Ripon College 2016-2017 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 20 1 6-2 0 17

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PRES I D E N T ’S LE T T E R

Just Getting Started our students get an amazing education at an affordable price. The College provided more than $16 million worth of aid to 100 percent of the student body in the 2016-2017 academic year. We need to do even more.

Ripon’s students are achieving big things outside of class.

From research presentations at national conferences and awards at international competitions, to cool jobs and top grad schools, the Class of 2017 accomplished big things.

Our faculty are – still – making it happen. Award-winning teachers, peer-reviewed publications and new hires with remarkable résumés are shaping the next generation of Ripon greats.

The Spot is back! A remodeled area that housed The Pub honors the legendary downtown watering hole (minus the grime and the beer), now located in the center of campus.

I

am now in my sixth year as president at Ripon College, and I am gratified to look back and see how far we have come together. I remain proud and honored to lead one of America’s finest liberal arts colleges. Ripon College has a story to tell, and we’re not done yet.

The new Willmore Center is fantastic. We set out four years ago to build a facility that was both functional and beautiful. A new field house for track, tennis, basketball and indoor intramurals. State-ofthe-art cardio, weights and fitness rooms for our campus community and the community of Ripon. Cutting-edge rehabilitation care and sleek locker rooms along with classrooms and study spaces. It took hundreds of people, thousands of hours and generosity in the millions.

The new Catalyst curriculum is cutting edge. We know the liberal arts prepare each student for a Life Well Lived®. The new five-course Catalyst program focuses on developing skills in writing, quantitative analysis, oral communication, collaboration and problem-solving. Recognized by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation with $800,000 in funding, and the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies with $350,000 in funding, our curriculum already is a model for other liberal arts colleges.

Our endowment is nearing the $100 million mark. Recent gifts and stock market gains mean we can draw more funds to help 1

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Small improvements add up, too. We have opened a new Center for Career and Professional Development in S.N.Pickard Commons, Bovay’s Study Bar & Mercantile downtown, a fire pit, renovations to classrooms and public spaces – and there is much more to come.

The Center for Politics and the People is making a difference.

Providing a forum for civil discourse, the center brings students, faculty, staff and community members together to talk about the issues that divide and unite our state, nation and the world.

Better communication in the age of social media. A fresh website, a cool social media presence, radio ads during Packers games and billboards on highway 41 – all help make Ripon more visible to prospective students and families.

But we can’t do it without your help. We will keep investing in our students, faculty and staff, putting shovels into the ground and piloting innovative programs. Our success is because of your support. Thank you for your help this year. And thanks – in advance – for next year, too.

ZACH P. MESSITTE, PRESIDENT

CO NT E NT S

3 Willmore Center Grand Opening

5 The Catalyst Curriculum

10 The Class of 2021

11 Services to Students

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7 Revenue and Expenses

Engagement Opportunities

13 Faculty Achievements

ON THE COVER: The Class of 2017 illustrates their graduation year in front of Harwood

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Memorial Union, the setting

Campus Highlights

College.

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where they soon would receive their diplomas from Ripon

OUR MISSION: Ripon College prepares students of diverse interests for lives of productive,

Gifts and Grants

socially responsible citizenship.

Our liberal arts and sciences

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curriculum and residential

Enrollment and Outcomes

students experience a richly

campus create an intimate learning community in which personalized education.

RIPON ON SOCIAL MEDIA: facebook.com/ripon.college

twitter.com/riponcollege

instagram.com/riponcollege

youtube.com/riponcollegevideo

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A Revolution in Campus Fitness Has Arrived

WILLMORE CENTER OFFICIALLY OPENS The opening of the $22 million Willmore Center in August and the subsequent dedication this fall during Homecoming already has made a huge impact on the campus and surrounding community.

Students are coming to hang out, study, work out, and attend one of our regularly scheduled fitness classes. Additional intramural sports have been added, and games are able to be held simultaneously to varsity practices. The facility has been host to a variety of new events, camps and tournaments. In just a few short months, more than 200 community members have joined as members.

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Agnesian HealthCare Athletic Training Center This state-of-the-art training facility, given by Agnesian HealthCare, Ripon Medical Center, and the Foundation for Ripon Medical Center, contains a private examination room, athletic trainer offices, a hydro tub, several tape stations, new storage and equipment.

Fitness Center The open air fitness center comprises all new weight-training and cardio equipment.

