CLASSLetters old self. You’ll be surprised, though, how you, your classmates, and the College have grown and have done amazing things. Friday of Alumni Weekend starts with the Red Hawks Golf Scramble at Lawsonia. This golf outing is quite popular and a good opportunity to spend time with close friends. This year, I chose to attend instead the Friday morning lecture series given this year by Professor Brian Smith on the topic of world religions and Professor Skip Whittler on the prairie. It was fun to hear what the departments are doing and what new learning opportunities exist for students. Friday at Alumni Weekend is also an opportunity to see your old professors. There is a lunch with faculty on Friday at noon in the Pub. You can also see them at the All-Alumni Reception on the lawn at the Hughes House (now Evans Admission Center) Friday evening after the Alumni Awards Dinner. This year, I had the pleasure of seeing Professors Bill Wooley, KARL BERES ’65, Norm Loomer, Paul Schoofs and Spud Hannaford. Paul Schoofs and I discussed how game theory was being applied to economics. Talking with Dr. Hannaford was a hoot. Having taken introduction to philosophy and ethics classes my freshman year with Dr. Hannaford, I had a lively discussion with him about the merit of teaching ethics to 19-year-olds. Dr. Hannaford confessed that he also had trouble with the subject of informal logic the first time he studied it. If you go to Alumni Weekend, you get the chance to talk with other alumni from different years. A great opportunity to do this is during the “That Was Then…” program at the library on Saturday morning, attended informally by alumni of all ages — this event seems to grow every year. There is a slide show with archival pictures and a lively discussion and sharing of stories. My gosh, the stories those girls from the ’60s can tell. You thought the ’70s were wild. I spoke with MARK WRIGHT ’75, a trustee, with whom I shared fourth-floor New Scott stories. There were 24 of us from the class of ’82 on that floor who shared many pranks. (Sorry TOBY STORZER ’82, for setting your alarm at 3 a.m. as often as I could.) Those of us who hiked the 63 stairs several times on a daily basis share a brotherhood and a wealth of stories. There are opportunities to learn about the College and ask questions. The noontime Saturday all-campus lunch on the Memorial Green Space (the site of the Memorial Gym) is a great place to meet up with old classmates and hear from President Messitte and trustees about the achievements and challenges facing Ripon College. Some of you may have heard of the consolidation of some majors and creation of others. On Saturday afternoon, there is the all-alumni gathering spot at the tent on Memorial Lawn, the Theta Chi Frisbee Golf, alumni lacrosse on Upper Sadoff, prairie walks and Greek socials (meet up with your old living group). Saturday afternoon is a great time to “be a ghost” and wander through the campus and classrooms to see what’s changed and what is still the same. (When I came back to Ripon for my teaching certifications after 20 years, I sat in some of the same classrooms in probably some of the same desks with some of the same teachers, like Dr. Schang for English. Very surreal). Even though it was not our reunion year, there were plenty of members of the class of ’80, ’81 and ’82 in attendance. I had the opportunity to share memories with KRIS RASMUSSEN OLSON ’82, LISA KRCHEK ’82, LAUREL STEWART ’82, PETRA JONES ’82, as well as friends from the class of ’80, whose reunion I attended in Bovay Terrace. For those of you who haven’t been back, the Terrace is a pub on
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the basement floor of Bovay overlooking the athletic fields. There are nice dinners all over campus at dinner time on Saturday night to choose from, even if it is not one of your reunion years. I saw ANDY SCHMIDT ’81 and PERRY PAGE ’79 from my DU Fraternity. After the class reunion dinners on Saturday night (do your own thing if it is not your reunion year, or join a class like I did), Saturday concludes with an allalumni party in the tent with music and dancing for all from 8 p.m. to midnight. They have a DJ and food in the big tent where the Memorial Gym used to be. It is a good time to meet up again with friends after the class dinners. If you have any energy left, you can go to breakfast in the Commons on Sunday morning and see your friends off. Even if you do not feel particularly outgoing, I cannot help but recommend the experience. Class News:
JOSEPH P. SULLIVAN ’82, Ph.D., is a certified wildlife biologist. He reports that he has “taken up beekeeping. I have been working on a study investigating the pesticides that bees bring back to the hive in pollen and nectar and decided to start keeping bees myself. I started two hives in April. As a novice, I am merely looking to keep them going. I do not anticipate harvesting any honey this year.”
TIM BABCOCK ’82 writes that he is “still teaching history and philosophy at Jefferson High School in Jefferson, Wisconsin. I am married to SARA OBERHAUSER BABCOCK ’83. Our son teaches in Janesville, and our daughter is in the Peace Corps in Botswana.”
LINDA JENSEN HALL ’82 reports that “KEVIN HALL ’82 and I traveled to Denmark and Germany this summer. Had a wonderful time visiting family, touring castles and seeing historical sights. We were extremely lucky to have seen the Queen of England four separate times when we were visiting Berlin. The Queen was in Berlin at the same time for a state visit. Pretty neat!”
CATHY LOTHROP HAGER ’82 shares that “We just had a marvelous family vacation to Kauai with my sister and dodged Hurricane Guillermo. My new hobby is showing my classic 1956 Thunderbird, my family’s legacy car. My grandfather gave it to my grandmother for their 25th wedding anniversary, and it has been in my family since. My dad gave it to me last year when he did not want the maintenance anymore. It is in pristine shape, and we are tasked in keeping it that way.” It was also good to hear from KEVIN SHERIDAN ’82, who is a human capital management consultant and was the founder, chief engagement officer, chief consultant of HR Solutions International, a company he started in March 1995, specializing in teaching the “Best Practices” of employee engagement. In December 2011, Kevin sold HR Solutions and founded Kevin Sheridan LLC, a management consultancy focused on employee engagement, dynamic keynote speeches and magnetic leadership development advice.
JUDITH GILBERT BORDER ’82 of Norwalk, Iowa, writes that she took a job transfer to Des Moines and would love to meet up with Ripon alumni in the area. BRUCE W. DAVIS ’82 of Lynn, Massachusetts, died May 18, 2015. See his obituary at the back of this booklet. About me: I was an English and economics major who went to law school, became a trial lawyer in the Twin Cities and came back to Ripon for a