Members of Campus Community Honored at Omicron Delta Kappa Leadership Awards Ceremony

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 27, 2017) — Three outstanding members of the University of Kentucky community — an award-winning journalism student, a faculty activist for women's rights and a catalyst for the National Society of Black Engineers on campus — received awards from UK's Nu Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society, at its fourth annual Leadership Awards Ceremony.

The Nu Circle also awarded the Jerry Claiborne Scholarship to Drew Crawford, who provided support over the last five years to UK organizations, such as Chi Omega, DanceBlue, Omicron Delta Kappa, UK Homecoming and Christian Student Fellowship. Crawford served as a Student Center student employee since her sophomore year and was involved with planning the new Student Center. Crawford is expected to graduate in May from UK with a master's degree in business administration. The Jerry D. Claiborne Scholarship is given annually to the ODK member who best exemplifies the character of Jerry D. Claiborne; highest integrity, caring for others, dedication to the success of others and a true spirit of "servant leadership."

Founded Dec. 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, Omicron Delta Kappa recognizes achievement in:

• scholarship;
• athletics;
• campus or community service, social and religious activities, and campus government;
• journalism, speech and the mass media; and
• creative and performing arts.

Nominees, guests, members of the Nu Circle and President Eli Capilouto, a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, attended the ceremony to honor the impact and leadership of several UK students, faculty and alumni. In addition to Capilouto speaking about his own experience in becoming a leader, Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration Eric N. Monday spoke on the qualities of leadership at the ceremony. Monday was initiated as a member of Omicron Delta Kappa at Louisiana State University, Oct. 31, 1999. 

The winners were presented their awards by Nu Circle President Sara Baker and Vice President Neil Horsley. They are:

• ODK Excellence Award Winner Marjorie Kirk, editor of the Kentucky Kernel newspaper.
• ODK Outstanding Leadership and Student Enhancement Award Winner Naiara Porras, a doctoral student and Spanish instructor.
• ODK Impact Award Winner Courtney McKelphin, an engineering student activist.

Marjorie Kirk, a nationally recognized student newspaper editor, is a journalism major with a focus on international studies and an interest in pursuing a law degree. During her tenure as editor, the university and The Kernel were embroiled in a lawsuit over an open records dispute that involved questions about transparency in cases of sexual misconduct and the confidentiality and privacy of student records. The litigation has been covered by The New York Times, NPR and The Chronicle of Higher Education, among others. As managing editor of the Kernel in 2015-16, she saw her paper win a Pacemaker, the Pulitzer Prize of college journalism, and as editor-in-chief in 2017 her paper was honored by the Kentucky Press Association (KPA) with the highest award for General Excellence for college newspapers in the state. She has won numerous KPA awards for her reporting and writing.

Naiara Porras, a doctoral candidate from Spain and an instructor of Spanish in the Department of Hispanic Studies, was elected earlier this year as the new president of the Bluegrass Chapter of the United Nations Association of the United States of America, a program of the United Nations Foundation. She served last year with the association when the focus was preventing human trafficking. This year, as director of the Women's Empowerment Committee and co-director of the LGBTQ* Committee, she has worked with the University of Kentucky Feminist Alliance to enhance women's rights on campus and in the community, championing causes including prevention of sexual harassment and sexual assault on campus.

Courtney McKelphin, an engineering student activist, was on the re-chartering team of the National Society of Black Engineers bringing the organization back on campus to increase the recruitment and retention of minorities for the College of Engineering. She joined the society's regional executive board and advocated for UK to be considered as a host school for conferences in the future. McKelphin, a Kentucky EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) Research Scholar, received the student research award at the Women of Color in STEM Conference and a second-place award at the American Institute of Chemical Engineering National Conference. After graduation, she will enter the Leadership Development Program of Colgate-Palmolive as a global supply chain associate. 

Other finalists for the leadership awards included:

• Jami Foster,
• Rachel Immerman,
• Neil Horsley,
• Drew Crawford, and
• Lebogang Tiro.

The Nu Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa was founded at UK in 1925. It was the 14th circle to be established in the nation. Previous inductees have included Kentucky governors; UK presidents Frank Dickey, Charles Wethington and Lee Todd; philanthropists Lucille C. Little and William T. Young; Ambassadors Thomas Niles and Cary Cavanaugh; and Kentucky coaches Jerry D. Claiborne, Adolph Rupp, Orlando "Tubby" Smith and Bear Bryant, among other notable leaders.