The Order of Omega is an undergraduate Greek society recognizing "fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in inter-fraternity activities." It functions as an adjunct to traditional fraternal organizations, rather than a social or professional group ''in se''. It is not an academic

honor society In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the National Honor Society of the Boy Sc ...

; a minimum

Grade Point Average Grading in education is the process of applying standardized measurements for varying levels of achievements in a course. Grades can be assigned as letters (usually A through F), as a range (for example, 1 to 6), as a percentage, or as a numbe ...

is only one of six criteria for admission, and Order of Omega is not a part of the

Association of College Honor Societies The Association of College Honor Societies (ACHS) is a predominantly American, voluntary association that serves a number of functions with respect to national collegiate and post-graduate honor societies. ACHS coordinates member organizations, fa ...

History

The Order of Omega was established in Fall 1959 at the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, ...

.The Red&Black -March 29, 2016 - Order of Omega, Greek honors society, inducts 91 new members
/ref> It sought to differentiate itself from the long-standing Greek honors society of

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal a ...

by emphasizing community service and inter-Greek communication over academic and nominal honors. At that time, the group adopted as its mark the Greek letter

omega Omega (; capital: Ω, lowercase: ω; Ancient Greek ὦ, later ὦ μέγα, Modern Greek ωμέγα) is the twenty-fourth and final letter in the Greek alphabet. In the Greek numeric system/ isopsephy ( gematria), it has a value of 800. Th ...

, in gold on an ivory field. The organization was unique to the University of Miami until, in 1967, a second charter was granted to begin a chapter at

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

. The group remained exclusive to men until 1977. In more recent years, the Order has emerged as a moot arena in which the Fraternity/Sorority community can air progressive changes to its member organizations as a whole; the 'dry' movement eschewing

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

use among many groups drew a great deal of support from discussion in the early 1980s about how to improve the general reputation of the Fraternity/Sorority community. The stated purposes of the organization are: * To recognize those fraternity men and women who have attained a high standard of leadership in interfraternity activities, to encourage them to continue along this line, and to inspire others to strive for similar conspicuous attainment; * To bring together outstanding fraternity men and women to create an organization which will help to mold the sentiment of the institution on questions of local and intercollegiate fraternity affairs. * To bring together members of the faculty, alumni, and student members of the institution's fraternities and sororities on a basis of mutual interest, understanding and helpfulness; * To help create an atmosphere where ideas and issues can be discussed openly across Greek lines and to help work out solutions. At present, the Order maintains over 575 chapters at colleges and universities in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

Standards and operation

The executive board of the individual Order of Omega chapter is empowered to make decisions concerning the merit of an applicant and initiate them into the Order based upon the following criteria: character, scholarship, offices held in Greek organizations, service to the Fraternity/Sorority community, and service to the university community as a whole. It requires sophomore, junior, or senior classification standing, full-time attendance as a student, and a GPA that is at or above the All-Greek GPA at the campus in question. Order of Omega represents the top 5% within the Fraternity/Sorority community on each of its campuses. Much of most chapters' typical operation consists of charitable fundraisers, and the selection of persons to receive scholarships endowed by alumni. Persons are only eligible to be initiated into the Order as regular members if they are undergraduates in accredited

college A college ( Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

s and

universities A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which ...

, but are considered members for life, and some continue to support their chapters financially. Faculty, staff, alumni, and others may be elected as ''honoris causa'' members. Order of Omega began offering an undergraduate scholarship program in 1985, and has since awarded over $1.5 million in undergraduate scholarships (annually awards about $65,000). In addition, Order of Omega offers a Master's or Doctoral Fellowship award to postgraduate students in an accredited Master's or Doctoral program in Higher Education or Student Affairs personnel, or related fields.

References

External links

Official Order of Omega web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Order of Omega Honor societies Student organizations established in 1959 Fraternities and sororities in the United States 1959 establishments in Florida