estate of C.B. ’31 and Elizabeth Wegner generously has added nearly $4 million in reserves for the College and is one of the largest single gifts in Ripon’s 162-year history. The estate of Frank Brewster ’65 also has provided close to $1.5 million in honor of Professors Ray Stahura and Deno Zei to bolster our music and physics programs. We are particularly excited about the newly created Doreen L. ’73 and David I. Chemerow Chair in Theatre that joins the Pieper Chair in Religion and Servant Leadership and allows Ripon to continue to excel in these important areas of our curriculum. I am asked by some of my more blunt friends, “Do you like asking people for money?” My answer, I think, often comes as a surprise to them. I enjoy asking people to help with something I believe changes lives and shapes our
society. Most of the Ripon College alumni I talk to feel exactly the same way. The Imagine Tomorrow campaign is focused on building up our endowment so that Ripon faculty, students and staff continue to have access to the highest quality resources, excellent facilities and all of those intangibles that our students and alumni talk about – the special things that make a Ripon College education such a unique and personalized experience. Make no mistake about it: maintaining an excellent liberal arts and sciences college takes resources. My Ripon colleagues have told me more than once that the College has a tradition of “doing more with less.” While this is a noble mantra, I prefer that we strive to “do more with more” and look to turn the extraordinary into an expected part of Ripon’s future. n
From the ARCHIVES
The world became her platform Hailing from a seemingly remote college town on the edge of the Wisconsin prairie, Ripon College graduates increasingly find their way to various corners of the globe. Rapid growth in air travel and the rise of multinational firms have made touring the world an ever-more popular option for students upon graduation – a luxury previously reserved for the elite and government officials. Surprisingly enough, one of Ripon’s most traveled graduates just may be Mary Thomas Schiek Sargent ’39, who chronicled life in India, Ghana, Afghanistan, Bolivia, Honduras, Somalia and Pakistan through letters donated to the Ripon College Archives. After graduating from the College with majors in biology and English, Sargent initially worked as a copywriter for advertising in radio
and newspapers. When World War II broke out, she volunteered for the Red Cross, which led to her taking care of injured soldiers in India. Although she rarely had traveled growing up or as a student, Sargent felt that service was a necessary part of life. It meant a great deal to her and “always has since I come from a family who felt that we all owed a ‘kind of rent’ for living in the world.” n By Andrew Prellwitz Librarian, Archivist and German Instructor
For more of Mary’s story, visit: ripon.edu/ sargent
LETTERS to the E D I T O R DIGITAL MAGAZINE? I love the new look and layout for the college magazine. I was wondering if soon we will have the option to receive it digitally instead of a hard copy. That would be more “green” and also would help me be able to increase the font size to my liking. Phillip J. Trobaugh ’88 St. paul, Minn. (Editor’s note: Current and past issues of Ripon Magazine can be accessed online at ripon.edu/ magazine, and we will continue to explore ways to make our publication more user-friendly for tablets and mobile devices. Still, don’t discount the value of print. Ripon Magazine prominently displayed on your coffee table or in your waiting room not only may be a conversation starter, it could inspire a new Ripon student.)
THANKS FOR PANACHE Thanks for a particularly excellent issue of the Ripon Magazine. The layout, the color, the organization and the contents all were inviting and compelling. I appreciate the historic material and the increased information about faculty achievements. They are so much of what makes Ripon great! You helped launch our new era with panache. Helen Hansen ’66 Saint Paul, Minn.
Alumni cross paths I am a 2004 graduate and current resident physician at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. I came across the photo of John Jamrich ’43 playing the piano in the Mayo lobby in the Summer 2012 issue of Ripon Magazine. I made sure to quickly seek him out during one of his sessions and introduce myself! We had a great chat. Candice North ’04 Jacksonville, Fla. SUBMIT YOUR LETTER TO: Letters to the Editor, Ripon Magazine, PO Box 248, Ripon WI 54971-0248 or email aldersonj@ripon.edu
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