The Delta Upsilon (DU) fraternity chapter at UND will celebrate its 60th birthday this year, and the festivities kicked off during this past homecoming weekend. The chapter broke ground at 421 Princeton Street on Friday, October 22. Notable attendees were UND’s Associate Dean of Students, Cassie Gerhardt, and Vice President of Philanthropy, UND Alumni Association and Foundation, Dan Muus.  

 Gerhardt commented one the role of alumni in continuing Greek Life on campus, commenting that the new house “is not just a home for students, it’s a home for alumni.”
 

With a proposed fundraising goal of $5.5 million, alumni contributed to making this new house a reality. Fundraising began in 2020, and the chapter has raised nearly $4 million toward their $5.5 million goal. The new chapter house is part of a $6.1 million project and privately financed by the chapter’s over 1000 alumni. 
 

The monetary goal is significant, but the exploratory group (composed of UND alumni Lynn Luckow, Cary Schilling, and Brad Aafedt) found this sum to be in line with other Delta Upsilon budgets across universities of similar size. 
 

Dan Muus who now serves as Vice President of Philanthropy, UND Alumni Association and Foundation has connections to Delta Upsilon as he is a 1993 alumnus. He spoke of UND’s campus-wide vision to build and renovate from “Coulee to Columbia” and how the new house fits into the campaign, adding that private development in the area is important in updating the campus.
 

In addition to Muus and Gerhardt, DU alumni from each decade since its 1961 founding at UND were present. 
 

This house will be the chapter’s third home as they move from 505 Princeton Street – which was built in the 1970s with a Housing and Urban Development grant. Delta Upsilon expects members to move into the house upon completion in 2023.  

 Claire Weltz is a Dakota Student Arts and Community Editor. She can be reached at [email protected].