# Omicron Delta Epsilon

Omicron Delta Epsilon (ΟΔΕ or ODE) is an international honor society in the field of economics, formed from the merger of Omicron Delta Gamma and Omicron Chi Epsilon, in 1963. ODE is a member of the Association of College Honor Societies.
ODE inducts approximately 4,000 collegiate members each year and has more than 100,000 living lifetime members. There are approximately 700 active ODE chapters worldwide. It publishes an academic journal The American Economist twice each year.

## History
### Predecessors

The first national honor society in economics, Omicron Delta Gamma, was formed on May 7, 1915, by the merger of Harvard University's Undergraduate Society of Economics with the University of Wisconsin's Order of Artus, an economics student society modeled on King Arthur's Knights of the Roundtable. Wisconsin's group was founded by Professor John R. Commons. Frank W. Taussig, president of the American Economic Association in 1904–1905, founded the chapter at Harvard.
Alan A. Brown was the founder and first president of Omicron Chi Epsilon in 1955, while a student at City College of New York. Brown conceived the creation and development of an international honor society in economics. Friends and colleagues report that they were amazed watching this polite and deferring young person "pestering" Nobel Prize winners and other giants of the economics profession to endorse, become involved in, and support this initiative. The first annual meeting of Omicron Chi Epsilon was held at Fordham University in New York City in the spring of 1958. Brown subsequently learned of the existence of Omicron Delta Gamma, which, while older and formally larger with more campus chapters, was less active than the younger Omicron Chi Epsilon.

### Omicron Delta Epsilon

Alan A. Brown was the prime mover to facilitate a merger in 1963 between Omicron Delta Gamma and Omicron Chi Epsilon, renamed Omicron Delta Epsilon – The National Honor Society in Economics. Omicron Delta Epsilon's purpose is to recognize academic achievement in economics and to increase connections between students and faculty of economics within and amongst colleges and university.
Later, Brown replaced “National” with "International" in its non-Greek title and expanded the organization globally. The society's first president was Robert E. Hill of Kent State University. Omicron Delta Epsilon joined the Association of College Honor Societies in 1965 and was readmitted in 1981. By 2012, the society had 672 active chapters, 4,440 active members, and 89,500 initiates.
Omicron Delta Epsilon inducts approximately 4,000 collegiate members each year and has more than 100,000 living lifetime members. It has approximately 700 active chapters worldwide. A detailed history of ODE, written by long-serving executive secretary-treasurer of the organization William D. Gunther, was published in 2013 by The American Economist in recognition of its fiftieth birthday. Its national headquarters is located in Fairhope, Alabama. It is a member of the Allied Social Science Associations.

## Symbols

Members of Omicron Delta Epsilon may wear royal blue and gold honor cords at graduation.

## Membership

New members consist of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as college and university faculty. Undergraduate members must have completed at least twelve hours of economics, with a B average in economics and overall, and rank in the upper third of their class.

## Activities

Omicron Delta Epsilon publishes an academic journal The American Economist twice each year. It sponsor panels and professional meetings. It also sponsors the Frank W. Taussig Undergraduate Article Award and the Irving Fisher Graduate Monograph Award.
It presents the John R. Commons Award biennially to an outstanding economist in recognition of academic achievements and for service both to the economics profession and to Omicron Delta Epsilon. The award is given at American Economic Association conference where the honoree presents a "Commons Lecture" which is later published in The American Economist.

## Chapters

As of 2024, Omicron Delta Epsilon Society has 717 active chapters in Australia, Canada, Egypt, France, Kazakhstan, Mexico, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

## Notable members

Following are some of the notable members of Omicron Delta Epsilon.
* Scott Bales – former Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court
* Thomas Borcherding – professor of economics at Claremont Graduate University
* Alan A. Brown – professor of economics and founder of Omicron Chi Epsilon and Omicron Delta Epsilon
* Barry Brucker – Mayor of Beverly Hills
* Dave Casper – professional football player
* Woody R. Clermont – lawyer and County Court Judge in Broward County, Florida
* John R. Commons – institutional economist and labor historian at the University of Wisconsin–Madison; founder of Omicron Delta Gamma
* Fred Fraenkel – investment professional and was a vice chair of Cowen Inc.
* André-Philippe Futa – assistant professor at the National University of Zaire and politician in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
* Joseph John Issa – businessman
* James M. Loree – president and chief executive officer of Stanley Black & Decker
* Robert Lucas Jr. – economist at the University of Chicago who received the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1995
* Roger C. Poole – United States Army general and academic
* Scott J. Silverman – Circuit Court Judge, 11th Judicial Circuit of Florida
* Robert Solow – professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1987
* Michael Szenberg – professor emeritus and chairman of the Finance and Economics Department at Lubin School of Business in Pace University
* F. W. Taussig – economics professor at Harvard University and chair of the United States Tariff Commission
* Togba-Nah Tipoteh – founder and president of the Movement for Justice in Africa
* Toshihisa Toyoda – Professor Emeritus at Kobe University and Hiroshima Shudo University