“

Watch the

“It has redefined what we are able to accomplish from a recruiting standpoint. We are exposing our facilities and the Ripon brand to more audiences and at a younger age than ever before. I have no doubt it will pay enormous dividends for us moving forward.”

Willmore Center Grand Opening recap video: ripon.edu/opening

julie johnson , athletic director

Kermit “Doc” Weiske ’50 Gymnasium

The Doug and Audrey Lyke Memorial Track, a full 200-meter NCAA regulation track, is considered to be one of the best indoor tracks in the state of Wisconsin.

It comprises the Daniel Sutter ’01 Straightaway and the Ron ’70 and Loretta Law Peterson Performance Courts for competition tennis, basketball and volleyball.

The main performance gymnasium for Red Hawks Athletics was named for the late alumnus, legendary coach and Honorary Life Trustee Kermit “Doc” Weiske ’50. It includes new ADA bleachers, open views and accessibility to the second floor, a brand-new, two-tone court, a media gallery and a hospitality suite.

“We’ve had an influx of prospective students tour our campus and visit the Willmore Center. The look of awe on students’ faces is priceless.” chris ogle , vice president and dean of students

Hear what coaches and administrators are saying about the new Willmore Center: ripon.edu/testimonials

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CATALYST

Scores of New Seminars Are Enhancing Catalyst Curriculum

The Catalyst curriculum, a five-course Concentration in Applied Innovation that launched in the fall of 2016, is now in its second year of implementation.

This bold, new approach to liberal arts

Ripon College to send faculty to national

education allows students to develop the

conferences to share the lessons of our work

skills most sought after by employers.

with a broader audience of peers.

Catalyst already has received significant financial support as Ripon College serves as

To date, 70 new seminars have been

a role model for other campuses across the

developed for Catalyst. All of the seminars

country.

are custom-designed, so faculty are able to incorporate cutting-edge research on

• A $50,000 grant from The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation was used for planning, reviewing and revising of the ExploreSelect-Connect curriculum into the new Catalyst curriculum.

• Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s Faculty Career Enhancement (FaCE) grants have supported faculty efforts to incorporate skill transfer into the curriculum, furthering a culture of innovation in education among Ripon faculty.

skill transfer and learning cognition, and ultimately, assess student skill development directly.

Faculty members are designing courses and developing skills that could be far outside their typical disciplinary boundaries, and

Newly Created Seminars In 2016-17, Ripon College offered 12 sections of CTL 110 and 14 sections of CTL 120.

In 2017-18, there will be 15 sections of CTL 110; 12 sections of CTL 120; 12 sections of CTL 210; and six sections of CTL 220. Four of the 220 courses will be team-taught, so there will be an equivalent of 10 sections of 220.

that requires a need for close collaboration among faculty, says Steve Martin ’96, associate professor of communication, the Pieper Chair in Servant Leadership,

70

Seminars developed for Catalyst... so far

and a mentor in collaboration and oral • Funds from the Andrew W. Mellon

communication for Catalyst.

Foundation, totaling $800,000 over four years, are supporting the ongoing creation

Therefore, an ongoing need for Catalyst

of up to 140 new Catalyst seminars,

is to provide development opportunities

providing robust faculty development

to assist faculty in teaching courses and

support, ensuring deliberate and careful

methodologies that might be far removed

oversight of implementation, supporting

from their original degrees and pedagogical

visits by external experts and allowing

training, he says.

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By the end of this academic year, totals will be 27 CTL 110; 25 CTL 210; 12 CTL 210; and six CTL 220, for a grand total of 70 seminars already created for the Catalyst curriculum.

“YOU SP END LES S TIME ON REQU I R ED COURSES AND MOR E ON OP P ORTUNIT I E S .”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Tom Truesdell, visiting professor of English and coordinator of the Collaborative Learning Center, works with Jaime Camacho ’20 of Chicago, Illinois.

Ed Wingenbach, vice president and dean of faculty, leads a meeting about ongoing strategies of the Catalyst Task Force. Megan Gannon, assistant professor of English, discusses poems

by Ripon’s Fall 2016 visiting writer Emily Pérez in a fall 2016 Catalyst class. Professor of French Dominique Poncelet taught “Monsters and Deviants and Outcasts in French Literature” for Catalyst during FY’17.

