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Prior Experience
David C. Joyce is the fourth Ripon president who served as a college president elsewhere — and the first in more than 80 years.
■ The first was the Rev. Richard C. Hughes who was Ripon’s fourth president from 1901-09. He became president of Tabor College in Iowa in 1897 and left that institution to take the presidency at Ripon.
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■ The Rev. Henry Coe Culbertson, Ripon’s president from 1917-21, became president of Emporia College in Kansas in 1907 at age 33.
wants to hear the stories of Ripon, not just the facts,” says Lynne. “He wants to hear what Ripon College means to those who love it.”
The Joyces are learning about Ripon by maintaining a hectic schedule of alumni and community meetings and attending campus functions. In the early days of the fall semester, David met with many of the student groups on campus as well as all of the faculty in their academic departments; and the Joyces traveled to Milwaukee, the Fox Valley and Chicago for alumni and trustee gatherings. The late fall and winter schedule will take them to New York and Florida, among other places.
There’s little doubt the Ripon College community will face considerable change under the leadership of Joyce, but every step, he assures, will be made together as a community. r
Haley Jorgensen
Jorgensen is owner of Public Image, a public relations firm in Ripon, Wis., and a frequent contributor to Ripon Magazine
■ The third was Ripon’s own the Rev. Silas Evans, class of 1898, who actually got his start as a college president at Ripon when he served from 1910-17. He left Ripon to become president of Occidental College in Los Angeles. After three years at Occidental and a yearlong stint as pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in San Diego, he returned to his alma mater to succeed Culbertson. Evans served 22 years as Ripon’s president in his second term, 1921-43.
In addition to Evans, two other Ripon presidents have gone on to serve as presidents elsewhere. Bernard Adams, Ripon president from 1966-85, served for two years at Fort Lewis College, a public four-year college in Durango, Colo.
Clark G. Kuebler, president of Ripon from 1943-54, left the College to serve as provost, the top administrator, at the University of California-Santa Barbara.
