Annual Report 2022-2023
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Moving ahead with confidence and commitment Since joining Ripon College in July 2022, I have been in awe of the commitment of Ripon College’s alumni, friends and community to this institution. Ripon’s philanthropic culture is strong, and I am energized by the momentum and the opportunities this creates. As I mentioned in my inauguration remarks, now is the time for our community to reaffirm the foundational values that shaped this institution and continue to guide us into the future. Ripon is on a trajectory of revitalization and growth. We have responded to the evolving workplace needs of the future and moved confidently ahead in the midst of a changing higher education landscape that has seen many institutions making drastic cuts and even closing.
ments. At the inauguration ceremony, I announced the public launch of the Forever Ripon campaign, the largest philanthropic and engagement initiative in Ripon’s history. By the end of the fiscal year on June 30, the Forever Ripon campaign reached more than $61 million — 82% of goal — with two years still remaining in the campaign! This ambitious effort is aimed at endowment growth, facility enhancement and strengthening the Ripon Fund. Two tangible outcomes of this effort are the newly renovated and expanded Franzen Science Center, scheduled to open in December 2024, and our first on-campus stadium, Hopp Stadium, which opened in October 2023.
The College recorded an increase in net assets of $15,594,294 in FY23, and provided more than $25 million in financial assistance to 100 percent of our student body during the 202223 academic year.
Also, two new major curricular enhancements were announced: our first Bachelor of Science degree in engineering to meet the educational needs of current and future STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) students as well as our first master’s degree program, in exercise science.
We also celebrated our second largest fundraising year ever, with almost $19 million in new gifts and commit-
The success of Ripon’s mission — to prepare students of diverse interests for lives of productive and responsible
citizenship — requires a collaborative effort. The commitment of our alumni and friends of the College is vital in sustaining our tradition of providing an accessible and relevant liberal arts education for generations to come. While we celebrate all that we have accomplished, now is an ideal time to rethink our priorities and implement strategies to achieve all that is possible in the changing landscape of the future.
VICTORIA N . FOLSE President
Institutional Initiatives
needs of current and future STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) students.
• The Forever Ripon campaign, a $75 million effort to expand access through student affordability and innovative programs, enhance our facilities and strengthen the Ripon Fund, was publically launched in April. It is the largest philanthropic and engagement initiative in Ripon’s history.
• Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research (SOAR) allows students in all disciplines to engage in collaborative research and creative activity with faculty. In 2023, 27 students and 16 faculty members participated. Eight academic disciplines were represented.
• A three-pronged infrastructure enhancement kicked off with two groundbreakings in April: Ripon’s first on-campus stadium, Hopp Stadium, opened in October 2023; and the newly renovated and expanded Franzen Science Center is in progress and scheduled to open in December 2024. The third priority — upgrades to the residence halls — will follow.
• The Momentum Leadership Fellows Program, a summer bridge for highly qualified incoming first-year students from historically underrepresented and first-generation students, was held for the third year. Nineteen students participated in the 2023 cohort. This was the first year eligible fall athletes were invited to join, and eight of them did so.
• A comprehensive and inclusive strategic planning process, involving faculty, staff, students, Trustees and alumni, commenced in October 2022. It moved forward with development of a plan to serve as a confirmation of Ripon College’s mission, vision and values while communicating an actionable roadmap to ensure Ripon’s success. Five core strategic pillars were identified to serve as a critical guide forward. • Ripon’s first master’s degree program, in exercise science, has been approved by the Higher Learning Commission. The program will be open to Ripon College students, high school seniors, and anyone outside of Ripon College. Courses for the 15-month program will begin in the summer of 2024. • In tandem with the opening of the Franzen Science Center in 2024, Ripon College is launching its first Bachelor of Science in engineering program to meet the educational
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Bryan Nell ’09, left, works with Angela Mosconi ’26 of Gillett, Wisconsin, during the Summer Opportunities for Advanced Research. Mosconi is performing a gravity filtration to separate solid impurities from a reaction mixture.
Gifts and Grants
Grants
G
• A project to strengthen the humanities at Ripon College through regional collaboration has received a $150,000 Humanities Initiatives for Colleges and Universities grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The grant will fund a three-year effort to reimagine humanistic study for the 21st century and support a plan to bolster humanities education by connecting faculty and students with cultural institutions across the southern Fox Valley region.
