Ripon Magazine Summer 2016

MAGAZINE IN er 2016 Summer

Inn Innovation nn no atti n in n th the hee liberal liber lib iber era artss and an nd scie sciences ci ncees

New curriculum: Fulfilling employers’ emerging needs

Commencement: 151 join ranks of Ripon College alumni

Hervé Somé’s writings inspire democracy in Burkina Faso

Summer 2016 VOLUME 49, ISSUE No. 2

RIPON COLLEGE SOCIAL NETWORKS facebook.com/ripon.college flickr.com/photos/ripon_college instagram.com/riponcollege linkedin.com/company/ripon-college twitte .com/riponcollege vimeo.com/riponcollege youtube.com/riponcollegevideo

RIPON COLLEGE ONLINE: ripon.edu

Ripon Magazine (ISSN 1058-1855) is published twice annually by Ripon College, 300 W. Seward St.,

Ripon College prepares students

Ripon, WI 54971-0248. Postage paid at Ripon, Wisconsin. Copyright © 2016 Ripon College

of diverse interests for lives of

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Ripon Magazine, PO Box 248, Ripon, WI 54971-0248

productive, socially responsible

Editor: Jaye Alderson, email: AldersonJ@ripon.edu, phone: 920-748-8364 Editorial Assistants: Melissa Anderson, Ric Damm and Mike Westemeier Student Assistants: Tessa Dillenbeck ’17, Lauren Hince ’18, Mra Than ’17 and Megan Sohr ’18

citizenship. Our liberal arts and sciences curriculum and residential campus create an intimate learning community in

Design: Ali Klunick

which students experience a

Photography: Ric Damm, Jim Koepnick, Khun Maung ’19, Becky Bajt ’19

richly personalized education.

Office of Constituent Engagement and Career Services: 920-748-8126 2 | R I P ON College

INSIDE 4

Catalyst: A New Curriculum Ripon College’s liberal arts and sciences education has always provided its graduates with a broad base of knowledge and experience to take into the world. Now, a revamped curriculum will provide even more of what employers are looking for now — flexibility and adaptable skills.

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Commencement 2016 With laughter, tears and a charge to approach their lives with passion, Ripon’s newest graduates received their diplomas May 15.

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Alumni profiles A liberal arts and sciences education promotes lifelong learning and the ability to use skills in a variety of settings and career opportunities.

Read how three Ripon College alumni have succeeded in unique ways.

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What was your favorite meal?

No, college food wasn’t bad at Ripon. In fact, the memories of meals on campus are quite fond and nostalgic. Ripon alumni of all eras share their favorite foods that sustained them — body and soul — through their time on campus.

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Inspiring democracy in his homeland Through writings and editorials published in his native land of Burkina Faso, Associate Professor of Educational Studies Touorizou Hervé Somé helps inspire a new democracy and his country’s first free election.

DEPARTMENTS: 22 24 27 28

Sports Around the Clocktower Gifts at Work Remarkable Ripon

PHOTO: A red-headed woodpecker in the woods near Scott Hall on the Ripon College campus. Photo by Khun Maung ’19 of Yangon, Myanmar.

Cover illustration by Taylor Naslund

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Getting out of our comfort zone language class that — hopefully — taught my students much more than just how to pronounce the menu correctly.

Ripon will offer a new curriculum next fall. And you should take notice. A new curriculum comes along once, or possibly twice, a generation and is at the center of our institutional mission.

Our faculty buckled down last fall for marathon meetings, retreats and visits to other college campuses and devised a new required set of courses that already is being looked upon as innovative among national liberal arts colleges. The result is the new Catalyst curriculum that will debut for incoming first-year students in August 2016.

When I first got my Ph.D., all I wanted to do was teach international relations. But in my first job as a professor, I was asked to do a lot more than just teach in my area of expertise. Some semesters it was introductory political science courses, and in others, I offered American politics primers or a state and local government class. But in my third year as a professor, I got a very unusual request.

The provost called me into his office not long before the beginning of the semester with a special plea: “The person we had hired to teach introductory Italian will not be able to be here this year. Would you be able to do it?” My reply, “I am a political science professor. I’ve never taught Italian before.” “Yeah, I know that,” said the provost. “But you speak Italian, don’t you?” “I do,” I replied. “But I don’t know how to teach Italian.” “Well,” he said, “Why don’t you teach Italian as if you were a political science professor?”

And I did. In addition to learning numbers (“Uno! Due! Tre!”) and ordering in a restaurant (“Una pizza, per favore.

Grazie!”), the class also read newspaper articles about Italy’s then Donald Trump-like Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, watched films by the great director Nanni Moretti with overtly political themes, and discussed Italy’s role in World War II. The result was a very different kind of introductory

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The Catalyst program creates a five-course set of classes that will help deliver essential skills (writing, quantitative reasoning, intercultural competence, interdisciplinary inquiry and problem-solving) to our students. The new core classes will complement our more traditional comprehensive liberal arts and sciences majors and minors. Faculty from all disciplines will teach the new courses. And students will take one Catalyst course in each of their first five semesters at Ripon.

What this means is that philosophy (or you name the major) professors may occasionally be teaching courses that don’t just cover material in their discipline but might also emphasize quantitative reasoning. History profs will still cover medieval and Renaissance studies, but their Catalyst seminar now will be infused with collaborative problemsolving skills. In other words, the political science professor might be teaching Italian, and the potential for innovation in the classroom is strong.

Our faculty has taken up the challenges by developing new courses and experimenting with old ones. Some will be trying out pioneering teaching methods in order to continually push themselves as well as our students to live up to our mission to prepare our graduates for “lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship” in the 21st century.

Zach P. Messitte, President

Honorees dig in to launch renovation.

Renovation project is off and running Shovels hit the ground in a ceremonial groundbreaking April 21 for the multi-million dollar project to renovate and expand the J.M. Storzer athletic, health and wellness facilities. The target completion date for the project is the fall of 2017, with a cost of about $20 million.

“Our students and community soon will be able to enjoy this state-of-the-art center,” said Zach Messitte, president of Ripon College. “Ripon — the College and community — is committed to healthy living, exercise and the spirit of competition, and with this building we will soon have one of the premier facilities in the state.”

Preparation work officially began May 23. Construction began June 27 and is being completed in phases:

• Fieldhouse construction: May 2016 to July 2017 • Tartan Gym renovation: May 2016 to Nov. 2016 • North Atrium expansion: May 2016 to Dec. 2016 • Remodels construction: March 2017 to Aug. 2017 The project is being financed using a mix of public and private loans and philanthropy.

Revitalize: The Campaign for Health and Wellness at Ripon College is continuing to secure gifts toward the financing.

