Omicron Delta Epsilon - Economics Department, SUNY Fredonia

School of Business

SUNY Fredonia's Southwestern Center for Economic Education

The department sponsors a local chapter (Tau of New York) of Omicron Delta Epsilon (ODE), the international honor society in economics.

Membership in the honor society requires junior standing or higher, 12 credit hours in economics, a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.0 and a cumulative average in economics of at least 3.25. ODE is committed to helping students meet the challenges of the working world and in making the step from textbook to performance.

What is ODE?

ODE is Omicron Delta Epsilon, the international honor society in economics. It has 535 chapters with more than 10,000 active members in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Mexico, Scotland, and South Africa.

ODE was formed in 1963 from the merging of two other honor societies, Omicron Delta Gamma and Omicron Chi Epsilon. Omicron Delta Gamma (The Order of Artus) was originally founded at the University of Wisconsin in 1915 by Dr. John Commons. The intent was to encourage on an informal basis a closer academic relationship between exceptional students and faculty and thereby facilitate the exchange of information and views. Omicron Chi Epsilon, the younger of the two organizations, was 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 to confer suitable honors on the more promising students and to encourage scholarship through organized meetings and conferences.

At the time of their merger in 1963 each society had 28 chapters, Omicron Delta Gamma chapters located in the Midwestern and Pacific states, and Omicron Chi Epsilon 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.

The constitution of ODE lists four objectives:

Confer distinction for high scholastic achievement in economics
Stimulate and promote student interest in economics
Publish an official journal entitled The American Economist
Sponsor the Fisher-Taussig Award competitions

The Tau Chapter of New York at SUNY Fredonia was formed in 1976. Our objectives are to recognize scholastic attainment in economics, and to establish closer ties between students and faculty in economics.

Tau Chapter of Omicron Delta Epsilon works to stimulate and promote student interest in all aspects of economics, to inform students of career opportunities, and to acquaint them with the economics faculty.

Activities include:

Fund-raisers
Guest speakers
Social Events
The end-of-year awards dinner/picnic
Trips
The O.D.E. Film Series, and more.

We sponsor speakers on a variety of topics related to economics careers and the application of economics. We also provide a forum for students interested in economics to get to know each other, and to get to know economics faculty in a more relaxed setting than the classroom or office.

2007-08 O.D.E. President - Kevin Freese
2007-08 O.D.E. Advisor - Amar Parai