2 CI students honored during Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society annual awards night

The University of Kentucky Nu Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society hosted its annual awards night on Wednesday, April 17 in the W. T. Young Athletic Auditorium. The annual event was established in 2022 to honor several groups of leaders across campus, including the recently named recipients of the Great Teacher Award (in conjunction with the Alumni Association), the Maurice A. Clay Award for outstanding graduating students, the Jerry D. Claiborne scholarship recipients and to install the new student leadership. Students, faculty, staff and the community gathered to honor those recognized.

The Maurice A. Clay award was created over thirty years ago to recognize the outstanding graduating senior in each academic college. Winners are selected by the College and are expected to be exceptional leaders who have provided service to their college while maintaining a strong academic record. Omicron Delta Kappa recognizes superior scholarship, leadership, and exemplary character. The Maurice A. Clay Awards are one way in which the UK Nu Circle of the National Leadership Society can bestow on graduating seniors a “Mark of High Distinction.”

Maurice A. Clay was an educator and professor at UK for more than 60 years. He was the epitome of service leadership, while assuming little recognition for himself. We hope that each recipient will exemplify these characteristics in future endeavors.

The 2024 recipients are:

• Whitney Evans, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
• Jason Marcus, College of Arts and Sciences
• Jack Ballard, Gatton College of Business and Economics
• Cailey Bingham (ISC), College of Communication and Information
• Mason Gohde, College of Design
• Patrick Haycraft, College of Education
• Rachel Barber, Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering
• Briann Cox, College of Fine Arts
• Claire Gulley, College of Health Sciences
• Wilson Hourigan, College of Nursing
• Ashley Grospitch, College of Public Health
• Kotomi Yokokura, College of Social Work
• Zachary Owen, Martin School for Public Policy and Administration

The Jerry D. Claiborne Scholarship is awarded to students who exemplify, through thoughts and actions, the character of Jerry D. Claiborne, former UK men’s football coach and UK alum. Claiborne was most known for exhibiting compassion, leadership, and humility, his love for mentoring students and the highest integrity of character. To be eligible for this award, one must be a member of UK’s OΔK Circle, be currently enrolled in a degree program and apply for the award. The recipients were chosen from their peers and received a $600 stipend.

The 2024 recipients are:

• Antoinette Foliart, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
• Rebecca Spradlin, College of Health Sciences  
• Ruben Valencia (ICT), College of Communication and Information

We also recognized the Alumni Association’s Great Teachers who were chosen in conjunction and support of O∆K. You can read more about these recipients in the recent UKNow article, ‘UK at the Half’: Learn about UK's 2024 Great Teacher Award winners.

The 2024-2025 OΔK student officers were installed and recognized: Nora Sypkens, President, Drew White, Vice President-President Elect and Devin Bester, Membership Coordinator. Faculty and Staff advisors are Francisco Andrade, College of Medicine and C. Lynn Hiler, Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence.

Tune into the ODK and Chellgren Center social media outlets to help celebrate these outstanding leaders even more by liking and sharing the posts.

Omicron Delta Kappa is supported on campus by the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence within the Office of the Provost. For more information, contact us at chellgrencenter@uky.edu.