For more information and ways you can contribute, contact the Office of Advancement at 920-748-8351 or advancement@ripon.edu; or visit ripon.edu/revitalize.

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CATALYST New core curriculum debuts this fall Catalyst, the new core curriculum recently adopted by Ripon College, begins rolling out to the first-year class in the fall semester of 2016.

The traditional liberal arts and sciences approach to education prepares students for lifelong learning and maintains that exposure to a breadth of disciplines generates skills necessary for success in any endeavor.

But the needs of employers are changing. Recent surveys of employers consistently suggest that graduates cannot competently transfer liberal arts skills to professional tasks, and families increasingly question whether liberal education provides value commensurate to the cost.

Employers most value flexibility and adaptable skills, says Ed Wingenbach, vice president and dean of faculty.

“Collaboration and communication are highly valued and essential,” he says.

“Learning outcomes that at least four in five employers rate as very important are: oral communication; working effectively with others in teams; written communication; critical/analytical thinking; and applying knowledge/skills to the real world.”

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He says 95 percent of employers prioritize skills that will help employees contribute to innovation in the workplace, and 95 percent prefer candidates with demonstrated intercultural skills.

Students need to learn flexibility and transferrable skills, Wingenbach says.

“Today’s average graduate will have eight to 10 careers in his or her lifetime, and the 10 fastest growing careers in 2015 didn’t even exist in 2005.”

The new Catalyst curriculum addresses these concerns while allowing Ripon College to maintain our strength in the humanities and fine arts. In the first four semesters at Ripon College, students will complete four different Catalyst courses, building skills in written communication, quantitative reasoning, intercultural competence and interdisciplinary integration.

The fifth semester will culminate with the Applied Innovation Seminar. Students will collaborate within teams to develop and present solutions to complex, multifaceted, open-ended, and socially relevant problems, using the liberal arts skills developed throughout Catalyst.

Faculty team receives FaCE grant Megan Gannon, assistant professor of English, will teach “Fairy Tales and Contemporary Retellings.”

“There is an explicit focus on highly valued skills and the ability to transfer skills to new contexts,” Wingenbach says. “Students will develop skills that they need to be successful when they leave Ripon. The promise of the liberal arts is that you develop skills for life.”

He says Catalyst will provide the skills for graduates to become good citizens and employees; to be effective problem-solvers and collaborators; to solve real problems in a mentored environment; and to allow students to graduate with their desired majors and minors. Every student who completes the Catalyst requirements will earn a concentration in applied innovation.

“This concentration will provide students with the ability to solve complex problems, work in teams, communicate clearly, think critically/analytically, work with and understand data, and apply their knowledge to real-world contexts,” Wingenbach says.

He says the Catalyst approach is largely unique in a liberal arts context. Parents have liked the idea of transferrable skills and the ability for students to demonstrate that they have obtained

these skills. Students like the freedom the new curriculum offers them.

“The Catalyst distinctions are meant to provide extensive freedom for students to craft their own program, while also giving them the ability to complete multiple majors, minors, study abroad programs and internships, all within four years,” Wingenbach says.

“Catalyst will maximize student freedom and opportunity; simplify the requirements and path to graduation; rigorously develop 21st-century skills; ensure high quality instruction in general education and clear value in requirements; and create a more student-centered education, learning what they need to impact the world; and translate the liberal arts promise into assessable reality,” Wingenbach says.

A project led by four faculty members from Ripon College has received funding through a FaCE Grant Award from Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM).

“Using Cognitive Science to Build a Problem-Solving Core Curriculum at Ripon College” is being developed

by Kristine Kovack-Lesh, associate professor of psychology and chair of the department; Travis Nygard, assistant professor of art, chair of the department, and registrar of the College Art Collection; Steve Martin, associate professor of communication and chair of the department; and Mark Kainz, associate professor of biology.

Cognitive science research suggests students have difficulty using skills developed within a discipline to address problems in a different context (“transfer”). Studies also show that transfer is improved when students explicitly link learning expectations across courses and intentionally apply skills to openended problems.

The project leaders will build their expertise in using cognitive science-based strategies and then help faculty colleagues develop seminars for the Catalyst core curriculum that effectively increase students’ skill transfer.

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“You have a big chance to reach your goals if you have passion.”

P I A S U N D H AG E

ELAINE COLL

YESSRA SANKARI ’16 6

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CLASS OF 2016

New graduates directed to focus on passion, teamwork In the game of soccer and in the game of life, says legendary women’s soccer coach Pia Sundhage, passion and teamwork are important for achieving the best.

I’m pretty much useless. Working together with other coaches, I could be the best. (I ask my players), ‘When you look in the mirror, what do you see? What do you want to see?’ ”

Sundhage, who led the U.S. women’s national soccer team to two Olympic gold medals and now coaches the women’s national soccer team in her native Sweden, spoke to the 2016 graduates of Ripon College as the Commencement speaker and earlier in the day at the Senior Brunch and Forum.

“I believe in people. My glass is half-full. I put on my positive glasses, and I’m always searching for good things.

My philosophy of leadership is to try to live to learn and learn from living. I wanted to be kind; I wanted to be humble; I wanted to be positive; and I had to practice that.”

The theme for Ripon’s 150th Commencement was “Women, Athletes and Coaches: A Half-Century of Progress” and highlighted the changes in women’s sports since the introduction in 1972 of Title IX, the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex discrimination in education.

Elaine Coll was the second honorary degree recipient. She founded the modern-day women’s intercollegiate athletic program at Ripon College in 1973. She organized and coached women’s volleyball, basketball and track and field until her retirement in 1993.

“I won’t give you any advice,” Sundhage told the graduates.

“You have to figure out yourself how to find what you’re looking for out in the world. You have a big chance to reach your goals if you have passion.”

“Women’s sports were not on most radars in 1972,” she said, until Title IX ushered in women’s intercollegiate athletics.

“Coaching was always a dream of mine. There were no women coaches, so it was a far-off dream. Teaching physical education was the closest a woman could come to sports and the feel of movement. (With Title IX), something that was not possible was all of a sudden reality.

She added: “Soccer is teamwork; life is teamwork. Different people work well together. Diversity is important. Being alone,

Just the Stats CLASS OF 2016: 151 DOUBLE MAJORS: 42 MOST POPULAR MAJORS: BUSINESS MANAGEMENT, BIOLOGY, EXERCISE SCIENCE, POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT, HISTORY, ENGLISH, PSYCHOLOGY SENIOR CLASS GIFT: $1,964 CLASS PARTICIPATION: 70 PERCENT

“There were no varsity women’s sports until 1973. … It was so fun. It was all new. The women just wanted to be there and play.”

