Sigma Nu Fraternity

We have moved into the last few weeks of our initial full year back on campus. While we have made a lot of progress, we still have a significant way to go to build our undergraduate brother roster to a number that will make our house financially self-sustaining. We have already launched our rush efforts for the fall semester through both informal and formal events to meet new potential brothers.

Our chapter has begun planning for Cornell Reunion from June 8-11, 2023 and we’ll again be hosting alumni receptions on Friday and Saturday afternoon from 3:00 to 6:00 pm. Make your plans to get back to campus this summer and come visit Sigma Nu. All alumni, family, and friends are welcome, and no RSVP needed. Contact Jaan Janes ’85 at jaanjanes@aol.com with any questions.

When you get back to 230 Willard Way, you’ll see our chapter house is going through significant restoration, while maintaining the architectural design and character we all love. Because of the wonderful support of so many alumni, we have launched an important new program to raise $150,000 to update the Great Hall with new flooring and wood paneling, as well as to update the staircases to the second and third floors. Our goal is to do the initial flooring and landing work this summer, plus to finish off the program to refloor our bedrooms. This new effort was kickstarted by Glenn Dallas ’58, who has pledged to match dollar for dollar the first $50,000 in alumni giving. And, we’ve already raised $93,250 against the match program (as of April 24) for a total of $143,250! You can click here today to donate to the new initiative, and get us over the top against our goals.

Our window renovation project is essentially complete; we replaced more than 100 original wood-frame windows with modern, energy-efficient aluminum windows while also restoring and sealing in with tempered glass all of our stained and leaded glass windows. This program raised more than $383,000 anchored by a $140,000 dollar for dollar match by an alumnus. The Gamma Theta Property Association leadership team, our chapter advisors, and the undergraduate brothers would like to express their gratitude to all the alumni who contributed to the windows effort through their time and donations.

Sigma Nu brothers continue to connect, and we had a very strong turnout on December 2 at our New York City holiday dinner. Some of our undergraduate brothers made the trip down from Ithaca to join the holiday fun, and you can check our photo gallery to see who was there. We are glad that so many alumni were able to visit the house this year during Homecoming last September. The door is always open to alumni so please stop by 230 Willard Way anytime you are in Ithaca!

We have set a great new foundation for our undergraduate brothers, and we want to ensure they have the best experience possible, as we all had. While we have brothers living and dining in the house, we will have an operating-budget gap until we have a larger total brotherhood numbering close to 50. Our Building a Bridge effort again seeks to raise $100,000 during the current 2022–2023 school year to offset that gap, and as of April 24, we have raised $27,225. You can join other alumni today by paying your dues and, if possible, by making an additional Building a Bridge contribution to the Gamma Theta Property Association or by making a donation to our Fall Creek Leadership Foundation. Thank you to all the alumni who have given.

Finally, we are seeking interested alumni to join the Gamma Theta Property Association and to take leadership positions working with our house corporation and the undergraduate brothers. A handful of alumni have been sharing the work over the years, and we need new alumni to play a bigger part in our chapter’s future. More details on leadership changes are in our spring newsletter mailing, which you will receive in May. We can shape our next generation of alumni leadership to match your interest area: finance and accounting, mentoring and working with undergraduates, house physical plant and renovation work, kitchen operations, and so forth. The rewards are many, especially seeing our fine young men go on to be leaders in their professions and communities. To learn more or if you have any questions, reach out to GTPA President Bob Linden ’71 at linden0552@yahoo.com. Thanks for your support of Sigma Nu!

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