Alpha Tau Omega - University of North Dakota

I t wasn't the Miracle on 34th Street, perhaps, but the epic "mortgage burning" and 100th anniversary celebration conducted by Delta Nu lit up 3000 University Avenue like Christmas in October. The project to rebuild one of the longtime University of North Dakota fixtures— which has promoted Greek life across the street from such seminal buildings as the Memorial Union, the Chester Fritz Library, the UND Law School and (with apologies) the Valley Dairy store—seemed like a foolish pipe dream. First, of course, was reacquiring the land that was sold to the university, subject to a buyback option, after the fraternity could not pay its property taxes or insurance. Second was raising the money to build a new house. Some alumni took an early run at resurrecting the house when times got tough but were unsuccessful. "Looking back, I think the odds were stacked against us, especially since the chapter had been inactive for a number of years," said John Mohn '68, one of the key campaign members tabbed the "numbers guy" by project leader Dick Anderson '62. "We had a significant gap in our alumni members during those years, which limited overall alumni support." Anderson and a core group of Taus also had the goal of making sure the house would be debt-free by the time the project was completed. Brother Greg Page '70, one of a handful of alumni who wrote more than one big check for the project, opened a light at the end of the tunnel when he committed $1 million. It was the Greg Page challenge. His followers made a sprint to the finish in the month of June, when the goal was achieved. So while the October 2023 party wasn't exactly a "mortgage burning" event in the traditional sense, it was even better considering the chapter had a small number of members and it took the expenses off their hands. "In our case, we didn't have a mortgage, but did have a loan to fund construction while we finished fundraising," Brother Mohn said. "So it was a symbolic celebration." It was also the 100th year of Delta Nu. Brother Anderson, who has constantly deflected praise to others for their work, said in an email that the occasion was an uppercase "HUGE." "Neither will ever happen again, not ever, thus the alumni turnout last year for this gala event," he said. "It was a beautiful fall day, and being at 3000 University brought back a flood of great memories," said Brother Kevin Riley '79. "The new house is absolutely beautiful, and they have a permanent fire pit out in the front yard. "It was so amazing that we were in this beautiful $3-plus-million, brand-new house and were burning the mortgage," Brother Riley continued. "My thoughts were that there are a ton of generous alumni out there who made this happen. We sat around the fire pit as the 'mortgage' burned, and I was thinking of what a great recruiting tool this fire pit is—right in the center of campus in front of this beautiful new house." In addition to all the donors, Brother Anderson said that "without Mark Hall '70, John Mohn, and Mitch Byrne '79 and other tireless volunteers, this pursuit of a dream would never have happened. It would be a disservice not to publicly recognize these three specifically, as well as my co-chairman Jerry Van Eeckhout '59." And, while the achievement is monumental, Brother Mohn knows the work has, in many ways, just begun. "The chapter will be challenged in the future, as there currently aren't as many alumni willing to get involved in working with the chapter by providing oversight and guidance," he said. We hope to be proven wrong with alumni stepping up now and being ready to step up in the future. T H E D E L T A T H E D E L T A N U S N U S A PUBLICATION OF ALPHA TAU OMEGA FRATERNITY UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA s WINTER 2025 The Burning of the "Mortgage" Recapping Our 100-Year Celebration Mike Hilgers '70 "burns the mortgage" at Delta Nu's centennial celebration.

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