Ripon Magazine - Summer 2013 by Ripon College

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Politics Progress commencEment: nate silver addresses class of 2013

BADGER BOYS STATE MARKS 70th Year ON CAMPUS n

ripon alumni engaged in political process n

ripon college love stories

Jenna breaker â&#x20AC;&#x2122;15: National Champion n

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2013

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Ripon College prepares students of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship. Our liberal arts curriculum

learning community in which students experience a richly personalized education. 2

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Ripon, WI 54971-0248. Postage paid at Ripon, WI. Copyright © 2013 Ripon College POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Ripon Magazine, PO Box 248, Ripon, WI 54971-0248 Editor: Jaye Alderson e-mail: AldersonJ@ripon.edu

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and residential campus create an intimate

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

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Editorial Assistants: Melissa Anderson, Ric Damm Student Assistants: Allie Pasdera ’14 Tsering Yangchen ’14

Design: Ric Damm

Politics Progress n

commencement: nate silver addresses class of 2013 BadGer BoYs state marKs 70th Year on camPUs riPon alUmni Give BacK throUGh Politics riPon colleGe love stories Jenna BreaKer ’15: national chamPion

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On the Cover: Andrea Irene Slosser of Beaver Dam, Wis., graduated magna cum laude and received honors in psychology. Photo by Jim Koepnick.

inside 4 Commencement The weeks leading up to Commencement are filled with sentimental, fun-filled and solemn events. We share the joyous moments in photos and social media comments. 10

Badger Boys State The summer public affairs program sponsored by the Wisconsin American Legion has been congregating on the Ripon College campus since 1941. More than 800 high-achieving high school boys from around the state participate each year.

12 Ripon Alumni in Politics Many Ripon alumni have contributed to the betterment of society by serving in political roles or helping to elect and support those who do. Some of them are profiled here. 15

Professors Influence the Future Marty Farrell and Henrik Schatzinger are among the Ripon College politics and government professors who have influenced generations of College students while conducting research and serving society in their own rights.

18 Ripon Love Stories A significant number of Ripon College students meet their future spouse or significant other right here on campus. Here, we share a number of sentimental stories and photos of Ripon love stories.

Photo: JoHanna Burton celebrates her joy at Commencement May 12. She graduated Phi Beta Kappa, majored in biology and minored in German. Photo by Jim Koepnick.

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Sports Campus Notes Class Notes In Memoriam

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P RESIDENT

Red, purple and blue: the politics of a nation Growing up in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., I became fascinated by politics at an early age. I memorized the presidents and the vice presidents. New playmates came and went every four years with different administrations. At the dinner table, my sister and I were expected to have an opinion and to be able to argue it with my parents. Pursuing a Ph.D. in political science was an easy choice. My home state of Maryland is known for hard-shell crabs and Democrats. We Marylanders have had elected only three Republican governors in the past 75 years, and one of them, Spiro T. Agnew, would later go on to become vice president of the United States only to resign under a cloud of impropriety in 1973. Maryland is so blue today that not only is the governor a Democrat, but so are both of the U.S. Senators, seven of the eight members of the House of Representatives, the Attorney General and both houses of the legislature. President Obama won Maryland by 25 percentage points in 2012 — one of his largest margins of victory in any state. In 2007, I left the East coast for the University of Oklahoma. The Sooner State is arguably the reddest state in the union and hasn’t voted for a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. In the past three presidential elections, the Republican candidate won every county. Every statewide elected official is a 2

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Zach P. Messitte, President

Republican. Living in purple Wisconsin this past year is a more schizophrenic political experience. A Republican governor and legislature (but only narrowly in the state Senate) sit in Madison, and, yet, Wisconsin voted for President Obama in 2008 and 2012. In between, the state elected a Republican U.S. Senator, Ron Johnson, in 2010, and then voted in a Democratic U.S. Senator, Tammy Baldwin, in 2012. Wisconsin can claim to be simultaneously the birthplace of the conservative John Birch Society, the 20th century progressive movement and antiCommunist zealot Joseph McCarthy. 2012-2013 has been a marvelous

