Ripon College 2015-2016 Annual Report

ANNUAL REPORT 2015-2016

PRESIDENT

FY’16: ‘It was a very good year’ n Storzer Revitalized: A spring groundbreaking for a $22

million renovation and expansion of the Storzer building into a brand new health, athletic and wellness center. The project is years in the making and will open in the fall of 2017. n Center for Diversity and Inclusion: With a drive to reach

out to everyone on campus, the center launched with a fulltime director and innovative programming. The new space recognizes Ripon’s own, the Rev. Jerry Thompson, a pioneer in the civil rights movement. n Faculty scholarship and research: Andrea Young,

The 2015-2016 academic year was the most memorable of my four years at Ripon. We launched projects that will impact the College for decades to come. Our faculty achieved at high levels in the classroom and with their scholarship. And our students continued to accomplish great things academically, artistically and athletically.

A few quick highlights among many achievements: n 314 Watson: The opening of a downtown project space

with a photography show highlighting the firefighters who saved the building from fire a year and a half before. Two hundred people attended. The space holds dozens of student and community events through the year and last year was directed by student managers: JaneMarie Erickson ’16 of Redgranite, Wisconsin; Tara Schultz ’17 of Ripon, Wisconsin; and Alexandria Wilber ’17 of Bonduel, Wisconsin.

associate professor of mathematical sciences, won the Wisconsin Mathematical Association of America’s Distinguished Teaching Award; Associate Professor of Art Rafael Salas had work shown at the Kohler Arts Center and at the Bubbler Gallery at the Madison Public Library; and students collaborated with Associate Professor of Art Travis Nygard on an e-book about Wisconsin-born architect Frank Lloyd Wright. n Center for Politics and the People: Led by Professor

of Religion Brian Smith and Associate Professor of History Rebecca Matzke, the center hosted policymakers, politicians, academics and journalists on important issues throughout the year. n Athletics: The Red Hawks made the Midwest Conference

playoffs in volleyball and men’s and women’s basketball; Nicole Zeman ’17 qualified for the D-III outdoor track and field nationals in the 400 hurdles; and Ty Sabin was named a second team D-III All-American in basketball and now is closing in on the Ripon College all-time scoring record.

n Catalyst: The faculty revamped the curriculum in six

months with a new five-course requirement that highlights writing, communication, data analysis, collaboration and problem-solving. An $800,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation allowed the College to implement the new curriculum for the incoming class in the fall 2016.

Zach P. Messitte, President

Table of Contents

3 7 5 9 7 11 8 14 9

Progress of Storzer Renovation The Catalyst Curriculum Revenue and Expenses Gifts and Grants

10 5 11 8

The Class of 2020

13 10

Faculty Achievements

13 14

Enrollment and Outcomes

Student Life and Alumni Engagement

Campus Highlights

ON THE COVER: Colleen Byron,

OUR MISSION: Ripon College prepares students

professor of chemistry and the L.

of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially

Leone Oyster ’19 Chair in Chemistry,

responsible citizenship. Our liberal arts and

works with Randal Scroggins ’17 in a

sciences curriculum and residential campus

lab. Photo by Jim Koepnick.

create an intimate learning community in which

twitter.com/riponcollege

students experience a richly personalized

youtube.com/riponcollegevideo

education.

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

Largest renovation project in College’s A ceremonial groundbreaking was held to honor the launch of the multi-million dollar renovation and expansion of Ripon’s health and wellness facilities Thursday, April 21, 2016. In October 2015, the College was awarded a $14.3 million long-term low-interest loan from the U.S.Department of Agriculture Rural Development division to move forward with the project. Early leadership fundraising efforts for the project surpassed $7 million before the close of fiscal 2016.

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The target completion date for the project is fall of 2017.

Work will be done in three phases:

1

2

The first phase, a 65,000-square-foot field house, began in June 2016. The field house will include an NCAA-compliant 200-meter track with 42-inch running lanes, space for field events — pole vault, high jump, long jump and throwing events — and four performance courts in the middle field for basketball, volleyball and tennis.

The second phase, a 23,250-square-foot north addition and atrium, commenced in July 2016.

This will include state-of-the-art classrooms, flexible seating, a health food café, concessions area, expanded cardio and weight-training spaces, reception area and offices.

history is under way

“

We are thrilled to put shovels into

the ground so that our students and

3

The final phase begins in fall 2016 and will include interior renovations of the main and practice gymnasiums; locker rooms, including an expanded second level with fitness studios and meditative arts spaces; a cardio balcony; modern athletic offices and conference rooms.