Sixty-one percent of the Class of 2023 contributed to the Senior Class Gift. The total of $1,516, including an Alumni Board match, will go to the Ripon Fund.
• Assistant Professor of Theatre Lillian Brown has received 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.
ifts to Ripon College during FY’23 included $2,379,019.67 in unrestricted funds; and $8,907,847.28 in restricted funds, for a combined total of $11,286,866.95. An additional $7 million in new pledges were documented, bringing the total gift production for fiscal year 2023 to more than $18 million.
N EW G I VI NG CLUB M EM BERS 1851 Club: Now in its 12th year, the club welcomed 50 new member households for a total of 612 members by household in FY’23. Members include donors who give $50,000 or more to the College during their lifetime; 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: Four new households notified us of estate plans which include Ripon College, bringing the total number of Partner households to 542. G I F T S O F ARTWOR K
There will be 33 faculty fellow appointments in the humanities, humanistic social sciences, or the arts over the nine years of the grant. The Mellon Faculty Fellowships aim to enhance the diversity of new faculty who teach at liberal arts colleges while also enhancing the careers of the fellows and teaching programs of the colleges. • Ripon College has been awarded a $5,000 grant from the Council of Independent Colleges, funded by the Mellon Foundation, to support diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts on campus in 2023. • Lydia Fredrick ’23 of New Berlin, Wisconsin, earned an $800 TriBeta Research Grant from Beta, Beta, Beta, the national biological honor society. The grant supports undergraduate research.
Donors and their gifts: • Erika Doss ’78, portrait of the late Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Seale Doss, done by the late Professor Emeritus of Art Lester Schwartz. • Jo Durham, painting “Circus Girl,” done by Lester Schwartz. • Kohler Foundation Inc. and Marshfield Clinic: paintings and prints by various artists. • Robert Haynes ’78, his photograph of Lake Whatcom from Electric Avenue, Bellingham, Washington • Wickstrom family, 77 works including African sculptures, Western prints and drawings from the Ralph L Wickstrom and JoAnn Wickstrom estate. Included are sculptures by Wickstrom; prints by artists such as Francisco Goya and Georges Rouault; art books; and a major collection of African art. Wickstrom was a professor of physical education and athletic director from 1961 until retiring in 1990. Pictured at right is Wickstrom’s “Inner Spirit” (2000).
Ripon Rally Days
Mason Radish ’24 of Eagle, Wisconsin, signs a thank-you card to donors during Ripon Rally Days.
Ripon Rally Days, the spring online giving experience, was held April 20-23 during Inauguration Week. This year donors could choose from 14 ways to give in honor of President Victoria N. Folse, Ripon’s 14th and newly inaugurated president. The 14 ways included Ripon Fund, Franzen Science Center, the on-campus Hopp Stadium, residence halls, Friends of the Arts, Red Hawks Club, scholarships, Career Discovery Tour, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, the endowment, Center for Career and Professional Development, faculty development, and student activities. Also included was the Folse Fund, an annual discretionary presidential fund to support student-centered priorities. The Folse Fund Challenge was met with the Folse family matching the first $10,000 given. Of the 574 donors, more than 12% were from our immediate campus community. A total of $327,710 was raised, and the reunion classes of 1978, 1983 and 2003 all met their gift challenges. The Class of 1978 had the most donors, 93, in this, their 45th reunion year. Since our spring giving event began in 2018, the Class of 1978 has claimed the top spot for alumni donors every year. The Class of 1973 raised the most money — $83,276.
Alumni Engagement
R
ipon College has a base of about 15,000 alumni worldwide. Ripon continues to maintain strong ties with alumni throughout their lives in ways that benefit both alumni and the College through the Office of Constituent Engagement. O N - C A MP US AND VI RTUAL EVENTS President Victoria N. Folse received a warm welcome to the Ripon family with more than 400 alumni and friends participating in Presidential Welcome Receptions held from September through April in 14 locations across the country, culminating in Folse’s formal inauguration April 22. Annual on-campus events were held throughout the year, connecting and supporting Ripon parents and families, artists, musicians and thespians, and athletes. Trustees, Alumni Board members and Ripon Parent Network volunteers hosted and staffed these events. Dan Trampf ’90 presented at Ripon College March 7, 2023, about his career. He has been president and owner of Trampf Consulting LLC Industrial Sports Medicine and Ergonomics in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, since 2012. His appearance was co-sponsored by The Center for Career and Professional Development and Phi Epsilon Kappa honor society.
