Alumni Engagement

Ripon College has a base of about 12,000 living alumni worldwide. Ripon continues to maintain strong ties with alumni throughout their lives in ways that benefit both alumni and the College.

ON-CAMPUS AND VIRTUAL EVENTS

2021-22 saw the return of both in-person, on-campus and regional events. More than 30 events were held on campus, virtually and in six regional locations, attended by nearly 1,500 alumni, parents, friends and students. Events ranged from #OneDayRally Hours to Family Weekend, to sporting events and athletic alumni reunions, as well as Friends of the Arts celebrations and special farewell receptions for President Zach Messitte. These events would not have been possible without the support of Trustees, Alumni Board members and Ripon Parent Network volunteers who hosted and staffed these events throughout the year.

Alumni Weekend 2022

Alumni and guests from 29 states and Canada were on campus June 22-25, representing the classes of 1962 through 2023, participating in this campus event at the highest rate since before the pandemic.

The Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble was held June 24 and welcomed 225 golfers to the Golf Courses of Lawsonia in Green Lake. This annual outing raised more than $30,000 to directly benefit the Red Hawks student-athlete experience.

The 2022 Reunion Classes raised $5.2 million in the five years since their last Reunions:

• Class of 1977/45th Reunion: Most New Partners in the Legacy since the last reunion (two) and High Reunion Gift Participation (46%)

• Class of 1972/50th Reunion: Largest Reunion Class Gift ($124,842) and largest five-year class gift since the last reunion ($630,074)

Grants

• Assistant Professor of Biology Robin Forbes-Lorman and Logan Zeinert ’22 of Wittenberg, Wisconsin, were awarded a $1,500 Psi Chi 2021-22 Spring Undergraduate Research Grant for their proposal, “The effect of environmental enrichment on glucocorticoid receptors in the rat hippocampus.”

• Cydney Pittenger ’23 of Broomfield, Colorado, earned a $600 2021-2022 TriBeta Research Grant from Beta Beta Beta, the national biological honor society. The grant supports undergraduate research.

• Brian Bockelman, professor of history and interim director of strategic initiatives, was awarded a residential fellowship at Dumbarton Oaks, a Harvard-owned estate, museum and humanities research center in Washington, D.C., for the spring 2023 semester. The competitive national fellowship, which provides both a stipend and housing near the estate in Georgetown, will support his research and writing while he is on sabbatical from Ripon College next year.

Bockelman began his current book project with a Franklin Research Grant from the American Philosophical Society, allowing him to do archival research in Buenos Aires, and he did much of the early writing while on a year-long fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

• Professor of Biology Memuna Khan received funding of $1,600 and materials from the Bluebird Restoration Association of Wisconsin for her skylight nest box and wren guard projects.

• Assistant Professor of Theatre Lillian Brown was awarded a Mellon Faculty Fellowship from Associated Colleges of the Midwest. At the post-graduate level, Mellon Faculty Fellowships offer tenure-track appointments at an ACM college to new Ph.D. or terminal master’s degree graduates whose backgrounds and life experiences will enhance diversity on the ACM campuses.

2022 Alumni Association Awards

Distinguished Alumni Citation

• Bradley W. Alberts ’92 of Dallas, Texas, president/ CEO of the Dallas Stars hockey team.

• Susan J. Bundock ’82 of Takoma Park, Maryland, retired after 39 years with C-SPAN, where she most recently was executive producer of American History TV. Outstanding Young Alumni Award

• Gisela J. Ortega ’12 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, director of Startup Community for gener8tor, a Milwaukee turnkey platform for the creative economy that connects startup founders, musicians, artists, investors, universities and corporations

• Erin R. Schaick ’12 of Concord, New Hampshire, vice president and director of development and community relations for CATCH Neighborhood Housing in Concord Athletic Hall of Fame

• Natalie Geenen Anderson ’09 of Evansville, Wisconsin, softball

• Michael J. Diedrick ’97 of Delafield, Wisconsin, football, track and field

• Michael J. Milburn ’97 of Austin, Texas, and Kevin G. Weber ’98 of Limerick, Pennsylvania, tennis

• Aristotle B. Wurtz ’12 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, basketball

All alumni are encouraged to save the date for Alumni Weekend 2023, which will be held on campus June 22-25. Class years ending in the numbers three or eight will celebrate their Class Reunion next summer. Plus, the 2023 Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble will be held Friday, June 24, at the Golf Courses of Lawsonia.