Revitalize: The Campaign for Health and Wellness at Ripon College is continuing to secure gifts toward the financing. For more information, visit ripon.edu/revitalize.

Pictured above at the ground-breaking ceremony are, from left, Jeffrey Piette, Kahler Slater, architectural firm; Bob Kirkland ’81, trustee; Steve Holz ’92, National Exchange Bank; Oscar Boldt, The Boldt Co., construction firm; Chris Ogle ’80, vice president and dean of students; Gary Will, mayor of Ripon; Elaine Coll, former coach and professor of physical education emerita; Stan Gruszynski, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development; Zach Messitte, president; and Rally the Red Hawk.

community will soon be able to enjoy this state-of-the-art center. Ripon — the College and community — is committed to healthy living, exercise and the spirit of competition, and, with this building, we soon will have one of the premier facilities in the state.

”

Zach Messitte president

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2015-2016

4

Catalyst enhances student preparation for the future Catalyst, the core curriculum recently adopted by Ripon College, has begun rolling out to the first-year class of 2020 during the fall semester of 2016.

Catalyst was developed to meet the emerging needs of employers. The traditional liberal arts and sciences approach to education prepares students for lifelong learning and maintains that exposure to a breadth of

disciplines generates skills necessary for success in any endeavor.

But recent surveys of employers consistently suggest that graduates, in general, cannot competently transfer liberal arts skills to professional tasks, and families increasingly question whether liberal education provides value commensurate to the cost.

Employers most value flexibility and adaptable skills, says Ed Wingenbach, dean of faculty. “Collaboration

Pictured are Associate Professor of History Rebecca Matzke and Rachel Grutza ’16 5 R I P O N C O L L E G E

and communication are highly valued and essential,” he says. “Learning outcomes that at least four in five employers rate as very important are: oral communication; working effectively with others in teams; written communication; critical/analytical thinking; and applying knowledge/skills to the real world.”

He says 95 percent of employers prioritize skills that will help employees contribute to innovation in the workplace, and 95 percent prefer candidates with demonstrated intercultural skills.

Students need to learn flexibility and transferrable skills, Wingenbach says.

“Today’s average graduate will have eight to 10 careers in his or her lifetime, and the 10 fastest-growing careers in 2015 didn’t even exist in 2005.”

The new Catalyst curriculum addresses these concerns while allowing Ripon College to maintain our strength in the humanities and fine arts. Each student earns a concentration in Applied Innovation following the successful completion of Catalyst.

Mark Kainz, professor of biology, has been named the Catalyst curriculum director and will guide the implementation of the new curriculum.

“It is exciting to see faculty colleagues taking a fresh look at their teaching and using their discipline as a means to teach the skills of Catalyst to our students,” Kainz says. “The faculty is modeling the liberal arts for our students by continuing to learn, to make connections between disciplines,

“

The faculty is

modeling the liberal arts for our students by continuing to learn, to make connections between disciplines, to collaborate, and to expand their intellectual abilities beyond their disciplines.

” Mark Kainz

director of the Catalyst curriculum

Kainz previously was chair of the Educational Policy Committee and a co-curriculum review leader, along with Professor of Economics Paul Schoofs, helping to lay the groundwork and develop the new skill-based curriculum.

Now that the first semester writing Catalyst courses are in progress and second semester quantitative reasoning courses planned, Kainz will work with faculty and administrators with expertise in the targeted skills to develop guidelines and goals for the Catalyst courses. Individual faculty members use those guidelines and goals to develop their particular skill-based course.

Work is continuing to develop the sophomore 200-level courses in intercultural competence and interdisciplinary integration and the junior 300-level Applied Innovation seminar. “Catalyst is a work in progress, and we are working to continually improve the courses,” Kainz says. “We are confident that we are starting from a good place and have an effective process in place for continual improvement and to ensure the curriculum remains true to the proposal approved by the faculty.”

Wingenbach says the Catalyst approach is largely unique in a liberal arts context. Parents have liked the idea of transferrable skills and the ability for students to demonstrate that they have obtained these skills. Students like the freedom the new curriculum offers them.

to collaborate, and to expand their intellectual abilities beyond their disciplines. I am very grateful to my colleagues for their hard work and willingness to take some risks to develop the Catalyst curriculum.”

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2015-2016

6

Revenue and Expenses The majority of Ripon College’s expenses in FY’16 were dedicated to student support, costs to sustain the academic instruction and curricular programming, and upgrades to facilities.

a decrease of $3,857,360 from the prior year. The average endowment investment returns for one, three and five years was -2.6 percent, 5.1 percent and 5.1 percent.