A LUMNI -STUD E NT E NGAGEM ENT For the first time since the pandemic, the donor-funded Career Discovery Tour returned, connecting current students to generous alumni hosts and other donors who committed to expanding alumni-student networking. Over spring break, 14 students traveled to Washington, D.C. The Center for Career and Professional Development and the Alumni Board of Directors co-hosted several oncampus events to educate students about the important role alumni play in their Ripon experiences: Alumni Career Ninja Warrior, Etiquette Dinner, and Senior VIP and Cap & Gown Parties. Kimberly Larson ’08 of Apple Valley, Minnesota, past president of the Alumni Association Board, and Brandon ParrottSheffer ’08 of Palatine, Illinois, a member of the 2023-2024 board, celebrate the Class of 2008 at Alumni Weekend.
Alumni Weekend 2024 will be held on campus June 20-23. Class years ending in the numbers four or nine will celebrate Class Reunions, and the Weiske ’50 Golf Scramble will be held June 21.
Jennifer Luepke Young ’95 of Arlington Heights, Illinois, left, and Becki Parsons Baird ’97 of Ripon, Wisconsin, catch up at Alumni Weekend.
Alumni Weekend 2023 Alumni Weekend 2023, held June 22-25, was attended by more than 750 alumni and guests representing 37 states from the classes of 1959 through 2025. The 2023 Reunion Classes raised more than $9 million in the five years since their last reunions. •T hree Golden R Classes (1958, 1963, 1968) raised more
than $1.1 million. •C elebrating its 50th Reunion, the Class of 1973 achieved
a major milestone by exceeding a combined $10 million in lifetime giving to the College. •T he Class of 1978, celebrating its 45th Reunion, achieved
70% participation and 108 total donors — more donors from one class in a single year ever. •C elebrating its 40th Reunion, the Class of 1983 recorded this
year’s largest reunion class gift of more than $2.7 million. •A record number of 262 golfers raised more than
$35,000 for Red Hawks Athletics during the Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble.
2023 Alumni Association Awards Ten alumni were honored by the Alumni Association Board of Directors. Awards were presented June 23, 2023, at the 1851 Awards Dinner during Alumni Weekend. Distinguished Alumni Citation • Nancy Wadley Keough ’67 of Pebble Beach, California, Career Achievements, Service to Community • Justin W. Niebank ’78 of Franklin, Tennessee, Career Achievements • Jerry L. Waukau ’78 of Keshena, Wisconsin, Service to Community Outstanding Young Alumni Award • James-Mark Ooko-Ombaka ’16 of Nairobi, Kenya, Service to Community Athletic Hall of Fame • Jacob L. Gahart ’13 of Tucson, Arizona, football • Taylor T. Koth ’13 of Jackson, Wisconsin, basketball, baseball • Michelle M. Matter ’13 of Fort Collins, Colorado, cross country, track and field • Adam D. Sellner ’13 of Irmo, South Carolina, track and field • Kirk P. Wilderspin ’99 of Batavia, Illinois, football • Stephanie Rieuwpassa Willms ’13 of Union Grove, Wisconsin, softball
Student Experience
O
ne hundred percent of our students receive financial assistance. Our mission to provide an accessible and premier liberal arts and sciences education to all students remains unchanged, even in the midst of an ever–changing and challenging higher education landscape.
Life at Ripon Graduates • 166 from July 1, 2022, to June 30, 2023 • 44 double majors, 2 triple majors • 7 Phi Beta Kappa • 21 Summa cum laude, 21 Magna cum laude, 35 Cum laude • Top majors: Exercise science, business/economics, psychology, biology, education Class of 2027 • 1,797 first-year applications • 1,508 offered admission • 195 first-time, first-year students plus 15 transfer students. • 17 legacies • 41 as part of Local Commitment Award program • 64% of first-year students elected test-optional • 26% ethnic diversity, the largest percentage ever • 36% first-generation • 32% are Pell Grant-eligible • 64% of new students are from Wisconsin, with others from 18 states and the country of Pakistan. Student Body • 734 enrolled in fall 2023, vs. 766 in fall 2022 • 44% of students on Dean’s List in fall semester, 43% in spring semester • 34% upperclassmen in sororities and 38% in fraternities • 96% lived on campus • 45 student clubs and organizations on campus, with approximately 420 students participating. • 41% student-athletes in fall semester, 32% in spring semester
ABOVE Levi Keen ’24 restrains Lucie Hodgkins ’25 in a scene from the Tony Award-winning comic drama “God of Carnage,” by Yasmina Resa, presented in the fall of 2022. On the floor is Pierce Reese-Grimm ’24 and at far right is Kinsley Kahl ’26.
