Decem Vir
This is the recognition given to those Delta Chi Dekes who have demonstrated a life-long commitment to the success of the Delta Chi chapter. The Decem Vir is named after the ten Dekes who formed the chapter in 1870 and consists of alumni who have been instrumental to the growth and health of ΔΚΕ.
Delta Chi Alumni Members
James McConnell Clark ’44 – long-standing alumni leader. Awarded 2001
Tom Borthwick ’51 – built and dedicated new furnishings to the lodge. Awarded 2002
Robert Malatesta ’55 – long serving Delta Chi Association board member. Awarded 2005
William Houck ’70 – long serving Delta Chi Association board member. Awarded 2005
William Homer Fogle ’70 – long-serving board member and historian. Awarded 2006
Norman “Lin” Davidson ’71 – long serving Delta Chi Association Board Member and President. Awarded 2014
Charles Kerner ’74 – leader of the Building our Legacy Capital Campaign. Awarded 2020
Will Roberts ’06 – leader of the Building our Legacy Capital Campaign. Awarded 2020
Mike Curran ’79 – long serving Delta Chi Association Board Member and President. Awarded 2024
Honorary Members
Rutherford B. Hayes (1822–1893): President of the United States. Father of four Delta Chi Dekes.
Thomas Joseph Pniewski: Resident Advisor.
James Anderson Hawes: ΔΚΕ National Council.
Domingos Correa de Moraes 1877 (1857–1917): Governor of São Paulo
Distinguished Delta Chi Alumni
John DeWitt Warner 1872 (1851–1925): Representative, US Congress. An early alumni-elected Cornell trustee
Edmund Judson Moffat 1879 (1857–1899): Deputy US Consul-General, London
Cuthbert Winfred Pound 1887 (1864–1935): Chief Justice, N.Y. Court of Appeals
Henry Reuben Ickelheimer 1888 (1868–1940): Banker and Cornell Trustee
Aurelio Mario Garcia Menocal y Deop 1888 (1866–1941): President of Cuba
Louis William Marcus 1889 (1863–1923): Justice, N.Y. State Supreme Court
Maurice Francis Connolly 1897(1877–1921): Representative, US Congress
Robert Julius Thorne 1897 (1875–1955): President Montgomery Ward & Co. (donated $2,000 in 1919 for house renovations)
Charles “Chuck” Barrett 1916 (1893-1924): A two-time All-America quarterback and member of the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame.
Howard Winchester Hawks 1918 (1896–1977): film director, producer, and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era.
Charles Baskerville Jr.1919 (1896–1994): Soldier, combat artist, portrait and mural painter.
Caesar Augustin Grasselli II 1922 (1901–1978): Soldier and industrialist. Senior executive, E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.
Thomas Carey Hennings Jr. 1924 (1903–1960): Senator, US Congress
Andrew John Biemiller 1926 (1906–1982): Representative, US Congress
Robert Trent Jones, Sr. 1928 (1906-2000): Renowned golf course architect (including Cornell’s Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. Inductee to World Golf Hall of Fame.
Rollin White King 1954 (1931–2014): Founder and first president of Southwest Airlines Company
Caleb Alan MacDonald 1955 (1933–): Businessman. President and CEO, Nestlé Foods Company.
John Patrick White 1959 (1937–2017): Deputy Secretary of Defense
Bruce Davey Benson 1961: President of the University of Colorado
Laing Kennedy 1963: Cornell Athletic Director 1983-1994. All-American Men’s Hockey Goalie 1961, 1962, 1963. Cornell University Athletic Hall of Fame (induction 1980).
Dave Ferguson 1967: Cornell Varsity Hockey Captain of the 1967 NCAA Championship team
Doug Ferguson 1967: Cornell Varsity Hockey player on the 1967 NCAA Championship team
Bob Ferguson 1968: Cornell Varsity Hockey player on 1967 NCAA Championship team
Gene Pierce 1967: Founder, Glenora Winery, Dundee NY
Robert C. Platt 1973: Elected Student Trustee of Cornell
Glyn Locke 1976: designer and CEO of Glyn Locke rowing shells and cofounder of Artigiano, a UK fashion brand.
Gregory L. Fenves 1979: President Emory University. Formerly President of University of Texas-Austin.
Michael P. Curran 1979 : Founding member of McLagan consulting, retired Director of Willis Towers Watson.
Kendall J. Newman 1980: United States Magistrate Judge, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of California
Thomas J. Quinones 1981: Supreme Court Justice 9th Judicial District – New York
Joseph Alfred Brendler 1984: Brigadier General, U. S. Army. Legion of Merit and two Bronze Star Medals.
Grant DePorter 1987: Restauranteur; owner of Harry Caray’s in Chicago. Purchased the “Bartman Ball” to destroy the “Curse of the Billy Goat”.
Robert Page 1990: Investor, Founder of Page Capital
Darin Spilman 1990: Managing Director at RBS
Joseph Charles Gatto, II 1992: CEO of Callon Petroleum
Matthew Goldberg 1992: CEO of Trip Advisor; Former CEO of Lonely Planet
Douglass Hohner 1992: Senior Partner and Managing Director of the Boston Consulting Group
James Raymond King 1994: Managing Director Guggenheim Investments
Kevin Joseph Jacobs 1994: Chief Financial Officer of Hilton Corporation
Bill Callen 1994: VP, Production Services for Turner Sports, and producer of Inside the NBA with Charles Barkley.
Daniel Lee Einhorn 1995: Investor; venture capitalist, General Partner of Capital Midwest
Gregory James Papa 1996: Founder of Global Strategy Group; Special Assistant to the President for Legislative Affairs in the Obama White House.
Ricardo Ramon Delfin 1996: Deputy Director of the FDIC, Executive Director of the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Daniel A. Balda 1997: Chairman and CEO of Medicomp
Matt Mariani 1997: Senior executive, Mariani Nut Company, one of the largest, privately-held, walnut and almond processors in the world.
Joshua Stirling 1999: Managing Director / SVP US Insurance, Sanford Bernstein
Deke Testimonies
Thomas C. Borthwick ’51: A Friend From the Heart Forever by Joe Marraccino ‘91
George Nicholson III ’56: Ending Up With Things You Can Be Proud Of by Mark Morgenstein ‘92
George E. Fox ’61: Finding Ralph C. Mannunni by Joe Marraccino ‘91
Dekes Leave Their Marks on Campus
Robert Trent Jones Golf Course was named after the course architect and brother Robert Trent Jones.
Statute of Andrew Dickson White on Arts Quad was a gift of brother Henry Reuben Ickelheimer
The Robert Julius Thorne Chair in Political Economy in the Department of Economics at Cornell University is endowed in Brother Thorne’s name.
Clifton Beckwith Brown, member of the Rough Riders, honored with a large bronze plaque hanging in Sibley Dome
Brother Chuck Barrett has a bronze plaque in the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame at Schoellkopf Field for his accomplishments on the football field.
Bartels Hall’s Richard M. Ramin Multipurpose Room and the Ramin Family Administration Center are named for Brother Ramin ’51, who served as a Cornell vice president for 24 years.
Dekes killed in WWI and WWII are included in the university memorials located between Lyon and McFadden Halls, and in the entrance of Annabel Taylor Hall.