The College provided more than $15,133,777 in financial assistance to 98 percent of its students during the 2015-16 academic year.

Planned expenses in FY’16 included initial outlays incurred for the preconstruction phase of the Storzer renovation project, which officially broke ground June 27. Subsequent to the close of the fiscal year, Ripon College, the United States Department of Agriculture and Boldt Construction Co. signed a Guaranteed Maximum Price for the project in the amount of $22,224,700.

Financial statements for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2016, reflect an increase in net assets of $736,883.

The market value of our endowments and trusts as of June 30, 2016, was listed at $80,904,563. This reflects

REVENUES

Student Tuition and Fees

Allison Macknick ’17 of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, has received numerous forms of financial aid to help fund her Ripon College education. Her aid from the College includes Ripon College GO Grant, Ripon Communication Consortium Scholarship, Ripon College Grant, Kanow Endowed Scholarship, Balliett Endowed Scholarship, Charles P. Stathas Endowed Scholarship, Bush Endowed Scholarship and a Faculty Scholarship. She is majoring in theatre with a minor in communication.

Student scholarships and financial aid are awarded to more than 98 percent of our students.

EXPENSES

$12,706, 866

42.9%

Instruction

$10,958,134

38.1%

Auxiliary Enterprises

$6,008,485 20.4%

Institutional Support

$6,044,415

21%

Contributions

$11,502,807

39%

Auxiliary Enterprises

$4,987,098

17.3%

Investments

-$1,812,696

-6.1%

Student Services

$5,140,293

17.9%

$1,119,541

3.8%

Academic Support

$982,341

3.4%

Public Services

$675,839

2.3%

$28,788,120

100%

Other Income TOTAL 7 R I P O N C O L L E G E

$29,525,003

100%

TOTAL

Gifts and Grants Gifts to Ripon College during FY’16 included $2.514 million in unrestricted funds; $5.175 million in restricted funds also was received, for a combined total of $7,689,422.13.

Seventy percent of the Class of 2016 raised $1,964 for the senior class gift to the Annual Fund and Senior Class Scholarship.

NEW GIVING MEMBERS 1851 Club: Now in its fifth year of existence, the club welcomed 69 new members for a total of 586 members by household in FY’16. 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 lifetime, donors who give $1,000 or more during the fiscal year, and young alumni (up to 10 years out) who give an equivalent of $100 for each year since graduation.

Partners in the Legacy: Twelve new households notified us of estate plans which include Ripon College, bringing the total current number of Partner households to 540.

FUNDING PROPOSALS Thirteen grant proposals with a total value of $2,322,712 were submitted to foundations, corporations and grantfunding agencies on behalf of Ripon College or individual faculty members; nine proposals were funded as of June 30, 2016, totaling $156,712. Examples include: n $100,000 — Suzanne & Richard Pieper Family

Foundation, Pieper Chair in Servant Leadership n $20,000 — Kohler Company, student scholarships for business and economics majors n $15,012 — Associated Colleges of the Midwest, FaCE Grant for cognitive science in the curriculum n $10,000 — Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grant for the purchase of chemistry lab equipment n $6,000 — Associated Colleges of the Midwest, faculty SAIL Project, for innovation in the liberal arts n $1,200 — Alliant Energy Foundation, for student financial literacy program In addition, Ripon College received at $14.3 million fixed-rate, low-interest loan from the U.S. Department of

Avery Krahn ’17, a chemistry major from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Patrick Willoughby prepare a molecule sample for study using the department’s new digital polarimeter. A $10,000 Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grant allowed the Ripon College Department of Chemistry to purchase the instrument.

Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development division to help finance the cost of renovating and expanding the J.M. Storzer athletics, health and wellness facilities.

MAJOR GIFTS n Four-year $800,000 grant from Andrew W. Mellon Foundation support implementation of the new core curriculum, Catalyst, and the creation of up to 140 new Catalyst seminars n A new five-year grant to Student Support Services by U.S. Department of Education, TRIO division. The first-year grant award started Sept. 1 and totaled $244,257, with a total grant award projected over five years of $1,221,285. n $1 million from Thomas ’72 and Suellen “Sudy” Reigle Altholz ’73 to fund scholarships for students to pursue academic study, research or student-teaching opportunities abroad n $3.2 million from the estate of Patricia Parker Francis to fully endow the Patricia Parker Francis Distinguished Professorship in Economics; add to the William B. Murphy Endowed Guest Lectureship in Economics; and help renovate and expand athletics, health and wellness facilities on campus

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2015-2016

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Enrollment and Outcomes FINANCIAL AID We continue to offer a nationally recognized, liberal arts and sciences education that attracts top candidates. More than 98 percent of students received some form of financial assistance, including grants, scholarships, loans and student jobs.