Senior Class Speaker Yessra Sankari ’16 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, offered a few words of wisdom from her faith’s Koran, translated to: “For every hardship there comes ease.”

“There will be struggles (for us), but with dedication and commitment, we will get through it,” she said. “We have become strong, more refined and more intelligent versions of ourselves. … We must fight and live and never give up on the values we have learned here. Take this degree and do something relevant and positive with it. Your dreams will guide you on your path.”

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An ending ‌ and a beginning On a cool and sunny May afternoon, 151 new graduates of Ripon College were presented to the world. Joy and pride abounded as the graduates, their families and friends, and faculty and staff of Ripon College all celebrated together.

For more Commencement photos, visit ripon.edu/commencement

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1. Family and friends gather for Ripon’s 150th Commencement 2. A mortarboard message 3. Sara Driebel of New Berlin, Wisconsin, graduated

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magna cum laude with a major in history and a minor in educational studies 4. Taking a look at brand-new diplomas 5. Anaanou “Leandre” Somé of Ripon, Wisconsin, majored in global studies, with minors in business management and French 6. Like father like son: Andrew Pierson of Neenah, Wisconsin, who majored in biology and minored in history; and Michael Pierson ’88 7. James-Mark Ooko-Ombaka, who majored in sociology and minored in politics and government, celebrates with his joyous family, who traveled to Ripon from Nairobi, Kenya 8. Capturing precious memories 9. Myat Thinzar Aung of Yangon, Myanmar, majored in art history and added a selfdesigned major in classical studies. 10. Junior marshals Allison Ann Reinhardt of Nelson, Wisconsin; Jordan T. Stiede of Pulaski, Wisconsin; Lincoln Wurtz of Ripon, Wisconsin; and Nicole Zeman of Sussex, Wisconsin, lead in the soon-to-be graduates.

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OUTSTANDING ALUMNI

Lt. Col. James Megellas receives new honor at the age of 99 Highly decorated and honored Lt. Col. James “Maggie” Megellas ’42 continues to receive new recognitions of distinction. The post offi in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, Megellas’ hometown just 20 miles from Ripon College, has been renamed The Lt. Col. James “Maggie” Megellas Post Offic U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) introduced the legislation to rename the post offic and President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law in March. The 99-year-old Megellas, who now lives in Colleyville, Texas, attended the renaming ceremony June 14. A plaque designating the new name is displayed in the post offic s lobby.

Megellas is the most decorated offic in the history of the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division. During World War II, he fought courageously in the landing at Anzio, in Operation Market Garden, and in the Battle of the Bulge; he carried a wounded man to safety during one of his night patrols; and led his platoon in a successful attack on enemy forces in Belgium.

He has received numerous awards, including the military’s second-highest decoration, the Distinguished Service Cross, and multiples each of the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

Many are still actively campaigning for him to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.

Last fall, Megellas accepted on behalf of the 82nd Airborne Division the Military Order of William, the Dutch equivalent of the United States’ 10

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Congressional Medal of Honor. “This has great meaning to the Dutch people who value their freedom,” he said.

Among his numerous international honors, Megellas said the renaming of the post offi is particularly humbling. “None of it matches the feeling I have right now, being born in this town,” he said. “I came from this environment. I was born here in Fond du Lac. I grew up here. I am a product of a small town that supports our veterans. It gives me a feeling of humility that’s very hard to express. … I’ll never forget this moment.”

He said that when he graduated from Ripon College, in one hand he was given a diploma “recognizing me as a scholar. In the other hand was a commission as second lieutenant in the United States Army calling me an offic and a gentleman.

“We always felt when we entered service, we were serving a cause greater than ourselves … to deny the spread of Nazism and the protection of freedom everywhere.”

James “Maggie” Megellas ’42

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OUTSTANDING ALUMNI

Ginny McGehee ’77 live on the air for 36 years Ginny McGehee ’77

and football play-by-play. While at Ripon College, she became the first woman to play goalie for the men’s lacrosse team, a team that beat Division One rival Northwestern.

In 1983, she joined WJOY in Burlington, Vermont. She was an afternoon disc jockey for a sister station and has since spent most of her time at WJOY. She and a cohost began hosting the weekday “Breakfast Table” program in 1993, and McGehee has hosted the show by herself for the past 15 years.

Ginny McGehee (Condon) ’77 of Colchester, Vermont, was inducted in December 2015 into the Vermont Association of Broadcasters Hall of Fame. She is the longest-serving full-time female radio personality in Vermont history and the first woman broadcaster to win this honor.

“My award was for time,” McGehee says. “I have done broadcasting for 36 straight years.”

A native of Philadelphia, McGehee began her broadcasting career at WNBZ-AM in Saranac Lake, New York, in 1980, where she hosted a daily show and broadcast local high school hockey 12

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“I play a format that is geared to people who are 50 years and older,” McGehee says. “I play music such as the Beatles to Sinatra to Buble. It’s a happy start to the day.

“I’ve got the best listeners. They have been with me through my wedding, through my baby. They write me letters. They are very sharp.”

She also does an hour-long gardening show once a week where listeners call in to ask questions.

She says she remains loyal to Ripon College. “Ripon was a great institution,” McGehee says. “I may not have been the best student, but I love Ripon. I’ve always had a Ripon sticker on the back of my car. I’ve got friends for life from Ripon.”

Alumna’s environmental work impacting the world Vanessa Lamb ’03 Partnership, and she will take up a permanent position at University Melbourne Geography later this year.

Her current projects are with the Greater Mekong Program for CGIAR Research Program on Water, Land and Ecosystems (WLE). The first project, for which she is the lead project investigator, is a basin-wide study of “governance” of the Salween River which flows through parts of China, Myanmar and Thailand in Southeast Asia.

“What we mean to accomplish with this project is to assess the policies related to the river and how they are being implemented — or not — and what that means to people who live in the basin and rely on the river as a source of livelihood and food,” she says.

Environmental issues in Southeast Asia are the focus of postdoctoral researcher Vanessa Lamb ’03 of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Lamb first traveled to Thailand after graduation and stayed for six months.

“Professor (George ‘Skip’) Wittler at Ripon College first connected me with an internship in Bangkok, Thailand, at the end of my degree,” she says. “I had worked in East Africa on issues of biodiversity and conservation previously in my undergrad studies, and I was interested in better understanding how people and organizations outside the United States were addressing environmental problems. But this was

my first connection to Thailand and Southeast Asia.”

Lamb majored in environmental studies at Ripon College and received a master’s degree in Conservation Biology and Sustainable Development from the University of WisconsinMadison. In 2014, she received her Ph.D. in geography, focusing on environmental politics, natural resources and development geographies, from York University, Toronto, Canada.

