Who We Are

Order of Omega was founded at the University of Miami (FL)—the Omega Alpha chapter. They attributed the idea of an honorary for fraternity men at the University of Miami to Parker F. Enright, the advisor of fraternities back then.

After the founding, our organization immediately approved our original constitution on April 14, 1959. Since then, Order of Omega has continued growing, chartering more chapters, including one that Mr. Enright established at the University of Pittsburgh in 1964.

After some years of progression, another chapter was chartered on December 1, 1967, at the University of Southern Mississippi. It was called the Omega Beta chapter.

After receiving a charter from Order of Omega on February 25, 1969 (Omega Kappa Chapter), the University of Texas at Arlington became home to Order of Omega. This is after Dr. Kent L. Gardner became the organization’s national president and executive director in 1971.

Our chapters at the University of Florida (Omega Zeta Chapter) and Oregon State University (Alpha Rho Chapter) trialed the initial idea of the coed Order of Omega chapters. The trial produced great successes. So, in 1977, it was voted that Order of Omega should change from an all-male group to a coeducational organization. Since then, our association’s growth has accelerated even further.

In 1983, Order of Omega leaders from across the country held our organization’s first meeting. A new constitution was approved, and the chapters were divided into regions geographically.

The final details of our proposed scholarship program were approved in 1985. We awarded ten scholarships worth $500 in the first year. Since then, our scholarship program has awarded over $1.6 million to deserving undergraduate members of Order of Omega.

At a board of directors’ meeting in 1988, a primary focus of discussion was developing strategies to increase the number of African-American men and women in Order of Omega. We formed a strategy targeting historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for future expansion.

Order of Omega created a fellowship program for full-time and part-time professionals enrolled in a field of study (Master’s or Doctoral) that is related to higher education. This is to give back to the higher education profession. Since then, Order of Omega has awarded more than $277,000 to deserving professionals.

Order of Omega’s board of directors opened a position in 1993 to include a National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) member on the board. Ms. Daisy “Dee” Wood, a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. member and past president of the NPHC, accepted the position in 1994. Until her passing in 2014, Daisy enthusiastically served in this position.

On April 26, 1993, Order of Omega officially became an international organization after chartering the Nu Xi Chapter at McMaster University in Hamilton, ON (Canada).

Order of Omega chartered its 400th chapter in just its 38th year. The new chapter, Rho Alpha, was chartered at Towson University on November 17, 1997.

After breaking ground in 2005, we officially opened our current headquarters office building on July 22, 2006. The opening event was an open house and had a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Order of Omega’s board of directors held a meeting in Miami, FL, to celebrate our organization’s golden anniversary. A reception was held at the University of Miami to celebrate the founding anniversary, and Order of Omega approved a $10,000 gift to be given to the University of Miami’s Greek Affairs Office.

After over 40+ years of Executive Director Dr. Kent L. Gardner’s leadership, he retired and passed the torch over to the then-Assistant Executive Director, Mardie Sorensen.

During the 2023 Summer Board Meeting, the Board of Directors voted unanimously to name Order of Omega headquarters the Kent L. Gardner Order of Omega International Headquarters, in honor of Dr. Kent L. Gardner.