The Class of 2026 OKU inductees.
Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU) is the national dental honor society dedicated to recognizing and encouraging excellence in the field of dentistry. Founded in 1914 at Northwestern University Dental School, OKU honors dental students, faculty, staff, and alumni who demonstrate exceptional academic achievement, leadership, professionalism, service, and ethical character. Membership in OKU represents a commitment to advancing the dental profession through scholarship, integrity, and lifelong learning. Through its chapters at accredited dental schools across the United States, OKU continues to foster a tradition of excellence and inspire future leaders in oral healthcare.
Penn Dental Medicine’s Eta chapter was established in 1916. A roster of OKU Eta chapter inductees is available on the Supreme Chapter of OKU’s website.
Alumni membership is highly selective and awarded to graduating dental students who rank among the top 20% of their graduating class. These graduating students, in addition to academic excellence, have demonstrated exemplary traits of ethical character and potential qualities of future professional growth and attainments.
Faculty members are dental school faculty who have been elected to membership after service as a full-time teacher for three years or a part-time teacher for six years at the school where they are being nominated. Eligibility for election requires a member of a faculty to have made outstanding contribution to the art, science, or literature of dentistry.
Honorary members may be elected by a component chapter to honor any non-dentist who has made outstanding contribution to the art, science, or literature of dentistry, and others who have made similar contribution to the advancement of dentistry.
A history of OKU and its bylaws is maintained by the Supreme Chapter of OKU.