Order of Omega Awards highlight accomplishments of Greek community

<p>The honor society&nbsp;Order of Omega recognizes exemplary juniors and seniors in Greek life.</p>

The honor society Order of Omega recognizes exemplary juniors and seniors in Greek life.

Greek individuals and chapters were honored for their leadership at the annual Order of Omega Greek Awards Tuesday night.

About 90 people were present at Penn Pavilion for the event, which recognized high standards in scholarship, leadership and involvement. According to the Duke Student Affairs website, the recognition of such exemplary efforts is “essential for the health and longevity of Greek Life at Duke.”

“We have a lot of difficult questions,” said David Pittman, interim director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. “For me, they’re summed up by thinking about individuality and what that means for chapters, as well as inclusion. I think we can have both. It's about chapter community and campus community and what that means, about recruitment, about retention and not just risk management, but relationships."

Order of Omega, an honor society with more than 500 chapters in the United States and Canada, recognizes exemplary Greek juniors and seniors. 

“This year, Order of Omega received over 105 applications, making the selection process extremely difficult,” said Grant Bigman, a graduate assistant at OSFL. “There were countless qualified nominees for each award.”

Bigman said the Greek undergraduate body is larger than ever, making the awards show especially important. 

Next year, Pittman said he will become the permanent director of OSFL. He said some of his tasks—such as serving as an advisor for the Interfraternity Council—will be delegated to an associate director.

In his concluding remarks, Pittman praised all the students in attendance for their hard work and dedication.

“While I've never been affiliated in any Greek group, all the while I think my team and my staff made me feel like I was a part of the community, and I think that's a lesson that can be learned in how we move forward as a Greek community,” he said. 

Here is the list of winners:

Greek Man of the Year: Senior Thomas Irons, Delta Tau Delta

Greek Woman of the Year: Senior Melody Su, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi

Outstanding Alumni/Alumna Advisor: Azzie Conley, advisor for Delta Sigma Theta

Outstanding Chapter President: Senior Joe Vosburgh, Sigma Phi Epsilon

Outstanding Community Service: Junior Sonali Biswas, Gamma Phi Beta

Outstanding Greek Involvement: Senior Marie Mathews, Alpha Delta PI

Outstanding University Involvement: Senior Uzoma Bailey Ayogu, Alpha Phi Alpha

Outstanding New Member: Sophomore Rachael Murtagh, Alpha Delta Pi

Embodying Fraternal Values: Senior Maria Pacheco, Lambda Theta Alpha

Outstanding Contributions to Council Awards: The four councils' presidents

William J. Maschke, Jr. Memorial Award: Junior James Bradford, Kappa Alpha

Resiliency Award: Senior ZaKerra Lance, Sigma Gamma Rho

President’s Awards: Senior Brent Kelley, Delta Tau Delta; Junior Carrie Wang, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi; Layla Brown-Vincent, student development coordinator; Senior Tory Macdonald, Delta Delta Delta

Chapter of the Year: Delta Tau Delta

Most Improved Chapter: Sigma Phi Epsilon

Outstanding Fraternal Values: Kappa Kappa Gamma

Outstanding Member Education: Chi Psi

Outstanding Philanthropy Event: Chi Omega

Outstanding Programming: Alpha Phi Alpha

Outstanding Risk Management: Lambda Theta Alpha

Outstanding Service: Zeta Phi Beta

Higher Chapter GPA Awards: Delta Kappa Epsilon, Theta Nu Xi, Delta Sigma Theta, Alpha Delta Pi

Outstanding Intramural Sports: Pi Kappa Phi

In addition, 21 Greek chapters received the highest chapter status as Gold Chapters via the Duke Greek Community Standards: Alpha Phi Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, Zeta Phi Beta, Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Phi, Chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi, Alpha Kappa Delta Phi, Lambda Theta Alpha, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Chi Psi, Delta Tau Delta, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Phi Epsilon

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