“Many more courses outside specific disciplines will be developed

Pursuits such as internships, study abroad and a second or third

in the upcoming years, and it’s exciting to see the innovative

major all can be accomplished within the context of Ripon College’s

approaches our faculty will devise,” says Martin. “We’re requiring

four-year graduation guarantee.

our students to become adaptable problem-solvers, so it only seems fitting that we need to be innovative and flexible, too.”

Wingenbach says that more than 90 percent of today’s employers report that the skills they most look for in graduates are flexibility,

Ed Wingenbach, vice president and dean of faculty, adds, “Because the

innovation and problem-solving. Every student who completes the

Catalyst curriculum is so much smaller than other colleges and universities’

Catalyst curriculum earns a Concentration in Applied Innovation

graduation requirements, you have space to explore your passions.

documenting that the students have mastered those key skills.

You spend less time on required courses and more on opportunities.”

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RE V ENUE & EXPENSES The majority of our expenses in FY’17 were

and five years was 7.4 percent, 3.4 percent

devoted to student tuition support, costs

and 8.4 percent.

to sustain academic instruction as well as curricular services and upgrades to facilities.

Planned expenses in FY’17 included significant outlays incurred for the

The College provided $16,006,928 in

construction phase of the Willmore Center

financial assistance to 100 percent of

project, which officially broke ground on June 27, 2016. Subsequent to the close of the

its student body during the 2016-17

2017 calendar year, Ripon College received

academic year.

a low-interest construction loan from the

Financial statements for the fiscal year that

United States Department of Agriculture Rural

ended June 30, 2017, reflect an increase in net

Development. The loan of $14,300,000 is

assets of $6,792,674.

payable in 40 years with a fixed interest rate of 2.75 percent per annum.

The market value of our endowments and trusts as of June 30, 2017, was listed at

Donations to the Revitalize campaign and an

$87,935,456. This reflects an increase of

expected increase in conference services revenues

$9,337,936 from the prior year. The average

from camps, tournaments, weddings and other

endowment investment returns for one, three

events will help to offset future expenses.

RE V E NUE

EX P ENSES

Student Tuition & Fees

$12,851,953

35.9%

Instruction

Auxiliary Enterprises

$5,609,027

15.7%

Contributions

$5,024,461

Investments

$10,230,985

Other Income

$2,028,517

$10,387,966

36%

Institutional Support

$6,115,635

21.1%

14.1%

Auxiliary Enterprises

$5,165,747

17.8%

28.6%

Student Services

$5,597,188

19.3%

5.7%

Academic Support

$989,231

3.4%

$696,502

2.3%

Public Services TOTAL

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Abby Korb ’20 of Burlington, Wisconsin, receives a $22,000-per-year Gleason Presidential Scholarship to study at Ripon College.

$35,744,943

100%

TOTAL

$28,952,269

100%

Gifts and Grants Gifts to Ripon College during FY’17 included $1,903,128.76 in unrestricted funds; and $5,055,856.94 million in restricted funds, for a combined total of $6,958,985.70.

Seventy-two percent of the Class of 2017 contributed to the Senior Class Gift. Along with matches from the Alumni Board of Directors, a total of $2,689.35 was raised to be split between the Senior Class Scholarship and the Annual Fund.

NEW GIVING CLUB MEMBERS

on behalf of Ripon College or individual

$9,000, Max Kade Foundation, support

1851 Club: Now in its sixth year of

faculty members; 10 proposals were funded

of nine students in the Bonn University

existence, the club welcomed 63 new

as of June 30, 2017, totaling $691,065.

Program during spring 2017, Professor of

members for a total of 577 members in

They include:

German Lorna Sopcak.

FY’17. This special society recognizes the value of annual giving in the life of the College. Members include donors who give $50,000 or more to the College during their

$6,000, National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Stipend, Bronzeville’s Books: Cultures of Reading in the Black

$25,000, Kohler Foundation, Kohler Foundation Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Chicago Renaissance, Assistant Professor of

$105,001, Suzanne and Richard Pieper

English Mary Unger.

Family Foundation, Associate Professor

(up to 10 years out) who give an equivalent

$101,064, Kohler Company, plumbing

of Communication and Pieper Chair in

of $100 for each year since graduation.

product donation for Willmore Center

Servant Leadership Steve Martin.

Partners in the Legacy: A total of 11 new

renovation.

households notified us of estate plans which

Kohler Foundation, gift of art, Kenn Kwint

include Ripon College, bringing the total

undergraduate research program, Assistant

Collection.