She currently works for the University of Toronto on the Urban Climate Resilience in Southeast Asia

Her second project includes another WLE grant to support 12 research fellows focusing on the Salween basin and building the Salween University Network. “This includes natural scientists, social scientists and practitioners who will take a range of approaches to understanding riverine ecology and water governance of the Salween in Southeast Asia,” Lamb says.

The Salween River project has inspired Lamb to continue improving the basin and the lives of the people whose livelihoods depend upon this river. It is a sustained effor that already has inspired further initiatives in other regions.

Mra Than ’17 New York, New York S U M M E R 2016

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OUTSTANDING ALUMNI

Building l an aesthetic reputation around the world Rugo describes designing each bu building as an intuitive art. Each design is a blend of what the clients want, with the given resources in mind. “It’s an eemotional response to factual information while il paying sense to the cost,” Rugo explains. Each building develops its own life.

Steve Rugo ’75

“Really, I think of it all as a comprehensive event,” he says. “What will it represent or do, what’s its sense of place, its goal? It all comes together, it’s its own entity, it h hass its own personality, not an inanimate object. It becomes itself.”

He says his largest challenge is coming to terms with our cultural world and the need for instant gratification. “We can invent things digitally in minutes,” R Rugo says. “The hardest thing is we don’t see the result of our work for years.”

“I don’t n feel like I’ve had a job since I was 26; I just am what I am,” says Steve Rugo ’75, principal of Rugo/Raff Ltd. Architects in Chicago, Illinois. “I always knew what I wanted to do.”

Rugo has designed many restaurants in the Chicago area, including all of the award-winning nn chef Grant Achatz’s restaurants. One of Achatz’s restaurants, Alinea, is one of only 14 restaurants in the entire United States to be awarded e three Michelin stars.

But Rugo’s influence reaches far beyond Chicago. He currently is licensed and involved in projects in Illinois, Florida, Hawaii, Michigan, Iowa and South Carolina. He has worked 14

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on master plans for private clubs in Illinois, Florida and South Carolina, and private residences in 18 states, as well as Asiaa and the Caribbean. In 2010, Rugo was named the head of the Housing Committee for the city of Guri, in South Korea.

Even after more than 30 years in the business, Rugo says he never runs out of ideas. Traveling around the world keeps him constantly inspired.

Each place he sees has a new blend of culture and people that he could not find anywhere else. “Everywhere has its own kind of sense,” he says. “It becomes part of your soul and makes an emotional response, and that’s what helps me come up with new ideas.”

One aspect of his work that Rugo especially enjoys is the variety of the work. “You can be so many diffe ent people or do so many diffe ent roles,” he says. “You’re an engineer, financial advisor, an inventor. You wear a lot of diffe ent hats.”

Every day is a new adventure, he says.

“Everything is new and has a sense of wonder. You go on with a sense of trust in the new, a fascination. It doesn’t get stale as long as you keep that freshness in your mind without preconceived notions.”

Megan Sohr ’18 Oshkosh, Wisconsin To see more of Rugo/Raff’s work, visit rugoraff.com.

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ALUMNI MEMORIES

Dining Memories Ripon College is a residential campus, so meals have always been an important aspect of life here. The common stereotype of campus food is that it’s bad and everyone hates it. But that’s not true at Ripon College! We asked for your most memorable meal or food item in the dining hall or commons. We received some pretty fond and tasty replies — along with vivid memories.

Easily my most memorable meal at the Commons was in the spring of 1971. I was the student head waiter for the Saga Food Service both my junior and senior years, and this was in my senior year. Somehow, the word had gone out around campus, long before the days of Twitter, etc., that there was going to be a food fight at the evening meal. For some strange reason, no one told me about it (until) my friend, Pete Kolakowski ’71, who was in charge of the outside area that evening, came back to me in the dish room area, and said, “Greg, I think we have a problem. It looks as if there is going to be a food fight tonight.” I knew right then that we had a problem because on the menu that night was not only spaghetti as the main course, but also cream puffs and Jell-O for dessert! Both of the Saga managers were off that night, so I was in charge. At that time, the student headwaiter wore a red sports coat, shirt and tie, so that was what I was dressed in when I went out into the dining hall to find that many of the students had come dressed in rain coats and/or plastic ponchos. When I first went out there, some were eating, but most were not. It was mostly quiet — like the calm before the storm — as people seemed to be waiting for the first person to throw the first cream puff/whatever. That quiet lasted for about five minutes, during which time I asked them to please just eat their meals and head on out. Most just snickered and smiled, and then, before you knew it, the first cream puff went flying, and that was all she wrote! Within seconds, the air in the Commons was filled with food, and my nice red sports coat was not quite as nice and pure red as it had been seconds before. Cleanup took several hours, but I would add that a number of the students who participated in the food fight stayed to help the student staff clean up the dining hall. It made for a great memory, but I don’t think I ever got to really eat any of the delicious cream puffs that night!

We had family meals in Great Hall; in my opinion a very much better way.

Student waiters would come with trays, and the serving dishes would be passed around the table. Ripon is so much like family but was much more so, perhaps.

George E. Despotes ’66 Cambridge, Massachusetts

Greg Mercier ’71 Newbury Park, California My favorite meal was bread bar in the Commons Fridays at lunch!

Hollie Becker Mealy ’10 New Berlin, Wisconsin

I’d drag myself out of bed every morning with my roommate so we could get Mary’s over-easy eggs on the fluffy white bread. Made the best brain food.

Christina Mooney ’13 Chicago, Illinois 16

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Bread bar. Easy question.

Tyler Ketz ’16 Clayton, Wisconsin

Larry Wessels I always loved Larry’s Bananas Foster for dessert. So yummy! I’ve had it at high-end restaurants and it wasn’t as good as Larry’s was. And chicken nugget day was always a favorite!

Michelle Calder Reppert ’06 Appleton, Wisconsin

Sodexo Bananas Foster • • • • •

Butter solids, ½ cup Light brown sugar, ½ cup Bananas, 1½ pounds (3-4 bananas), peeled and sliced ¼ inch Orange liqueur, 5 liquid ounces Vanilla ice cream, 1¼ pounds (5 quarts)

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Note: If available, use triple sec in place of the orange liqueur In a saucepan, heat butter and brown sugar until sugar dissolves slightly Add banana. Cook until lightly browned Stir in liqueur Place one scoop ice cream in each serving bowl.

Top with ¾ cup banana mixture. Serve immediately.

