at the City College of New York. From its inception, the society sought to provide means not only to confer suitable honors on the more promising students but also to encourage scholarship through organized meetings and conferences and through the publication of its official journal, THE AMERICAN ECONOMIST, founded in 1957.

The Gamma Chapter of Virginia was organized at Washington and Lee in 1963.

Objectives and Activities

The objectives of Omicron Delta Epsilon are recognition of scholastic attainment and the honoring of outstanding achievements in economics; the establishment of closer ties between students and faculty in economics within colleges and universities, and among colleges and universities; the publication of its official journal, THE AMERICAN ECONOMIST, and the sponsoring of panels at professional meetings as well as the Irving Fisher and Frank W. Taussig competitions.

Each year ODE sponsors a Faculty Advisor and an Invited Papers Session at the annual meeting of the American Economics Association (Allied Social Sciences Meetings).

Awards

Each year ODE awards The Irving Fisher Article Award, which pays $500 and provides an invitation to present the paper at the next annual meeting of the American Economic Association (with travel expenses paid by ODE) and publication of the article in THE American ECONOMIST (at the option of the winner). In addition, ODE annually awards the Frank W. Taussig Undergraduate Article Award which pays $250 to the winner and $100 to the winner's ODE chapter and provides for publication in THE AMERICAN ECONOMIST.

Biennially, ODE grants the John R. Commons Award in memory of one of its founders to an internationally outstanding economist in recognition of his or her achievements and service both to the economics profession and to ODE.

Organization

Currently, ODE has 535 chapters located in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Mexico, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Egypt, and France.

Admission

Undergraduate candidates for election to any chapter of ODE must have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours of economics courses, have earned at least a "B" average in the economics courses and have an overall scholastic average of "B" or better.