year for politics and civil debate at Ripon: former CIA Director George Tenet visited in September; Republican Party political adviser Karl Rove spoke to a packed house in February; and The Washington Post recognized our choice for commencement speaker, the political statistician and blogger Nate Silver, as one of the most important speakers during the 2013 graduation season. Our focus on the importance of civil debate will take another leap forward thanks to a lead gift by trustee Bill MacLeod ’73. The gift will support a new faculty position and a center that celebrates Wisconsin’s history and promotes civic engagement at Ripon. Because we live in a town that is documented as the birthplace of the Republican Party, it is fitting that Ripon College history professor Russ Blake appeared in a political documentary about Wisconsin’s political personality. We also just noted our 70th time hosting the Badger Boys State in June. Ripon College’s mission statement is to “prepare students of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship.” Our ability to agree to disagree as we form our own personal political beliefs is a crucial part of the liberal arts and sciences college experience. We always must strive to challenge our students to think about what they believe and why. Only then can we say that they are truly socially responsible citizens.

College campaign now at $40 million Imagine Tomorrow, Ripon College’s five-year, $50 million comprehensive campaign, continues its momentum and now stands at $40 million -- $5 million more than the update announced in February. We remain on pace to achieve the $50 million goal by 2015. “Our donations to date have been phenomenal,” says Wayne Webster, vice president for advancement. “But we still are depending on our broader alumni, parents and friends base to get us over that finish line.”

Professor Russ Blake documents Little White Schoolhouse history Professor of History Russ Blake was interviewed earlier this year for a documentary about Wisconsin’s political personality from inside the Little White Schoolhouse – the site where the first meeting of what was to become the Republication Party was held in 1854. Blake’s commentary from the one-room building in Ripon, the best-documented birthplace of the Republican Party, led off the hour-long documentary which aired across much of the state in May on WKOW-TV, the ABC affiliate out of Madison, Wis. Several other communities in the country also claim to be the birthplace of the Republican Party, Blake says. “There was no one birthplace of the Republican Party,” he says. “It was founded very quickly in the winter and spring of 1854. It was a grassroots response here in Ripon and elsewhere.” Blake said the founding of the new party was in reaction to federal policies that would have allowed slavery to spread into new states forming in the west. “That’s what many people of the north didn’t want,” he says. “They felt the two parties at the time – the Whigs and the Democrats – were not standing up for the interests of the people of the north. So they founded another party to keep slavery from spreading. It was done at the grassroots level. “Was this the first meeting anywhere? Ripon’s meeting was March 20. We don’t know of any meeting elsewhere that was any earlier than that. This is a very good claim to being the first place where this grassroots effort started.” At the time of that first meeting, the Little

Ripon College Professor Russ Blake, left, is interviewed by WKOW-TV reporter Greg Jeschke.

White Schoolhouse sat at the corner of Metomen and East Fond du Lac streets, Blake says. It was moved several times over the decades. “At the turn of the 20th century, it was moved to the Ripon College campus as a way to preserve it,” Blake says. Its first location on campus was where Harwood Memorial Union is now. When Harwood was built in the 1940s, the schoolhouse was moved to a spot just west of West Hall. In the 1950s, it was relocated to its present location at 303 Blackburn St., where the Ripon Chamber of Commerce operates it as a museum. “It’s a real source of identity and pride to Ripon to claim being one of the first places the Republican Party was founded,” Blake says. “We still have the very same building the people met in. Even though the building has been moved a lot, it’s still the same building. That’s important.”

LETTERS to the E D I T O R In Memoriam: ted jones I just learned that Ted Jones, head of the German department during my years at Ripon, died as a result of injuries sustained in a terrible car accident in Florida. For me, this is a loss as personal as any I’ve suffered. When asked who the most influential people have been in my life, once I get past family I have no problem whatsoever in identifying the next person in that top tier: it was Ted. I can think of no higher accolade that can be paid a teacher or professor, and it is one I gladly confer. Ted’s encouragement and enthusiasm (to spend my junior year at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Bonn, Germany) at my taking full advantage of this opportunity made my decision easy. And it was that decision, made 41 years ago, that can honestly be called the first major turning point in my life. If Ripon was a catalyst toward success as a young person – however we choose to measure that – then Ted Jones was my catalyst toward success as a man. Rick Estberg ’75 Severna Park, Md.

CLARIFICATIONS JOHN STOLER ’56 In a Class Note in the Winter 2013 edition of Ripon Magazine, errors were made. John Stoler ’56 of San Antonio, Texas, has taught at the University of Texas-San Antonio since 1974.