“ Th e Ha

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The bane of all college students in the ’60s was the Saturday morning chem lab. I would usually run into Al Jarreau ’62 in the Union Rotunda, where “The Hawk” had set out glazed pastries, the favorite of which was the cinnamon roll. (“The Hawk” was Mrs. Lucille Hawkinson, the food service head.)

Jim Thorsen ’65 Idaho Falls, Idaho

The first year for Pickard Commons was my senior year. My most memorable meal there has nothing to do with the food. One day in the spring of 1963, I was eating lunch, and Joan Mary Engh arrived in the dining room. I was able to get a really good view of her.

She was recruiting for the Miss Wisconsin 1963 pageant.

Joan Mary Engh was Miss Wisconsin 1962. She had been to Atlantic City where she was first runner-up to Miss America 1963. She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen in real life up to that point and is on the short list for the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in real life anytime. It was very memorable for me.

George Hill ’63 Cincinnati, Ohio

Well now. I have two memories of the Commons. One is of the occasional food fight which was usually started by someone who disappeared quickly and was an event certainly not enjoyed by anyone. Yet, they did happen, and they could get rather enthusiastic (violent is just a bit too strong). The other memory is the upper-class men who would station themselves at the window bench on the stairs’ first landing. This was where the freshman class ladies would get scrutinized.

Certainly inappropriate, but a memory nonetheless.

Larry Mahoney ’67 White Bear, Minnesota

For additional alumni food memories, visit ripon.edu/ memoriesS16 S U M M E R 2016

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ALUMNI MEMORIES

No contest at all! It was Thursday night (dress-up) when they served hand-carved “steamship round of beef” with all the trimmings! Awesome! That meal (plus lots of beer at The Spot) put 20 pounds on me! But I didn’t mind the weight gain at all since I started freshman year at 5’7” and 95 pounds!

Mary LeFevre Chavez ’68

Ve lta Latsons

Definitely the Saturday steak nights. I was lucky enough to be the “ticket” gal to ensure one steak per person. Second in line were the homemade glazed doughnuts! I can honestly say that we never went hungry, and there wasn’t a bad thing on the menu. The staff was also phenomenal.

Mary Wyman-Goenner ’86 Clear Lake, Minnesota

Velta Latsons, the baker, made sticky buns. During my freshman year, 1972-73, I worked in the Commons and often worked breakfasts.

Therefore, on lucky days, I arrived just as the sticky buns were coming out of the oven. Perfection! I have yet to find (or make) any as good as hers.

They were the best — food for the gods (and mere mortals).

My freshman year, I worked in the kitchen on Saturday nights with Jim, the cook. He was an ex-sailor with a salty tongue and used to be a riot to work for, always interested to know how things were going with my girlfriend, Michele Baran Wittler ’76.

(Yes, that MBW!). After he’d grill a few hundred steaks and me about her, it was my job to clean the grill. By the time I got to eat my steak, I was so tired it was all I could do to pick up the fork and knife. I’ll never forget steak night.

Charlevoix, Michigan The first meal which comes to mind is the shish kebab served on Saturday nights. Also, the milk was quite good — I probably drank six glasses a day. Breakfast after an all-nighter was always a treat. And who from my era can forget Martha, who ruled the seconds table with an iron fist?

Dave “Beaver” Bunten ’73 Lake Zurich, Illinois

Mara Latsons Warren ’61

I remember Saturday night steak night.

The Commons served a choice of steak or chicken Kiev. I didn’t know what chicken Kiev was until I tried it! On any other night, you could get as much of the main dish as you wanted. But we could only have one steak or one chicken! (I think the football players got two servings.) We were so anxious for Saturday night steak night that we would get there as early as we could for a 5:00 dinner. It was really good.

Spaghetti, without a doubt. Always served on Wednesday nights. As a freshman in 1964, I worked as a waiter, and since I was always late would get the worst table — either Phi Delta Theta or Merriman House. I’d bring out a platter meant to serve an entire table of 16 students, and it would be empty after the first four had served themselves.

I’d have to head back to wait in line for another platter. After 30 minutes, waiters who served a sorority table not only had enjoyed the scenery but were on their way to The Spot while I was serving the fourth platter amidst jocks clamoring for more seconds and extra desserts.

Sophomore year I wised up, served the sororities, met a nice Italian girl (Carolyn Calandra ’69), been married for 48 years, and we only argue when she serves spaghetti on Wednesday nights.

Morrison, Colorado

Robin Cellars Kupernik ’87

Tom Selsor ’68

Arvada, Colorado

Stoughton, Wisconsin

Michele Baran Wittler ’76 Ripon, Wisconsin Unfortunately, I could not find the recipe for my mother’s (Velta Latsons) sticky buns. I guess she did not break it down so it could be made in a smaller quantity. My best memories are the Thursday night dress-up dinners.

Formal setting and gourmet food.

Only thing missing was a glass of wine.

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Mike Verkuilen ’76 Elgin, Illinois

Mike Mihaly

In the fall of 1970, we had a new manager of food service, Mike Mihaly, at the Commons. In general, I felt the food was pretty good, including things like steak and shish kebabs every Saturday night. (The worst lunches were when a cheese greasy was the best option.)

The Commons offe ed special meals for sports teams before games or meets. The food manager made a proposal to the teams. He would treat the first sport team to win conference to a meal. The swim team managed to win conference that winter. And, boy, did he keep his promise! After being seated in the President’s Room, we looked down at the gold-rimmed plates and questioned if we were still in the Commons. The meal started with shrimp cocktail and progressed upward from there. Needless to say, we were quite impressed.

Mike Mihaly leaves scrumptious memories Mike Mihaly began his nearly 30-year food service management contract with Ripon College in 1975 with his company, Hospitality Unlimited Inc. Originally from Transylvania (currently eastern Romania), Mihaly was a Freedom Fighter in the Hungarian Revolution and escaped to Austria in 1956. He emigrated to British Columbia, Canada, and worked in a gold mine to earn money to go back to school.

He attended San Francisco City College to cultivate his culinary interest and transferred to Cornell University where he graduated with a degree in business and hotel administration. He went on to work for Saga Food Service, managed a restaurant in Oshkosh for 2½ years, and then created his own Hospitality Unlimited Inc. Ripon College was his first contract.

Mihaly’s many fond memories of his time at Ripon include working with his dedicated staff and being invited to the 25th reunion for the Class of 1978. His favorite meal to prepare for students was baby back ribs, and he remembers that the Saturday night Steak Night was always a huge hit.

Mihaly is grateful for the way he and his wife, Penny, were included in the Ripon College community and for the many friends they made.

“On the lighter side, one day a small package arrived at the Commons with a note of apology, sent anonymously by someone whose conscience apparently got the better of him or her for lifting the enclosed spoon from the Presidents Dining Room some years earlier!” he says.

