Delt lecture
The Delta Phi Rho Lecture
Cornell College’s Delta Phi Rho Lecture was conceived by alumni organizing the 100th anniversary of the college’s Delta Phi Rho fraternity. An endowment to support the major lecture series originated with a group of early 1960s Delt alumni who wanted to leave a legacy as part of the 1998 Delt centennial celebration. After committing $150,000 themselves, the group single-handedly campaigned to raise $400,000 from other Delt alumni. Due to the overwhelming success of the lectures, the Delts have pledged to bring the endowment to $1 million.
“We wanted to do something that would bring distinction to the college,” said Delt Bob Bowman ’62, co-chair of the endowment campaign with John Urheim ’62 and R.K. Scott ’63. “The purpose of the endowment is to bring a nationally prominent figure to campus every other year to interpret current issues and encourage student and faculty involvement in public affairs. The endowment also allows alumni and students to connect with Cornell in a new way.”
The Delta Phi Rho Centennial Fund commemorated not only a century of Delt tradition, but the accomplishments and leadership shown by individual Delts as students, alumni, and members of their communities. The purpose of the endowment is to contribute to the intellectual capital of the college and the community by bringing a nationally prominent figure to campus to interpret current issues and encourage student and faculty involvement in public affairs.
Delta Phi Rho Lectures
2003-04: Bob Woodward, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist
2005-06: Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International
2007-08: George Stephanopoulos, ABC News Chief Washington correspondent
2009-10: David Gergen, analyst, author, and presidential advisor
Delt Lecture Advisory Committee
Richard Bowman ’62
Founding Partner, Bowman & Brook, Minneapolis
Robert McLennan ’65
President/CEO, Beacon Management Company, Wheeling, Ill.
R.K. Scott ’63
Retired CEO, SDN Communications LLC, Sioux Falls, S. D.
John Urheim ’62
Retired Vice Chairman/CEO, Atrix Laboratories, Fort Collins, Colo.
Peter Wilch ’94
Vice President for Alumni and College Advancement, Cornell College
Delta Phi Rho
Raymond Peter Ink founded Cornell College’s Delta Phi Rho fraternity in 1898 from members of the Adelphian Literary Society, which dates back to 1859. The purpose of the Delta Phi Rho, as set forth in its charter, is to develop members socially, intellectually, and morally, and to nurture brotherhood. A prominent Mount Vernon farmer and longtime supporter of Cornell, Ink remained involved with the Delts until his death in 1963. Ink was memorialized on campus with the creation of the Ink Pond.
For much of the last century the Delts were known for their rich athletic heritage. Seven of the eight members of Cornell’s legendary 1947 NCAA and AAU national championship wrestling team were Delts, and its coach, Paul Scott ’29, was an honorary Delt. Between 1932 and 1956, Delt wrestlers also carved places on five consecutive U.S. Olympic teams. Currently, more than one-third of the nearly 150 athletes in the Cornell Athletics Hall of Fame are Delts.
Throughout the years, Delt alumni have provided leadership to Cornell on the Board of Trustees, the Alumni Board of Directors, and the college’s administration. Many Delts have contributed to Cornell’s distinction through their professional achievement or philanthropy. Former board chair Richard Small ’50, the retired CEO of Tri-Star Aerospace, and his wife, Norma, are the most generous donors in Cornell history. Campbell McConnell ’50, author of the world’s leading college economics textbook, has established an endowed faculty development fund at Cornell. Before his untimely death in 1992, William Taylor ’61 was chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and oversaw the resolution of the savings and loan crisis that then threatened the nation’s banking system.
Many other Delta Phi Rho graduates of Cornell College have achieved prominence in numerous fields of endeavor. Among them are a number of accomplished professionals including the head of breast cancer research at the Mayo Clinic, a senior fellow at Stanford’s Hoover Institution, an internationally known product-liability defense attorney, a best-selling business journalist and behavioral scientist, a child development author and lecturer, an esteemed volcanologist, a professor selected as one of the nation’s 10 outstanding music educators, and a past member of the foreign service. Others have achieved leadership positions in various areas of industry as CEOs or other senior-level posts, and many have made their mark as entrepreneurs, creating and developing their own professional and commercial enterprises.
As well as Ink Pond, the Cornell campus includes four buildings that bear the names of Delts: The Richard and Norma Small Multi-Sport Center, Youngker Hall, the Scott Alumni Center, and West Science Center, named for Merle S. West ’09. Charles Youngker ’42, along with his brother Ben Youngker ’43, funded Tarr Hall in tribute to the aunt and uncle who helped raise them.