Professor of Chemistry Patrick Willoughby.

$5,000, Webster Foundation, Willmore

$350,000, Margaret A. Cargill Foundation,

lifetime, donors who give $1,000 or more during the fiscal year, and young alumni

$70,000, American Chemical Society,

current number of Partner households to 548.

REALIZED FUNDING PROPOSALS Sixteen grant proposals with a total value of

Center exercise equipment.

bridging environmental education and

$2,040,821 were submitted to foundations,

$20,000, Kohler Co., scholarship fund for

sustainability, Vice President and Dean of

corporations and grant-funding agencies

business and economics majors.

Faculty Ed Wingenbach.

Existing

New

514

63

537

1851 Club

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Partners in the Legacy

Molly Nellen ’18 of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, left; Libby Swenson ’18 of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, center; Dakota Winn ’18 of Hillsboro, Missouri, second from right, and friends visit Marksburg Castle along the Rhine River in Germany. The Ripon students were among the recipients of funding through the Max Kade Foundation to attend the Bonn University Program during spring 2017.

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Enrollment and Outcomes

CAREER AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT The Center for Career and Professional Development now is housed in a dedicated space in S.N. Pickard Commons. Career and professional development is embedded in the Catalyst curriculum, and a four-year plan ensures that it touches every student throughout their time on campus.

The center offers individual career counseling, on-campus interviews, information sessions, and recruiting events. A new online tool, CareeRed, allows students to learn about available internships and jobs, interact with hiring managers and upload résumés.

Ripon College is ranked number one in the nation on the Power 150 Index, an identification of Best Colleges for Students of Color by Alliance CollegeReady Public Schools. The alliance has identified 150 colleges with the highest minority graduation rates of 75 percent or higher among the 4,200 U.S. colleges and universities. In the photo, James-Mark Ooko-Ombaka ’16 of Mount Vernon, New York, celebrates graduation with his family from Nairobi, Kenya.

FINANCIAL AID Our nationally recognized, liberal arts and sciences education continues to attract top candidates.

One-hundred percent of students received some form of financial assistance, including grants, scholarships, loans and student jobs.

OUTCOMES

Our National Rankings

Graduates In 2017, 181 students received degrees from Ripon College. Of those, 18 earned Phi Beta Kappa honors; 18 graduated summa cum laude, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.90 or higher; 28 magna cum laude (3.70 or higher); and 33 cum laude, (3.40 or higher). The most popular

Ripon is a tier 1 national liberal arts school (ranked 117) in U.S. News & World Report and on its “A+ Schools for B Students” list; is consistently recognized as a “Best Value” and “Best 380 Colleges” by The Princeton Review; among the most affordable private colleges in the country and second among private Colleges in Wisconsin in Money Magazine’s 2016-17 listing; No. 1 in the nation for the highest minority graduation rate by Alliance College-Ready Public Schools; No. 2 in Wisconsin by College Choice; and first among all private liberal arts colleges, ninth among all colleges and universities and third among all private colleges in Wisconsin, according to the Milwaukee Business Journal.

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majors were business management, psychology, English and biology.

Jobs and Graduate School Ninety-eight percent of the Class of 2016 were employed, student-teaching or in graduate school within six months of graduation.

Some of the standout graduates of the Class of 2017: Nicole Zeman is attending the University of St. Thomas Law School in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, on a 90-percent Dean’s Scholarship.

Konner Feldhus of Madison, Wisconsin, is a clinical laboratory scientist at Exact Sciences Laboratories.

Rachel Stanley ’17 of West Allis, Wisconsin, won the Associated Colleges of the Midwest’s 2017 Nick Adams Short Story Prize for her original work titled “Four Times Jasper Diallo Didn’t Die (and One Time He Lived).” Stanley is the first Ripon College student to win the contest, which has been held annually since 1973.

She is attending Marquette University’s Ph.D. program in clinical psychology on a full-ride Marquette University Graduate School Diversity Fellowship. She plans to conduct autism research and help develop treatments.