WOMEN’s SOccer The Winter 2013 issue stated that since 1988, Brandi Peltier ’15 is the first Ripon player named to the Midwest Conference All-Conference First Team in women’s soccer her first two years. Tami Mertins-Maier ’98 received equivalent honors in 1994 and 1995; however, from 1990-95, there was no designation of All-Conference First Team in women’s soccer. The sport was split into divisions and had just a North Division All-Conference Team and South Division All-Conference Team. Mertins-Maier was an All-Conference First Team selection in 1997.

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219 join ranks of Ripon College Alumni In Zach P. Messitte’s first year as president of Ripon College, 219 students earned degrees (54 of whom had double-majors), and 17 graduates earned induction into the Phi Beta Kappa national honor society. Commencement 2013 was held May 12 with the theme “Data and Decisions,” recognizing that a key element of creative and critical thinking is the development of academic skills of investigation and interrogation, analysis and synthesis. Video and photos from Commencement can be viewed online at ripon.edu/ commencement2013. Keynote speaker Nate Silver, a writer and statistician with The New York Times, received an honorary doctor of science degree. In his speech, Silver said that Midwestern values gained at the College will help the graduates as they move forward and make decisions in today’s uncertain world. “I feel I’m among friends here in Ripon; I grew up in another Midwestern college town, East Lansing, Mich.,” Silver said. “May 4

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the relationships you’ve built here in Ripon last a lifetime. And may what you’ve learned here inside and outside the classroom become the foundation for a set of values that you’ll always carry with you. “These are Midwestern values, and as such they are a mix of liberal values and conservative values. They are values like curiosity, openness toward new experiences, tolerance for dissenting viewpoints, perseverance, hard work and responsibility,” he added. Silver was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2009 and Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 Agents of Change. His statistical analysis correctly predicted the results of the primaries and the presidential winner in 49 states in 2008, and the outcome of the presidential campaign in all 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2012. According to Silver, success will come – not through leaps of faith in technology – but by being accountable for failures, learning from mistakes and changing your behavior the next time around.

“Learning is a lifelong process. All of you are entering a world awash in data and statistics. The decisions you make with that data will determine whether America remains a free and prosperous society.” Steven J. Brams, professor of politics at New York University, received an honorary doctor of science degree. Brams is Steven J. author, co-author or Brams co-editor of 18 books and more than 250 articles. He holds two patents for fair-division algorithms and has applied game theory and social-choice theory to voting and elections, bargaining and fairness, international relations, the Bible, theology and literature. Andrew Britton, who teaches social studies at Oshkosh (Wis.) West High School, was presented with the Andrew 2013 Distinguished Britton Educator Award.

Recent graduate opens orphanage in Africa Opening an orphanage in the African republic of Burundi is not an overwhelming task for Ornella Umubyeyi, 23. It is just one more project visualized and realized by this enthusiastic 2013 Ripon College graduate. In September, she will start graduate studies at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary at Northwestern University. But first, this summer she is overseeing the opening of the new orphanage in Burundi; continuing a Hug Movement for underprivileged children in her home country of Rwanda; and recording two inspirational, spiritual videos that she will post on YouTube. Umubyeyi saw a great need among street children — especially girls — in Bujumbura, Burundi, and wanted to help them overcome giant obstacles. She learned an important lesson at Ripon College: “Education is power and something no one can ever take from you. That’s something I want those girls to have,” says Umubyeyi. She hopes a successful launch of the orphanage will allow her to raise funds to expand the project. “I believe that time is precious,” Umubyeyi says. “I try to use my time in ways that, if I should die tonight, I can think, ‘Today, I have done something memorable and with no regrets. I have used my time and my youth wisely.’ ”

Three for three: Ripon applicants accepted to medical schools Ripon College has long enjoyed a reputation for excellence in premedicine and health programs. We tout an 80-percent acceptance rate into medical school – more than twice the national average. This year, all three seniors who applied to medical school have been accepted. Pachniak, Rindt headed to University of Wisconsin-Madison

Rachell Pachniak is a first-generation college student who first became interested in health care by witnessing an aunt’s struggle with cancer. She hopes to become an oncologist and conduct clinical trials on the side to address both cancer treatment and chemoprevention. “I chose to pursue medicine because of my experiences working on the ambulance as an emergency medical technician and doing cancer research. “My interviewers at the medical schools I applied to were all impressed that I had a Latin minor, a classical studies minor quite distinct from any normal pre-med track. I believe this made me stand out, and I emphasized my broad liberal arts education throughout my application process.” Jimmy Rindt says: “Medicine is a field dedicated to helping others, and first and foremost I want my career to be about patient care. Specifically, I hope to be a part of the solution for the shortage of practicing rural physicians in the United States currently. I want to be a member of a small community and become an asset as not only a physician, but as a resident who can help improve public health in the area.” Carballo headed to Rosalind Franklin University, Chicago

