Brent D. Scholar Receives National Award from Omicron Delta Kappa
Lexington, VA (08/08/2022) — Brent D. Scholar, a resident of Phoenix, Arizona, is the 2022 recipient of the Omicron Delta Kappa (ODK) Community Commitment for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusivity.
Scholar is a 2018 faculty/staff initiate of the Arizona State University Circle (chapter) of ODK and a lecturer in the Department of Leadership and Integrative Studies at the university. Since 2011, he has been a member of the Diversity Leadership Alliance (DLA), the premiere diversity education organization in Arizona, and has been a part of the DLA's education and conference committees. In 2020, Scholar began directing the DLA's online Conversations to Ignite Change, providing education and discussion forums for more than 1,000 members about identifying racism, implicit bias, micro/macro aggressions, and how to be anti-racist. He also started the DLA's Equity Corner - a one-hour follow-up to monthly workshops where members can come together to discuss their efforts to be more inclusionary in their organizations and lives.
More recently, Scholar has collaborated with E. I. Games to include game simulations that are based on empathy. In 2019, he was asked to review the company's Emotional Intelligent Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Game. Scholar's thoughtful feedback ultimately led to the game winning a gold medal at the Serious Play Awards in 2020.
Omicron Delta Kappa Society, the National Leadership Honor Society, was founded in Lexington, Virginia, on December 3, 1914. A group of 15 students and faculty members established the Society to recognize and encourage leadership at the collegiate level. The founders established the ODK Idea-the concept that individuals representing all phases of collegiate life should collaborate with faculty and others to support the campus and community. ODK's mission is to honor and develop leaders; encourage collaboration among students, faculty, staff, and alumni; and promote ODK's leadership values of collaboration, inclusivity, integrity, scholarship, and service on college and university campuses throughout North America. The Society's national headquarters are located in Lexington, Virginia.