P RO F I L E O F THE C LASS OF 2021

I

n the fall of 2017, 236 first-time, first-year students were welcomed to campus. There

also were nine transfer students for a total of

245

New students

245 new students. Ripon received 2,504 firstoffered admission.

students, representing 43 percent of the new students; and 18 Legacy students, whose

43%

First-generation students

or great-grandparents also attended Ripon.

female and 38 percent male. The most popular name for our female students this year is a threeway tie with Beatriz, Megan and Molly; and for males it is Nicholas.

of California, Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Texas; and from the countries of China,

The first-year students have an average grade point average of 3.40 and an average ACT score of 24. They come from high school graduating classes as large as 620 students and as few as 17

Virtually all of the first-year students were

Nicholas Most popular name for new male students

involved in their school and had some form of community service. There are 119 studentathletes who plan to participate in varsity sports on campus; and 64 artists, musicians and thespians who plan to continue with their fine arts interests.

Wisconsin residents represent 71 percent of the class. There also are students from the states

The makeup of this class consists of 25 percent

students.

brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents

The gender breakdown of the class is 62 percent

Venezuela.

domestic diversity.

year applications for admission; and 1,686 were

Among the new students are 106 first-generation

Ethiopia, Ghana, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and

25%

Domestic diversity

Students have chosen 40 different major areas of study, including medicine, social sciences, fine arts, engineering, liberal arts, business management, sciences, mathematics and art.

LEFT President Zach Messitte welcomes first-year students to the Ripon College family at the Matriculation Convocation held Aug. 19. MIDDLE Alyssa Poe ’21 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is happy to settle in on Move-In Day in August. RIGHT Amber Lovell ’19 of Brandon, Wisconsin, left, directs first-year student Maria Reber ’21 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, as she carries in belongings on Move-In Day in August.

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Ramping up Services to Students A

major component of life on a residential campus like Ripon is

ensuring that support services, resources and the overall campus experience meet the needs and expectations of the student population.

Considerable attention was given to key areas

dissemination; sorority-led awareness

on campus, eventually leading to renovations

programs; consent education within all first-

of the former bookstore space in S.N. Pickard

year Catalyst classes; an “It’s on Us” campaign

Commons to serve as the Center for Career

sponsored by the Student-Athlete Leadership

and Professional Development; creation of the new Bovay’s Study Bar & Mercantile in

Team (SALT); and more.

downtown Ripon; upgrading of the large

New bias protocol procedures addressed

classroom in West Hall; and a complete rehab

violation reports; and attention was given

of the space in Harwood Memorial Union

to balancing free speech with comments or

formally known as The Pub, now named The

behaviors that were viewed as sexist, racist or

Spot.

homophobic.

Much attention focused on developing new

Student concerns about cost, access to desired

ideas for usage in Willmore Center. Staff input

majors and classes, mental health and medical

helped to formulate space designs, while early

issues, and academic demands continue to

plans for promotion and implementation were

challenge Student Life professionals to be

discussed regularly.

supportive and keep enrolled students eligible

National, state and local issues

and committed to finishing their degrees at Ripon. A record numbers of students

often impact the lives of

took it upon themselves to seek support in

students. The 2016-17 academic

Counseling Services, Health Services and

year reflected some heightened

other offices within Student Life.

concerns, leading to forums to

Ripon College continues to take advantage

help address student anxieties

of its residential mission, allowing Student

and tension.

Senate complete control over the quartermillion dollar student activity budget. These

The College offered events to educate

funds provided support for a variety of

students about Title IX regulations related to

student events and organizations, Residence

sexual assault, including bystander training;

Life-sponsored activities and gatherings,

Counseling Center events and information

Greek Life philanthropic activities, and more.

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ABOVE Ben Ermatinger ’18 of Ripon, Wisconsin; Katie King ’19 of Farmington, Minnesota; and Dennis Jaeger ’20 of Waupun, Wisconsin, perform at Homecoming and Family Weekend 2016. BELOW The Department of Theatre presented the 20thcentury tragi-comic masterpiece, Waiting for Godot,

by Samuel Beckett, in the fall of 2016.

Engagement Opportunities Create Lifelong Ties Alumni, parents and friends have a meaningful, lifelong affiliation with their alma mater and find that attending events on and off campus, engaging with students, and volunteering only increases their affinity for Ripon College.