Career and Professional Development • 401 appointments, online, virtual, in-person • Visits to Career Center: 3,311 • Career events: 1,865 student touchpoints in workshops, career and internships fairs, tabling, events • Admissions Collaborations: seven separate events with total attendence of 144 prospective students or counselors • Employer connections: 517 student engagements with 201 employers • Alumni contacts: 20 alumni with multiple contacts; two alumni guest speakers • Rally’s Career Closet: 322 donated articles of clothing; 54 uses by students Franzen Center for Academic Success Data for both semesters • 697 tutor requests • 396 signed tutoring contracts • 916 papers dropped online or brought in for review • 53 quantitative drop-ins • 472 individual students used at least one of: contracted tutoring, PLUS, writing/presentation drop-in, Finals in the Franzen Center or quantitative drop-in
RIGHT Nine students traveled to Hagley Gap, Jamaica, to work with children in the schools of the area and provide support for community improvement as part of the Blue Mountain Project. Here, Jake Hargrave ’25 of Markesan, Wisconsin, bonds with a local student. LEFT Ripon College formed a new chapter of Iota Iota Iota (Triota), the national women’s and gender studies honor society. Initiation of the inaugural 17 members of the Zeta Gamma chapter was held April 25, 2023. Pictured are Yazmin Doroteo, director of Multicultural Affairs, left, two of the new members, Meili Freeland ’23 and Katie Doan ’23, Associate Professor of English Mary Unger and President Victoria N. Folse. Unger is the coordinator of the Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies program.
Excellence at Ripon FAC ULT Y ACH I E VE ME NTS
Never Givin’ Up: The Life and Music of Al Jarreau, an authorized biography of jazz/ pop vocalist Al Jarreau ’62, was written by Professor Emeritus of Music Kurt Dietrich. It was released by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press. Mary Unger, associate professor of English, chair of the Department of English and coordinator of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program, has been designated an ACM Mellon Academic Leadership Fellow, funded by a $1.5 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. As contributors to senior leadership discussions over a two-year term, each Fellow will lead a discrete project or portfolio of responsibilities as identified by Ripon’s senior leadership team. Brian Bockelman, professor of history and interim director of strategic initiatives, was awarded a residential fellowship at Dumbarton Oaks, a Harvardowned estate, museum and humanities research center in Washington, D.C., for the spring 2023 semester. Rafael Francisco Salas, professor of art, was guest curator for an exhibit for the Museum of Wisconsin Art Oct. 7, 2022, through Jan. 8, 2023, at the museum’s satellite location inside Saint Kate — The Arts Hotel in downtown Milwaukee. His work was shown in exhibits at St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, and Portrait Society Gallery of Contemporary Art in Milwaukee; he wrote several published articles about art; and served on the Wisconsin Arts Board. Sarah Frohardt-Lane, associate professor of history and director of the Environmental Studies Program, spoke on the podcast “One Year: 1942” on Slate.com about her research on rubber rationing during World War II. In August 2022, she co-led a workshop that brought together environmental studies faculty from nine ACM institutions in connection with the ACM FaCE grant “Supporting and Strengthening Environmental Studies Curricula at ACM Institutions.” Henrik M. Schatzinger, professor of political science and director of the Center for Politics and the People, spoke during all-night election coverage Nov. 8, 2022, on Spectrum News 1 Wisconsin television. He also spoke on “WisconsinEye,” a cable show, ahead of the spring 2023 election. With student Aaron O’Halloran ’24, he presented at the annual meeting of the Southern Political Science Association in January in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
Associate Professor of Art History Travis Nygard published an essay, “George Washington Carver,” in the book The Unforgettables: Expanding the History of American Art. His chapter “Racist and Ethnic Stereotypes in the Arts” will be in the upcoming book The Handbook of Music and Art, co-edited by Professor Emerita of Music Sarah Mahler Kraaz. He also published “Complex Maya Computations: Math, Time, Astronomy, and Hieroglyphs” in the Dakota Digital Review and presented the paper “Interpreting an Ancient Maya Masterpiece, Palenque’s Oval Palace Tablet: A Case Study Using UNESCO’s Intercultural Competences Tree” at the Annual Conference of the Midwest Art History Society in Milwaukee. Professor of History Rebecca Matzke was a commentator on the panel “The Social World of Jack Tars: The Royal Navy and British Maritime Culture 1815-1940” at the North American Conference on British Studies annual meeting Nov. 11-13 in Chicago. Jan Plane, associate professor of computer science, was the keynote speaker at the workshop “A Deep Dive by EDU Change Makers,” hosted April 27 by Google NYC Women Techmakers at Google Headquarters in New York City. Plane attended the workshop virtually.
