Delta Nu celebrated the 75th anniversary of the founding of the fraternity with a dinner that welcomed 80 people back to Wagner on October 13, 2018.
The gathering not only reunited Delta Nu alumni, but it also raised money for the Gus Merkel ’55 Scholarship.
“[Gus Merkel] was a lifelong friend and the epitome of what a Wagner student is on campus and after being graduated,” said Fred Jacobsen ’54, who has pledged $70,000 to the fund. More than $11,000 in additional funds were raised through the Delta Nu reunion event.
English major Gus Merkel was a leader in Delta Nu and on the basketball team, serving as its co-captain during his senior year. After graduation, he had a successful career in public relations with companies including AlliedSignal and AT&T. He was also celebrated for his work on behalf of the elderly through Project CARE (Community Action to Reach the Elderly) in Morris County, New Jersey. He pitched in with direct aid to senior citizens, fundraising for the organization, and participation in statewide and national commissions on aging. Merkel died in 1999, of a heart attack, at age 66.
“As a family, we are honored that Fred Jacobsen, Delta Nu, and Wagner College will remember Gus in such a wonderful way — a way to pass on the values he learned at Wagner,” said his widow, Janet Junge Merkel ’57.
