This senior honorary society for men was established in 1932 and took the Circle and Torch name in 1934, with a view of remaining local for the three years required by the national Omicron Kappa Delta Honorary Society and then applying for a charter. In 1937, 1938, and 1939, UT’s Administrative Council declined to allow Circle and Torch to petition ODK for a charter, citing principally cost, the fact that some of the dues money would go off campus, and unfavorable reports from other universities. Circle and Torch became a chapter of ODK in 1947.