William Crist ’16

OUR NATIONAL RANKINGS

Ripon College consistently places highly in numerous national rankings, including: n Third among all Midwest colleges for “Best Bang for the Buck,” helping nonwealthy students attain marketable degrees at affordable prices; and 18th nationally among liberal arts colleges, according to Washington Monthly’s annual College Guide and Rankings. n 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. n 29th in the nation and the only Wisconsin college recognized among “Best Value Schools” in U.S. News & World Report’s 2017 Best College rankings. n Among the most affordable private colleges in the country and second among private colleges in Wisconsin in Money Magazine’s 2016-17 listing.

OUTCOMES Graduates One hundred, fifty-one students earned degrees in 2016. Of those, 16 earned Phi Beta Kappa honors; 14 graduated summa cum laude, with a cumulative grade point average of 3.90 or higher; 27 magna cum laude (3.70 or higher); and 28 cum laude, (3.40 or higher). The most popular majors were business management, biology, English, psychology, history, exercise science, and politics and government.

Jobs and Graduate School Ninety-six percent of 2015 graduates were employed, student-teaching or in graduate school within six months of graduation.

McNair Scholars The McNair Scholars Program helps first-generation, low-income and underrepresented groups of students prepare for graduate school and Ph.D. programs. As of the fall of 2016, seven recent McNair graduates have been accepted to graduate school: n Stephanie Alvarez, the University of Southern California, social work n Garrison Anderson, Colorado State University, communications n Emily Connovich, Rowan University, psychology n William Crist, Missouri State University, history n Nayely Gonzales, Indiana University, counseling psychology n Megan Marema, University of Washington, orthodics and prosthetics n Elizabeth Thompson, University of Wisconsin-Madison, pharmacy

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Profile of the Class of 2020 performed some type of community service. They have come from all sizes of high schools: the largest graduating class numbered 979 students; the smallest numbered 14 students; and the average size of graduating classes was 211 students.

Our freshman retention rate was 80.6 percent of first-time, first-year students who returned to college after their first year.

President Zach Messitte welcomes Gavin Jones ’20 of Oxford, Wisconsin, to Ripon College by presenting him with a commemorative coin during the Matriculation Convocation ceremony in Great Hall Aug. 20, 2016. Instituted by Messitte in 2013, the coin, along with a handshake from the president, welcomes new students into the Ripon College academic community and symbolically initiates their march toward graduation. The coin features the class colors, the Ripon College clocktower and the date of the convocation on one side; and the Ripon College seal on the other.

The 218 new students in the Class of 2020 and seven transfers include 24 legacies whose brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, grandparents or greatgrandparents attended Ripon.

Ripon College received a record number of 2,553 applications for first-time, first-year admission for the fall of 2016; 1,666 were offered admission.

The Class of 2020 is 56 percent female, with the most common name being Morgan; and 44 percent male, with the most common name being Samuel.

They represent a 22-percent diversity rate and have an average grade point

Orientation Committee members like Ellen Lehr ’18, left, and Nicole Zeman ’17 spent Move-In Day helping new students get settled in to their new home away from home.

average of 3.4 percent and an average ACT score of 24.

The class includes 95 student athletes, 85 artists, musicians and thespians, and 10 who participated in a forensic/ debate/mock trial team.

Seventy-two percent of the new freshmen come from Wisconsin. The rest come from 16 other states, as well as six international students from China, Ethiopia, Morocco, Myanmar and Viet Nam. They have identified 37 different major areas of study.

Virtually all of our incoming students were involved in their school and

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2015-2016 1 0

Student Life and Alumni Engagement n Installation of a one-card system now

allows access to residence halls and food service, and is used for printing and laundry. Eventually, it will be used for vending on campus and utilized like a credit card with some local businesses.

STUDENTS GIVING BACK

94% Ninety-four percent of Ripon students lived on campus in FY’16, an all-time high. n At the new Center for Diversity

and Inclusion, in the lower level of Bartlett Hall, students meet with peers based on their cultural identity, and programming engages the broader campus to increase understanding.

