Former Ashland CEO, Villa Hills resident Paul Chellgren is UK’s ODK Pillars of Leadership winner


Paul W. Chellgren, a resident of Villa Hills, is the 2022 recipient of Omicron Delta Kappa’s Pillars of Ledership Award in Service to Campus and Community.

Chellgren is a 1963 initiate of the University of Kentucky (UK) Circle (chapter) of Omicron Delta Kappa. During his undergraduate career, he was an honors program student, a star intercollegiate debater, and student body president. In addition to his baccalaureate degree from UK, Chellgren also earned graduate degrees from Harvard Business School and the University of Oxford.

Paul Chellgren

Chellgren is the retired chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Ashland, Inc. He is currently a partner with Snow Phipps Group, LLC, a New York City-based private equity firm. Chellgren served as a director of the PNC Financial Services Group for more than 20 years.

Chellgren has been a long-time member of ODK’s Investment Subcommittee. He and his family also established the Society’s Chellgren Family Scholarship Fund. With a significant contribution from Chellgren and his family, the University of Kentucky established the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence. In addition to his devotion to the UK, he has served on the boards of trustees of the University of Kentucky, Centre College, and the Marshall University Foundation. Chellgren has also been an advocate and advisor for both Eastern Kentucky University and Kentucky Wesleyan College.

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.

Omicron Delta Kappa


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