REGIONAL AND CAMPUS EVENTS

reunion. The Class of 1967 also had the highest attendance at 28

Members of the Ripon family gathered coast-to-coast for Rally Hours,

percent and the highest gift participation at 54 percent.

baseball games, family picnics and networking receptions. Events showcasing the traditions of athletics, art, music, theatre, Greek Life,

ALUMNI-STUDENT ENGAGEMENT Thirteen students visited Washington, D.C., this spring as part of

academics and more were presented on campus. Homecoming and

the Career Discovery Tour, now in its seventh year. The tour was

Family Weekend in fall 2016 and Alumni Weekend in June 2017 drew

supported by the Alumni Board of Directors. Generous alumni

more than 1,000 attendees to the Ripon campus.

hosts and other donors are committed to expanding the College’s

During Alumni Weekend, members of the Alumni Board of Directors, reunion Class Agents and Reunion Committee volunteers planned, executed and hosted dozens of class reunions and special events.

A record 208 golfers participated in the annual Doc Weiske ’50

alumni-student networking in the nation’s capital and other cities like Chicago, Boston, Twin Cities (Minnesota), and Colorado.

Collaboration with the Office of Career and Professional Development continued with two Alumni Career Days and Alumni Master Chats on campus, connecting students with alumni for career networking.

Memorial Golf Scramble, and n ​ early $25,000 was raised for athletics.

The Alumni Board of Directors also co-hosted several on-campus A combined total of $708,600.32 was given to the College by reunion

Alumni 101 events, including the sophomore Endless Connections

classes, including the largest reunion class gift of $156,887.17

with Bottomless J’s and Senior VIP and Cap and Gown Parties. These

from the Class of 1972, and the largest five-year class gift total of

events help educate students about the important role alumni play in

$2,290,838.21 from the Class of 1967, who celebrated their golden

their Ripon experiences.

LEFT Kimberly Larson ’08 is in a celebratory mood at Homecoming and Family Weekend 2016. RIGHT Curt Maurer ’03 and Molly Kneip Maurer ’03 attended the Milwaukee Brewers Alumni Event, July 22, 2016.

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FACU LT Y AC HIEVEMENTS Honors and achievements that regularly go to Ripon College professors demonstrate the international recognition they receive for their work as active scholars and leaders in their disciplines. Their rich, real-world experience offers unique educational, mentoring and collaborative research opportunities for our students.

Here are some of the highlights of their achievements for FY’17.

ROBERT AMSDEN, professor of

Conference, Chorus America, in Los Angeles

MARY I. UNGER, assistant

theatre, holder of the Doreen L.

in June 2017; and had publications in Choral

professor of English and managing

’73 and David I. Chermerow Chair

Journal.

editor of Legacy: A Journal of

in Theatre, received the Regional Faculty

President ZACH MESSITTE

Service Award for Wisconsin at the Kennedy

co-edited the book Buon Giorno

Center American College Theatre Festival, Region 3, in Indianapolis in January 2017.

Arezzo: A Postcard from Tuscany, published by the University of Oklahoma

COLLEEN BYRON, professor

Press in 2016. He also has chapters in

of chemistry, attended the 19th

the book. With former Vice President for

International Symposium on

American Women Writers was awarded a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) to conduct research during summer 2017. It supported her project “Cultures of Reading in the Black Chicago Renaissance” of 1930-1950.

Advancement Wayne Webster, Messitte co-

ROBERT WALLACE, professor

Flavins and Flavoproteins in Groningen, The

wrote a chapter for the recently published

of biology, gave a weeklong, series

Netherlands, July 2-6, 2017, and presented

book Disability and Equity in Higher Education

a research poster co-written by three Ripon

Accessibility.

student collaborators, David Knapp ’18, Margaret Breen-Lyles ’16 and Eva Schaible ’19.

KURT DIETRICH, professor of

of lectures to graduate students at The National Autonomous University of

RAFAEL FRANCISCO SALAS, associate professor of art, was featured Dec. 20, 2016, in an

music and the Barbara Baldwin De

interview on WUWM, Milwaukee Public

Frees Chair in the Performing Arts,

Radio. He discussed his current projects on

Mexico (Mexico City) Nov. 14–18, 2016.

Also, with 22 scientists from 13 different countries, he published a paper in the journal Hydrobiologia, establishing a protocol for scientists wishing to study the species barriers in rotifers.

played a solo during a July 3 concert of the

exhibition. He has participated in several

Wisconsin Symphonic Winds. The outdoor

recent exhibits around Wisconsin and

The American Chemical Society

concert on the grounds of Ripon College was

publishes reviews and commentaries in the

awarded a $70,000 grant to

part of the Green Lake Festival of Music.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper.