Just about every meal at Ripon College was excellent during Mike Mihaly’s tenure as food service director. However, the cream puff from the bakery department were the very best.

My future mother-in-law, Margaret Naparalla, was one of those terrific bakers during that time. Met her daughter, Sue, who was a student at UW-Oshkosh, and the rest is history.

Jack Bennett ’71 Plover, Wisconsin My best memory was when I was a mere faculty brat. (Father was Robert Young, former dean of students and professor of psychology.) I would roller-skate all over campus with my best friend and stop in to The Pub for a soft-serve swirl ice cream cone. Later, as a student, I loved every soup that Mike Mihaly ever made. That was my first stop in the Commons at lunch each day.

Mindy Young ’91 Arlington Heights, Illinois Three memories come to my mind: • Steak night – Saturday night and we made special sauce with ketchup and mayonnaise for the steak fries.

• Mike Mihaly used to feature recipes from home — the food item would be made, recipes would be provided by parents, and a note would be made for that food item naming the student and the parent that provided the recipe.

• On special occasions, the most amazing ice sculptures were made.

Barb Williams Clay ’83 Eden Prairie, Minnesota

S U M M E R 2016

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Faculty member leads a revolution from across the world

Hervé Somé

Even while living in the United States, Touorizou Hervé Somé is still a leader of a political revolution that has brought democracy to his home country of Burkina Faso in Africa.

He frequently writes for LeFaso.net, an award-winning information portal whose items often are republished by mainstream news sites such as RFI, France24 and Jeune Afrique. An editorial on Lefaso.net cited Somé as “the hero of the popular uprising.” (http://goo.gl/172poR) Hervé Somé’s opinion pieces, “General Diendere’s game is up!” published on Sept. 18, 2015, and “Amnesty or amnesia for the coup plotters: what an insult to the intelligence of the people!” on Sept. 24, 2015, both appeared in Lefaso.net, and on Netafrique.net, a West African online journal.

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Somé has been an associate professor of educational studies at Ripon College for six years. Most of his classes focus on the philosophy and sociology of education. But he also draws from his political experiences to lead his classes in examining how education is being transformed by globalization.

“I think that the future is bright, but it doesn’t mean that we will win sitting on a lawn chair. People’s eyes have been opened.

People are now ready to die for what they hold dearest: democracy and freedom.”

Tensions had built up in Burkina Faso, Somé says, as the president there had been ruling the country for 27 years.

“When (the president) came to power, he said he wanted to bring democracy to the country, but instead he set up structures that looked like democratic structures but actually weren’t,” Somé says. “When he ran as the only candidate, he got 20 percent, and still won.”

That president repeatedly changed the constitution in order to stay in power. “The constitution is not like a bazar,” Somé says. “It is not a place to go and negotiate. The anger started to run high in the country, but we were not organized enough to face up to the situation.”

Somé wished to expose the corruption within the regime, but he had to be careful: “In 1988, there was a journalist who was very sharp. He was fighting for democracy but was killed for exposing corruption.” So at first, Somé remained underground when he wrote articles arguing for democracy.

“The people in the country needed some kind of vanguard, but I was not the only person,” he says. “There

were many people all over the country who contributed.”

For decades, Somé wrote about politics and the government because people were encouraging him to keep writing.

“Writing is not a huge thing in our country; it’s a cultural thing. But (people) like reading,” he says.

In 2014, Somé went public with his article “Mediation between Power and Opposition.” He received some anonymous threats. “Now that I have gone public, I have to be careful,” he says. “Naivety is no longer allowed.”

By 2015, the president’s term, based on the latest constitutional changes, was finished. The people of Burkina Faso refused to let him remain in power, Somé says. Burkina Faso had its first free election earlier this year.

“I think that the future is bright, but it doesn’t mean that we will win sitting on a lawn chair,” Somé says. “People’s eyes have been opened. People are now ready to die for what they hold dearest: democracy and freedom.”

full time in 2002. He worked in Maine and for eight years in Buffal , New York, before coming to Ripon.

He says political activism is important.

“Politics impacts all of our lives,” Somé says. “Citizenship is not just a piece of paper. Activism is the only thing that can save us from dictators or from what we don’t want. A teacher is a political animal.”

This fall, Somé will be on sabbatical from Ripon College, doing research “about Africa in the high school curriculum, using the American high school social studies textbooks as a focal point,” he says. “I am interested in minority education and in culturally responsive pedagogy that is about incorporating the experiences of all students in the teaching — experiences based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, family funds of knowledge and other markers of identity.”

Lauren Hince ’18 Blaine, Minnesota

Somé came to the United States on a Fulbright scholarship and returned S U M M E R 2016

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SPORTS

IT’S IN HER GENES:

Basketball standout carries on family, school traditions

Emma McDonald ’18, No. 20 22

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Emma McDonald was born to be a basketball player. Her father was a coach. Her father’s father was a coach.

She attended her first game when she was less than one month old.

A native of Onalaska, Wisconsin, McDonald now is entering her junior year with Ripon’s women’s team where she has started all 47 games in her first two seasons, already ranking seventh in school history in blocked shots (46) and 11th in 3-pointers (61). Even with that early success, McDonald knows she wouldn’t be where she is without her upbringing.

“Growing up in a basketball family was such a special experience for me because I basically grew up in the gym,” McDonald says. “My parents and grandparents have been my biggest supporters and have traveled through nearly every city in Wisconsin to watch me compete and grow as an athlete and as an individual.”

With the type of coaching bloodlines that McDonald has, she didn’t have to look far to gain knowledge of and appreciation for the game of basketball. Her grandfather, Burt, was head coach at UW-LaCrosse for 20 years, while her father, Troy, coached at the high school level and served as Burt’s assistant for eight years. During their tenure at UW-LaCrosse, they coached Paul Sabin. Sabin’s son, Ty, is now a senior for Ripon’s men’s team, and just 110 points shy of the school’s scoring record.

“I am very lucky to have been coached by some of the best basketball coaches in the state during my career, two of whom share my DNA,” McDonald says. “If there’s anything I’ve learned from listening to the stories that my dad and grandpa have told, it’s that the best way to get better is to put in the extra work by yourself in a gym with empty bleachers.”

Improvement has been a theme of McDonald’s Ripon career thus far, both individually and as a team.

Her freshman year, the Red Hawks went 2-21, but through hard work and determination, McDonald played a key role in the team’s dramatic turnaround this past season, going 14-10 with the program’s first MWC Tournament appearance in six years. That 12-game improvement is the largest the MWC has seen in a decade.