Assistant Professor of Theatre Lillian Brown took “The OREO Complex,” a play written and performed by her, to Washington, D.C., for 10 performances in May and June 2023.
Associate Professor of Chemistry Patrick Willoughby presented at the American Chemical Society National Meeting in Chicago in August 2022. Assistant Professor of Music Erin Bryan presented research on the final Neapolitan operas of Niccolò Jommelli (1714-1774) at the 2022 National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) Conference in Chicago in July. She also was the soprano soloist in Josef Haydn’s oratorio “The Creation” with the Oshkosh Chamber Singers and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (4th Movement) with the South Shore Chorale. Andrew Prellwitz, associate librarian-user services and director of Lane Library, was president of the Ripon Public Library Board and chair of the Wisconsin Library Association Literary Awards Committee. Associate Professor of English Ann Pleiss Morris wrote the chapter “The New Spectators: Facilitating Conversations Between Early British Women Writers and Twenty-First Century Students” in the book TraumaInformed Pedagogy: Addressing Gender-Based Violence in the Classroom, published in the summer of 2022.
Revenue & Expenses
Revenue
T
he majority of our expenses in FY’23 were devoted to student tuition support, costs to sustain academic instruction as well as general operations of the college. The College provided $25,047,642 in financial assistance to 100 percent of its student body during the 2022-23 academic year. Financial statements for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2023, reflect an increase in net assets of $15,594,294. The market value of our investments as of June 30, 2023, was listed at $107,926,236. This reflects an increase of $2,644,799 from the prior year. The average endowment investment returns for one, three and five years were 6.8%, 9.9% and 7.3%, respectively. Student Tuition & Fees
$10,216,602
22%
Auxiliary Enterprises
$6,731,926
15%
Contributions
$20,521,173
44%
Investments
$6,556,557
14%
Other Income
$2,154,847
5%
TOTAL
$26,053,063 100%
Expenses
ABOVE Sarah Franzen, left, daughter of benefactors Janice Heinz Franzen ’83, center, and Mark J. Franzen ’83, make a ceremonial dig at the Franzen Science Center ceremony.
Forever Ripon : largest campaign in school history The Forever Ripon campaign, a $75 million effort to expand access through student affordability and innovative programs, enhance our facilities and strengthen the Ripon Fund, was publically launched in April at the inauguration of Victoria N. Folse as the 14th president of Ripon College. Forever Ripon is the largest philanthropic and engagement initiative in Ripon’s history. During the quiet phase of the campaign, which began July 1, 2020, the College secured more than $52 million in commitments toward its overall goal. Every Ripon College Trustee has made a gift to the campaign, and 40% of alumni either made a financial commitment since the campaign began or volunteered in some capacity by June 30, 2023. More than $9 million of support was pledged between the public launch and the end of Ripon’s fiscal year June 30. Overall, Ripon College celebrated its second largest fundraising year ever in fiscal year 2023 with almost $19 million in new gifts and commitments. This contributed to Forever Ripon reaching more than $61 million — 82% of its $75 million goal — by the end of the fiscal year with two years still remaining in the campaign.
Instruction
$9,795,076
32%
Institutional Support
$5,552,779
18%
Fundraising
$1,359,878
4%
Auxiliary Enterprises
$5,505,706
18%
Student Services
$6,554,915
21%
Academic Support
$1,380,493
5%
Public Services
$467,964
2%
TOTAL
$29,825,286
100%
ON THE COVER Dr. Victoria N. Folse was formally inaugurated as Ripon College’s 14th president April 22, 2023.