Kyonna Henry is the first director of multicultural affairs. n Residence Life continued its ac-

tive schedule of late-night events. A return of Rip-Olympics highlighted the spring activities, while each Greek group continued a long history of sponsoring an all-campus event. Nearly one-third of upperclass students are involved in a fraternity or sorority. n Interests were assessed relating to in-

tramurals, club sports, recreation, and health and wellness, a crucial component in Storzer renovation plans.

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Seventy-nine percent of Ripon College students donated 5,115 hours of service during FY’16. Ripon was recognized on the 2015 President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll by the Corporation for National and Community Service.

624 total students engaged in both community service and service learning; 103 students engaged in more than 20 hours per week of service; and 135 students engaged in academic service-learning.

Community service projects, involving 489 students, included Money Fitness, Green Lake County Correctional Facility Storybook Program, Center for Diversity and Inclusion initiatives, STRIVE, Think College Early, Habitat for Humanity, Red Cross and Community Blood Center blood drives, Green Lake Area Animal Shelter, and the Ripon Community Thrift Shop and Food Pantry.

Ripon students and downtown Ripon came together to begin work on a new community green space on a site where two buildings were destroyed by fire in late 2013. The proposal was formulated and presented by the Environmental Group of Ripon (EGOR), the campus’ sustainability group, and approved by the Ripon Common Council. In the spring of 2016, students put in a layer of topsoil, scraped away paint and removed debris from the site. Grass seed, collected from the Cereso Prairie Conservancy, was planted and grew over the summer. n Counseling and Health Services pro-

vided a huge wellness fair and programming on topics such as alcohol abuse, sexual assault and body image.

n More than 80 percent of incoming

freshmen attended summer orientation sessions, followed by Welcome Week activities in August, including the annual ComedySportz program.

ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT Our 11,000 alumni have a meaningful, lifelong affiliation with their alma mater.

A variety of events and communications are offered that are fun, entertaining and educational.

REGIONAL EVENTS AND ALUMNI WEEKEND More than 2,500 Ripon alumni, parents and friends met near and far to celebrate being a part of the College family. More than 60 events were held in 15 regions, including Rally Hours, sporting events, picnics and networking receptions.

Two Alumni Career Days on campus connected students with a variety of alumni and career opportunities, and featured professional portrait photographs, one-on-one networking and meetings with recruiters.

Throughout the year, several alumni visited campus to present Alumni Master Chats to students on a variety of professional topics.

Other avenues to support Ripon College include wearing Ripon red proudly, referring high school students and attending or hosting events in your area.

CENTER FOR POLITICS AND THE PEOPLE

Email alumni@ripon.edu for volunteer opportunities.

On-campus events included Homecoming and Family Weekend; special events honoring the Imagine Tomorrow campaign; alumni athletes; Kettle Club and Friends of the Arts member offerings; and Alumni Weekend, which drew in more than 600 attendees taking part in more than 25 events.

A record 185 golfers participated in the newly named Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, and nearly $25,000 was raised for athletics — the highest total in the outing’s eight-year history.

A combined total of $726,738 was given to the College by reunion classes, including the largest reunion class gift of $320,497 and the largest five-year class gift total (since the last reunion) of $1,261,469 by the Class of 1981.

The Class of 1966 had the highest attendance at 25 percent and the highest gift participation at 57 percent.

The Center for Politics and the People promotes constructive political debate, analyzes public policy and fosters engagement of citizens and their government.

ALUMNI-STUDENT ENGAGEMENT Fifteen students visited Boston this spring for the sixth Career Discovery Tour since the Alumni Association Board of Directors initiated the program in March 2013. Generous alumni hosts and other donors are committed to expanding the College’s alumni-student networking.

In FY’16, more than a dozen events featured local and national speakers. Prominent speakers included Alexander Wolff, Sports Illustrated and book author; Rick Estberg ’75, National Security Agency employee; Michael Wagner, associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; and Mark Porubcansky ’77, former foreign editor of the Los Angeles Times.

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2015-2016 1 2

Faculty Achievements 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 highlights of their achievements for FY’16.

ROBERT AMSDEN, professor of theatre, chair of the department, and the Doreen L. ’73 and David I. Chemerow Chair in Theatre, presented an actor workshop at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (Region 3) in Milwaukee.

LAMONT COLUCCI, associate professor of politics and government, regularly contributes opinion pieces to U.S. News & World Report and other publications.

RON ERNST, professor of exercise science, head coach of football, and assistant athletic director, earned the 160th win in his 25-year career Nov. 14, 2015. All his wins have come at Ripon. This is the highest number of victories of any coach in the 95-year history of the Midwest Conference. He also has completed a four-set DVD coaching instructional video for Championship Productions.

