Distinguished Alumni

Decem Vir

This is the recognition given to those Dekes who have made the most significant contribution to the Delta Chi chapter. The Decem Vir is named after the ten Dekes who formed the chapter in 1870. It consists of alumni who have been critical 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

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 Hoceky 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.