Assistant Professor of Chemistry

MEGAN GANNON, assistant

HERVÉ SOMÉ, associate

professor of English, had a poem

professor of educational studies,

published in the Spring 2017 issue

presented at the 61th Comparative

of Boulevard, a magazine of fiction, poetry

International Education Society Conference

and essays. “Dispatch From a Viral Video”

(CIES) in Atlanta, Georgia, March 5-9, 2017.

was written in connection with multimedia

“Community-Driven Alternatives to Education

projects created in the Advanced Poetry class

in the Neoliberal Context of Burkina Faso” also

during spring 2016.

was published as a book chapter in Rethinking

JOHN HUGHES, assistant professor of music and director of choral activities, is founder and host of the “Choir Chat” podcast. He also presented on the topic at the National

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African Education in the 21st Century Global Space: Post-colonial discourses in March 2017. In fall 2016, he received a Scholarly Artistic Grant for his sabbatical leave research, exploring the images of Africa conveyed in American high school social studies textbooks.

PATRICK WILLOUGHBY to further research into developing new methods for the synthesis of organic molecules. He, along with Associate Professor of Chemistry JOSEPH SCANLON and nine students, wrote about a pharmaceutical patent in the Oct. 13, 2016, issue of Tetrahedron. The patent is the accepted form of a provisional patent Willoughby and five of the students created in 2015.

Campus Highlights

Bovay’s Hangout Opens Downtown Bovay’s Study Bar & Mercantile opened in January 2017 in an underutilized historic building at 329 Watson St., downtown Ripon. The hip, multi-purpose venture includes a 30-seat high-tech classroom, faculty office, ample study spaces, flexible campus and community event space, a retail store, and a performance stage and sound system.

Commencement Speaker Is Craig Culver The theme for Ripon’s 151st Commencement was

Ethics Team Second at International Competition

Wisconsin Food and Entrepreneurship. Craig Culver,

The team of DeLou Wilson ’18 of Madison,

co-founder of the Culver’s restaurant chain, was the

Wisconsin; Lauren Hince ’18 of Blaine,

keynote speaker and an Honorary Degree recipient.

Minnesota; and Wyatt McGillen ’19 of

Stefano Viglietti, a self-taught chef and entrepreneur

Kalispell, Montana; was first runner-up

with four food establishments in Sheboygan,

at the International Business Ethics Case

Wisconsin, also was an honorary degree recipient.

Competition (IBECC) in Santa Monica, California. The competition featured 35 graduate and undergraduate teams from around the globe.

Thomas E. Caestecker Honored Thomas E. Caestecker received the Ripon

Ripon Continues Presence at National Conference

Basketball Standout Leads Division

College Founders’ Day Award. Caestecker is

Basketball standout Ty Sabin ’17 of New

a strong supporter of Ripon College, Trustee

Berlin, Wisconsin, led the entire NCAA

from 1985 to 2002 and now an Honorary Life

Division III in points per game, scoring

Trustee. A wing of C.J. Rodman Center for the

an average of 30.7 points per game

Arts is named in his honor.

during the 2016-17 season. He led Ripon

Mra Than ’17 of New York, New York, and Maddie

to the Midwest Conference Tournament championship for its first win in 15 years;

presented at the 43rd annual DePauw University’s

Al Jarreau ’62 Recognized Shortly Before Death

National Undergraduate Honors Conference in

Professor of Music Kurt Dietrich, and students

the third consecutive year; was named

April 2017. Only up to 30 papers are selected

Kate Cichon Myszewski ’19 of Appleton,

First Team All-America; and throughout

from across the country for presentation by

Wisconsin, and Mitchell Eithun ’17 of New

the season was the NCAA leader in career

communications students. For 16 consecutive

London, Wisconsin, visited acclaimed jazz

scoring average among active players

years, at least one presenter has been chosen

singer Al Jarreau ’62 as Jarreau received the

across all divisions. Sabin has signed a

from Ripon College. Than and VandenHouten

2016 Lifetime Achievement Award from the

professional basketball contract with the

are pictured with Kent Menzel ’81, professor

Wisconsin Foundation for School Music on

Horsholm 79ers, based in Horsholm,

of communication at DePauw University.

Oct. 8, 2016. Jarreau died Feb. 12, 2017.

Denmark.

VandenHouten ’17 of Green Bay, Wisconsin,

was named MWC Player of the Year for

Annua l Re port

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