SARAH MAHLER KRAAZ, professor of music and College organist, was among a select group of faculty members nationwide chosen by the Council of Independent Colleges to 1 3 R I P O N C O L L E G E

participate in a weeklong seminar on Teaching Pre-Modern European Art in Context, held in Atlanta, Georgia.

EMILY “MOLLY” MARGARETTEN, assistant professor of anthropology, had a book, Street Life under a Roof: Youth Homelessness in South Africa, published by the University of Illinois Press.

TRAVIS NYGARD, assistant professor of art and chair of the department, cowrote chapters in The Maya of the Cochuah Region: Archaeological and Ethnographic Perspectives on the Northern Lowlands, University of New Mexico Press; and Memory Traces: Analyzing Sacred Space at Five Mesoamerican Sites, University Press of Colorado.

MOLLIE OBLINGER, associate professor of art, had work exhibited in the Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin; the Angela Meleca Gallery in Columbus, Ohio; Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina; and on the cover and interior of a book of poetry by Marian University Professor C. Kubasta.

RAFAEL FRANCISCO SALAS, associate professor of art, had two solo exhibits in Madison, Wisconsin, and group exhibitions in Sheboygan, Fond du Lac and Madison, Wisconsin. He also publishes reviews in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, wrote the cover article for an issue of Wisconsin People and Ideas, and was elected to the board of directors of the Museum of Wisconsin Art. HERVÉ SOMÉ, associate professor of educational studies, completed an MBA in business with a specialization in project management (online) through Aspen University, Denver, Colorado. He published chapters in Education in West Africa: Education around the World, Bloomsbury: New York/London, UK; and opinion pieces about a coup in Burkina Faso on African news sites.

ROBERT L. WALLACE, the Patricia and Philip McCullough 1969 Professor in Biology, made five presentations at the XIV International rotifer symposium in late August/early September 2015; and published his work in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences and in Elsevier.

ANDREA YOUNG, assistant professor of mathematical sciences, won the Wisconsin Mathematical Association of America’s 2016 Distinguished Teaching Award.

Campus Highlights DAM PROJECT FINISHED IN PANAMA After seven years and numerous servicelearning trips, the dam that many Ripon College students and area residents have been working on in Panama finally was completed during a trip in January 2016.

Ripon College opened a new multi-use arts space in downtown Ripon Friday, Sept. 4, 2015. 314: Ripon College Project Space is at 314 Watson St., a historic 19th-century building restored after a devastating fire in December 2013. The space is providing real-life experience for several student managers.

FORENSICS STUDENTS REPRESENT RIPON AT NATIONALS Competing at the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament in forensics, held at the University of Kentucky March 17-20, 2016, were Katie Warczak ’16 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin; Ryan Edquist ’17 of Ripon, Wisconsin; and Megan Ringo ’18 of Crete, Illinois.

Warczak earned an Outstanding Legislator Award and Peer Respected Legislator Award in Congressional Debate; and Quarterfinalist awards in Extemporaneous Speaking, Communication Analysis and Editorial Impromptu. Edquist earned an Outstanding Legislator Award in Congressional Debate.

President Zach Messitte, left, and Professor of Economics Soren Hauge, second left, present Robert G. and Joan B. Murray of Wellesley, Massachusetts, with Ripon College’s Founders’ Day Award Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016. In 2007, the couple funded a $50,000 endowed scholarship in memory of Robert’s parents. In 2014, they donated $1 million to establish an endowed professorship in economics. Hauge is the professorship’s first recipient.

The theme for Ripon’s 150th Commencement was “Women, Athletes and Coaches: A Half-Century of Progress.” Legendary women’s soccer coach Pia Sundhage, who has led both the American and Swedish women’s teams to Olympic medals, was the 2016 Commencement speaker. Elaine Coll, who founded the modern-day women’s intercollegiate athletic program at Ripon College in 1973, also was an honorary degree recipient.

Senior track and field student-athlete Nicole Zeman appeared at Nationals during the Outdoor season, qualifying in the 400meter hurdles with a school record time of 1:02.27. She finished 15th in the Prelims at the National meet with a time of 1:02.50.

Senior men’s basketball player Ty Sabin is the NCAA’s active leader for career scoring average with 24.5 points per game, also a school record. Sabin also ranks second in school history for career 3-pointers (197) and career free-throw percentage (.856).

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2015-2016 1 4

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