Rick A. Bright Receives National Award from Omicron Delta Kappa
Lexington, VA (08/08/2022) — Rick A. Bright, a resident of Washington, D.C., is the 2022 recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa's Pillars of Leadership Award in Academics and Research.
Bright is a 1996 initiate of the Auburn University Montgomery Circle (chapter) of ODK. After becoming a member of the Society, Bright was named his circle's Leader of the Year in 1997. He eventually enrolled at Emory University, where he received his Ph.D. in immunology and molecular pathogenesis (virology).
Bright has extensive experience in global public health, having served with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and scientific advisory boards for the World Health Organization. He has also held positions in the private sector, making significant advancements in vaccine and therapeutic developments for influenza viruses with pandemic potential and new vaccine, treatment, and testing technologies. Several organizations have recognized Bright for his ethical leadership through the COVID-19 crisis. He currently leads the Rockefeller Foundation's collaborative efforts with other organizations to create a pandemic prevention institute. The institute's goal is to stop future pandemics within the first 100 days after the earliest identification of a disease outbreak. Bright spoke at the 2021 ODK National Leadership Conference, provided remarks during one of the 2020-21 virtual initiation ceremonies, and endowed an ODK scholarship supporting collegiate members pursuing graduate education in the hard sciences.
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.