FOREVER RIPON. 75 for 175
Ripon College formally launches the Forever Ripon campaign, a $75 million effort to expand access through student affordability and innovative programs, enhance our facilities and strengthen our institution through the Ripon Fund. This campaign will prepare Ripon for the celebration of our 175th anniversary in 2026, adapt to an evolving higher education landscape and ensure a Ripon College degree is relevant for generations to come. This is not just a wish, but an imperative — and we must act now.
Creating Access
A stronger endowment is essential for Ripon to attract and support new students. We dedicate a part of ourselves to our students, committing our energy, time and expertise to supporting their individual success.
Through a $25 million effort to expand access, we will endow student access and retention scholarships while increasing opportunities for Ripon students to engage with faculty for scholarship and research — all while we continue our mission to provide a premier and affordable education.
Seize every opportunity
We work hard to make sure our students have access to everything. Every major. Every experience. Every dream they thought was too big. And that begins with affordability. At Ripon, we offer financial assistance to every student — because they deserve every opportunity to turn their ideas into tomorrow’s solutions.
Ripon has a proud history of providing worthy students a level of financial assistance that has met the financial needs for many families and has kept our College accessible to them. Like many other private colleges, Ripon has many more applicants today who need financial help than there were just a generation ago. Thanks to donor-funded scholarships and financial aid, Ripon is able to meet students’ financial needs and reduce or remove financial barriers to them accessing a Ripon education. This is lifeand generation-changing for our students and their families.
Curricular Development and Innovation
Our top-tier faculty and staff model a lifelong dedication and bold vision to learning that inspires others to grow.
A $15 million effort will ensure this vision is a reality and position Ripon as a leader and driver of liberal arts innovation through endowed faculty support and development, curriculum development, experiential programming for students and endowed support for diversity and inclusion.
Our students shape their own education as they pursue their unique interests and discover where they belong. Our flexible academic approach encourages exploration and enhances criticalthinking skills. Our dynamic, active-learning opportunities provide students with hands-on experiences refining their crafts. We must continue to prioritize sustainable resources to ensure we foster the creative thinking that encourages and positions students to shape their own education and growth.
$10 million
Inaugural Endowed Chair in Engineering, $2.5 million
Inaugural Endowed Chair in Exercise Science, $2.5 million
$3 million $2 million
While Ripon takes great pride in our students, alumni, faculty and overall community, our spaces do not always reflect the academic pursuits taking place. Willmore Center is a shining example of how a facility can bolster the quality of life and attractiveness
Ripon presents to potential students and others.
With your support, we will make strategic investments in our facilities, including an addition and thoughtful renovation to our science building — Franzen Science Center; creation of an on-campus stadium — Hopp Stadium; and updating the residence halls with fresh amenities such as new furniture and collaboration spaces. Through these investments, students, faculty and staff will have a better environment for learning, teaching, interacting and living — strengthening the Ripon quality of life and academics and creating an even more welcoming atmosphere for all who visit our campus.
$24.5 million*
$8.5 million*
$2 million
Faculty Support and Development Experiential Programming75% medical school acceptance rate
Center million* million*
45% of students are varsity athletes
The day-to-day vitality of Ripon’s work always has been and always will be supported and maintained by the success of the Ripon Fund –a consistent foundation in the rich philanthropic culture at Ripon College. The Ripon Fund provides crucial flexibility to the College’s budget, enabling leadership to respond to the highest and most immediate financial needs on campus. Ongoing support of our day-to-day work is essential to ensuring the quality and level of scholarship while maintaining investment in the most important facet of Ripon: our people. Help us ensure that our close-knit community and network of individualized support empowers students to reach their fullest potential.
97% of students live on campus
*total project cost
The Ripon Fund helps support students like Meili who has taken full advantage of the many opportunities Ripon College affords its students. A sociology major with minors in criminal justice and psychology, Meili is a member Alpha Delta Pi sorority, president of the Asian Student Association and an intern in the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. She also has interned in the foster care department with Fond du Lac County Social Services, a career she hopes to pursue. “With the help of the Ripon Fund, I have been able to pursue my interests and the career I have wanted since I was young,” she says.
Meili Freeland ’23
Ripon’s philanthropic culture does not exist without the Ripon Fund which is defined by a consistent and meaningful effort that is often unnoticed, unsung and unmarked by names on buildings.
~ SHAWN KARSTEN ’09 Vice President for Advancement, Marketing and Communications, and Chief of Staff