“The past season was something special for everyone associated with the Ripon women’s basketball program,” McDonald says. “We worked very hard in the off-season, and it felt great to see our effort pay off. Our program took a huge step forward and proved that anything can happen if we work hard together. Reaching the conference tournament was a big step for our team, but we’re not done yet. We are going to continue to set goals and, hopefully, we can win a conference championship in the near future.”

As important as basketball is to McDonald’s life, so, too, are academics. A biology major, she holds a cumulative grade point average of 4.0. Her academic prowess was recognized at the 2016 MWC Tournament when she received the prestigious Elite 20 Award, given to the student-athlete with the highest GPA participating in his or her respective sport’s culminating championship or tournament event.

“I was honored to receive the Elite 20 award, and it was very unexpected,” she says. “I am proud to be part of a school that stresses academic performance just as much as athletic performance. The student-athletes at Ripon understand how important their work in the classroom truly is. Unfortunately, I know that the ball is going to stop bouncing eventually, but I will then

“Ripon has helped me challenge myself to improve every aspect of my life. My coaches have pushed me to be a leader on and off the court, and my professors are always there to help me. Ripon has helped me develop into a wellrounded individual.”

EMMA MCDONALD ’18

have the opportunity to create my own career and future, which all begins in the classroom by creating a solid foundation to build upon.”

McDonald hopes to use that foundation to attend graduate school for physical therapy. Regardless of which career she chooses, Ripon College has put her on the right path.

“Ripon has helped me challenge myself to improve every aspect of my life,” McDonald says. “My coaches have pushed me to be a leader on and off the court, and my professors are always there to help me. Ripon has helped me develop into a wellrounded individual.”

Mike Westemeier Sports Information Director S U M M E R 2016

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AROUND THE CLOCKTOWER 1

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1. Andrea Young wins state Distinguished Teaching Award

2. Sarah Mahler Kraaz selected to participate in special seminar

4. Former faculty, students earn Congressional Gold Medal

Andrea Young, assistant professor of mathematical sciences, won the Wisconsin Mathematical Association of America’s 2016 Distinguished Teaching Award. Young is the 20th recipient in the 25-year history of the award, and the first ever from Ripon College.

Sarah Mahler Kraaz, professor of music and College organist, is one of a select group of faculty members nationwide chosen by the Council of Independent Colleges to participate in a weeklong seminar on Teaching Pre-Modern European Art in Context. “Sight and Sound in Renaissance and Baroque Europe (c. 1300–1700)” was hosted by the High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, June 20–24.

The Rev. Jerry Thompson, a former professor of religion and chaplain of Ripon College, and three alumni were among those recently awarded a collective Congressional Gold Medal — the nation’s highest civilian award, along with the Presidential Medal of Freedom — in recognition of their participation in the Selma-to-Montgomery Voting Rights March in the spring of 1965.

3. Alumnus/faculty publication advances zebrafish colonies

Thompson, who died in 2010, led a student delegation comprising Noel Carota ’67, Richard M. Grimsrud ’65 and Gary G. Yerkey ’66 to Selma to take part in the march, led

by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Along with McKenzie Lamb, associate professor of mathematical sciences, Young also was part of a team of authors for the textbook Knots, Molecules and the Universe: An Introduction to Topology recently published by the American Mathematical Society.

She also is working in an ongoing research project in the scholarship of teaching and learning of mathematics with Kathryn Bruhns ’16. They published the article “Chalk it up to Experience: Using chalkboard paint to create mathematical manipulatives” in December in the International Journal of Mathematics Education in Science and Technology.

Ray Allen ’15 of Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, Assistant Professor of Biology Barbara Sisson and Professor of Biology Bob Wallace co-wrote a paper focusing on zebrafish, something Allen studied at Ripon as part of the McNair Scholar’s Program. The program encourages underrepresented students to attend graduate school. Allen is enrolled in a biology Ph.D. program at Duke University in North Carolina.

Allen’s research looked for cost-effecti e ways to raise zebrafish, a leading source for studies in biology. The paper is available online at http://goo.gl/vMIo3m; and will be published in the August 2016 issue of the journal Zebrafish.

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6. Work on dam in Panama is completed!

After seven years and numerous service-learning trips, the dam that many Ripon College students and area residents have been working on in Panama finally was completed during a trip in January. The trips and volunteer work have been in support of Ripon native Father Wally Kasuboski.

5. Ripon students earn national forensics honors Three Ripon College forensics students competed at the Pi Kappa Delta National Comprehensive Tournament, held at the University of Kentucky March 17-20. They are Katie Warczak ’16 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Ryan Edquist ’17 of Ripon, Wisconsin, and Megan Ringo ’18 of Crete, Illinois.

Warczak earned an Outstanding Legislator Award and Peer Respected Legislator Award in Congressional Debate; and Quarterfinalist awards in Extemporaneous Speaking, Communication Analysis and Editorial Impromptu.

Edquist earned an Outstanding Legislator Award in Congressional Debate.

(Photo: Ryan Edquist ’17, left, Katie Warczak ’16 and Megan Ringo ’18)

Kasuboski, fondly called “Padre Pablo” by the locals, arrived in the back country of Panama in 1988. He has helped build churches, schools and bridges. A major problem was the lack of safe drinking water and finding water at all during the dry seasons. This inspired the Padre Pablo Dam and Reservoir project.

7. Art faculty member exhibits work, writes articles Rafael Francisco Salas, associate professor of art, participated in two group exhibitions: “Super Natural” at the John Michael Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, on view until Sept. 11, 2016; and “Luck of The Draw” on the Bubbler Gallery, Madison Public Library, from Jan. 8 through Feb. 26, 2016.

He had four reviews published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper during the spring semester; wrote the cover article for the most recent issue of Wisconsin People and Ideas, the magazine of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters; and was elected to the board of directors of the Museum of Wisconsin Art.

8. Al Jarreau ’62 part of White House jazz gala Al Jarreau ’62 was among a host of prominent jazz musicians to perform recently at the International Jazz Day All-Star Global Concert (http://goo.gl/2S7j2S) on the South Lawn of the White House.

The April 29 gala jazz concert was just the third such event at the White House. The others were under Jimmy Carter in 1978 and Bill Clinton in 1993. In his opening remarks, President Obama described jazz as “driven by an unmistakably American spirit.”

9. Students, professor collaborate on e-book about Frank Lloyd Wright A student-written non-linear e-book about the life and work of Wisconsin-born architect Frank Lloyd Wright can be accessed at http://goo.gl/W2BQA5.

The fall 2015 class “Frank Lloyd Wright: Master Architect, Artist and Thinker” was taught by Travis Nygard, assistant professor of art, chair of the department and registrar of the College art collection.

