“Cornell was formative to my life, so the idea of giving back to Cornell was always in my blood,” said Wayne P. Merkelson ’73, JD ’75.
Wayne has been the Class of 1973 nominating chair and on the class council for more than 50 years, and is currently the class fundraising co-chair with Susan Murphy.
He described an early experience with fundraising while watching the Jerry Lewis telethon with his family in elementary school: his father encouraged him to call in and donate.
“I could give $5 or $10, whatever my allowance allowed. And although it was a small donation, it was appreciated just as much as every other donation,” Wayne said. He has applied that same ethos to his fundraising efforts for the university on behalf of his class. “It’s important for alumni to understand that all of their donations are important.”
Wayne has participated in fundraising since his 10th Reunion, and began taking leadership positions in 2003, when he became the head of the 30th Reunion Campaign Quadrangle/Charter Society Committee. He co-chaired fundraising with friend and classmate Jon Kaplan ’73 from the 35th Reunion until just before the class’s 45th Reunion in 2018, when Jon was killed in a bike accident. Since then, Wayne stepped up to continue Jon’s legacy and as co-chair for the 45th and 50th Reunion campaigns with Susan Murphy.
Wayne began his education on the Hill as an architecture student, but switched to become a double major in urban studies and government. One of the most formative experiences on campus, Wayne said, was joining the Student Finance Commission, which funds student clubs and organizations.
In 1971, he was recommended to join the Cranch Commission—a long-range planning commission led by Dean Edmund Titus Cranch ’45, PhD ’51 from the College of Engineering—to report on future planning recommendations for university administration. Wayne was the only student on the that commission.
“That was transformational for me. I learned so much about Cornell,” Wayne said.
During his second year, a last-minute search for housing led him to Risley Residential College, a newly-formed program house for the creative and performing arts. It was in Risley that he befriended Superman actor Christopher Reeve ’74, as well as his future wife and fellow 2024 FHTR recipient Nancy Roistacher ’72 . Wayne spent his senior year attending Cornell Law School through its accelerated 3+3 Program, which allows students to complete both their undergraduate and JD degrees in six years. Meanwhile, Nancy was attending medical school in New York City.
“She continued to write to me; we kept in touch,” Wayne said, “and at the end of the following year—after the second year of law school—we got back together. It worked out, because we’ve been married for 49 years!”
Wayne went on to earn a Masters of Law in Taxation from New York University, and after some law firm work, worked in a variety of legal positions for Amstar, Citicorp, Sandoz, Novartis, and AgBiome. He now works part time for Zymtronix.
Wayne and Nancy are both longtime volunteers and contributors to Cornell, in separate and joint endeavors. Together, they have supported several different colleges and areas, and established endowments in the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell Law School, and the Cornell Botanic Gardens—for which Wayne was an advisory council member for six years.
“I’ve participated in fundraising for Cornell because I wanted to ensure that Cornell would have a future,” Wayne said. “It’s the endowment that ultimately leaves the university able to reach for the future.”