He developed the e-book with Myat Aung ’16 of Yangon, Myanmar; Andie Winters ’18 of Lodi, Wisconsin; and Haley Anderson ’19 of Pine River, Wisconsin.

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AROUND THE CLOCKTOWER

10. Faculty artist shows work in South Carolina

12. President Fred Pinkham, 96, revisits Ripon College campus

Mollie Oblinger, associate professor of art, had a solo exhibit of mixed media artwork at Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina, which ran from Jan. 11 through Feb. 10, 2016.

Fred Pinkham, ’96, Ripon College’s eighth president, visited campus June 17. He met with current President Zach Messitte; Robert “Spud” Hannaford, professor of philosophy emeritus; Wayne Larson, professor of mathematics and computer science emeritus; and other campus staff.

11. Matzke introduces new course on public history Rebecca Matzke, associate professor of history, taught a class on “Public History” (HIS340) for the first time in the fall of 2015. The class considered the various ways history is produced for public (non-expert) audiences, including in children’s fiction, documentary and feature films, museums and national parks. They took field trips to the Ripon Historical Society and Oshkosh Public Museum and talked with experts there about their work. Students also did many hands-on public history projects.

Pinkham served as Ripon College president from 1955 to 1965. He oversaw the building of several facilities, including Farr Hall, S.N. Pickard Commons and Kemper Computer Center, which was first built as a medical facility. He grew the enrollment, grew the endowment, substantially raised faculty salaries, and helped found the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM). He also made plans for the J.M. Storzer Athletic Center, currently under renovation and expansion.

“I feel good here,” Pinkham said. “This is fun putting it all back together. I have a lot of roots here. It’s a good place.

I enjoyed it.”

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13. Theatre professor presents at regional conference Robert Amsden, professor of theatre, chair of the department, and the Doreen L. ’73 and David I. Chemerow Chair in Theatre, presented an actor workshop at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (Region 3) in Milwaukee Jan. 7, 2016. The two-hour class focused on developing characterization through sound-movement presentations based on speeches from Shakespeare’s plays.

GIFTS AT WORK

Avery Krahn, a senior chemistry major from Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and Assistant Professor of Chemistry Patrick Willoughby prepare a molecule sample for study using the department’s new digital polarimeter.

Grant provides for purchase of chemistry instrument A digital polarimeter was purchased by the Ripon College Department of Chemistry this year with a $10,000 Pittsburgh Conference Memorial National College Grant.

Using this instrument, up to 150 students each year will perform lab experiments involving the study of mixtures of optically active molecules.

“The new polarimeter will allow students in a variety of chemistry classes to study optically active or chiral molecules,” says Patrick Willoughby, assistant professor of chemistry. “This is exciting because optically active molecules are fundamental to many organic, organometallic and biological molecules. The polarimetry experiments also will provide insight into the mirror image symmetry of the molecules being studied.”

Without this technology, the College has had to pay to have samples analyzed offsite, creating a missed opportunity for students to characterize their newly prepared molecules.

properties is necessary for recently graduated chemistry majors to make meaningful contributions in graduate school or the chemical industry,” says Terri FredenbergHolzman, director of Foundation and Government Relations. “With this in mind and with the acquisition of the new polarimeter, the Department of Chemistry at Ripon College is working to increase the number of opportunities for students to study stereochemistry.

“Ripon College has a longstanding commitment to the education and training of future scientific researchers.

Ripon College is known for the superior opportunities available to students who have an interest in being a part of faculty-mentored research. The state-of-the-art polarimeter supports this mission by improving the capacity to provide modern laboratory instruction while simultaneously enhancing undergraduate research experiences.”

“A deep understanding of chiral compounds with respect to their preparation, chemical reactivity, and physical S U M M E R 2016

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REMARKABLE RIPON

War hero earned Congressional Medal of Honor Frank LaFayette Anders 1906 received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1906 for heroic actions on May 13, 1899, during the Philippine Insurrection. The practice then was to receive the medal through the mail and not from the current president; but 57 years later, Anders again was honored at a reception held

by President John and Jacqueline Kennedy on May 2, 1963.

Anders graduated from Ripon College in 1906 with a degree in engineering; and was the ďŹ rst person awarded a scholarship by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he studied civil engineering. He served as chief engineer with Utah Smelting Corp., as city engineer with the city of Fargo, general manager of the Lucky Strike Coal Co., and consulting engineer and secretary of the North Dakota State Capitol Commission.

He also served in the Spanish-American War and as a captain in the Corps of Engineers during World War I. He is buried in Ripon, Wisconsin.

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Choose Your Payday.

A Charitable Gift Annuity is a great way to support Ripon College and establish an income for life for yourself at the same time.

A Charitable Gift Annuity is funded by transferring cash, stocks or other assets to Ripon College. We will create a stream of fixed-income payments to you and/or a loved one for life. You can begin receiving payments right away or you can defer payments until retirement or another future date and still take a charitable deduction for your gift this year.

After all payments have been made, Ripon College will receive the remaining value of your gift.

Todd and Betty Berens of Ripon, Wisconsin, took advantage of how easy it is to set up a Charitable

Your gift will help Ripon College while offering you tax benefits and the security of fixed payments for your lifetime. Now is the time to lock in a rate based on your age.

Gift Annuity and will

To find out more, contact:

remainder of the annuity

Michelle Lippart lippartm@ripon.edu 920-748-8817

will go to Ripon College to

ripongiftplanning.org

to be supported.

receive payments for the rest of their lives. The

ensure that their interests on campus will continue

S U M M E R 2016

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NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE

PAID RIPON COLLEGE

300 West Seward Street Ripon, WI 54971 ripon.edu Change Service Requested

F l a s h B A C K 190 0 - 09 When Ingalls Field was a field: John G. Ingalls, Class of 1876, donated the land which became Ingalls Field in 1876. It is next to St. Wenceslas Church on East Fond du Lac Street. It now is used for both Ripon High School and Ripon College student athletic events, particularly football and track competitions.

In 1930, Athenian Hall was moved to Ingalls Field to be used as a fieldhouse. It was razed upon refurbishing of Ingalls Field in January 1983. From 1983 to 2007, Ingalls Field received a new press box, field lights, concession stand and ticket booth, thanks to nearly 300 volunteers who pitched in to make the improvements happen. They also rewired the field and re-built the visitor’s side bleachers. Today, Ingalls Field is one of a few fields in the state with a modern field turf. A new track was installed in 2014.

In 1939, the College sold Ingalls Field to the City of Ripon with the understanding that the College would still have the right to use it for athletic competitions.

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