Sarah Carballo plans to study ophthalmology. “The society we live in today is extremely diverse, and we interact with and need to accept people different from us every day in a multitude of ways, especially in the medical profession,” she says. “My degree in anthropology already has opened my eyes to this diversity and given me tools to understand and see the world through people’s eyes, as different as they may be from our own points of view.”

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Kate Am @ ‫ ‏‬KateAmell

12 May

Thank you, @riponcollege for the best 4 years of my life so far. #rcgrad13

Commencement Week

The last several days leading up to Ripon’s May 12 Commencement were filled with sentimental, funfilled and solemn events. These photos and social media comments share the excitement of students, families, faculty and friends. For more Commencement photos, visit ripon.edu/commencement2013.

Chris Chase @ ‫ ‏‬csquared50

7 hours and 53 minutes till I graduate college... #rcgrad13 66

ONC C o lol lelgeeg e | | RIRIP PON

12 May

Sue Simonson @ ‫ ‏‬Susan_Simonson

12 May

Thanks @riponcollege for providing a fantastic education for my awesome son @caseygs8 #rcgrad13

Korie VanBerkel ‫@‏‬kovanberkel_14

12 May

We did it! @britskeetskeet @notmyproblem12 and #thetwitterlesske #sooproud of these ladies #rcgrad13

VZKid™ @ ‫ ‏‬VZKID414

12 May

Gonna miss everyone. Thanks for 4 great years #RCGrad13

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tomissa @ ‫ ‏‬tomissasue

12 May

Celebrating graduation electronically! #RCgrad13 I love @riponcollege & can’t wait for @fivethirtyeight’s speech.

Samuel Poullette ‫@‏‬poullettes

Timber Rattlers game with my graduating class. #RCGrad13

8 May

Wylie Gahart @ ‫ ‏‬wyliegahart13 88

RIPPON ONCCo ol l el eg ge e RI

12 May

@AdamGrambow @nickhugz13 @EricSackett2 found this gem! #MWCChamps #Priceless pic.twitter. com/dvX3Ofln3y

Honey Zaw ‫@‏‬honeyzaw

12 May

Ripon College, you were my home for four years and you will forever be. #homeiswheremyheartis #RCgrad13

Ripon ResLife ‫@‏‬RiponResLife

1 May

Senior Picture today! What a great day for it- in front of Tri Dorms be there! #RCgrad13

Vance Lekvin @ ‫ ‏‬lekvinv Bittersweet #RCgrad13

12 May

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Badger Boys builds impressive history, network at Ripon For 70 years, Ripon College has been the host site of Badger Boys State, a unique weeklong public affairs program in June sponsored by the Wisconsin American Legion. The goal of the program is to promote good citizenship among future leaders by increasing students’ understanding of government and helping to develop a sense of individual obligation to the community, state and nation. Each summer, the campus welcomes more than 800 high-achieving male high school students from cities and towns across the state of Wisconsin. (Badger Girls State is held at the University of WisconsinOshkosh). To be eligible, the students must be entering their senior year, and be well-adjusted, in the upper third of their class, and display qualities of leadership in their school.

Ripon College offers all Badger Boys State attendees scholarships of up to $4,000 per year to attend the College.

Badger Boys State delegates salute the flag during a presentation in Ripon College’s Memorial Gym in 1958. Noteworthy Badger Boys of the past include: n

Badger Boys offers an experiential learning opportunity to attendees, as they elect their own municipal, county and state officials. As alderman or county supervisors, they frame, present and pass their own ordinances and laws; their own police and sheriffs will enforce them. As attorneys, they prosecute or defend, or as judges, hear cases. This year, Gov. Scott Walker returned to Badger Boys State for the third straight year to address the attendees.

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Scott Walker, Martin Schrieber and Scott McCallum, governors of Wisconsin. James Santelle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. Bob Lang, director of the Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Lee Huebner, a founder of the Ripon Society, speechwriter, special assistant to President Richard Nixon and publisher of International Herald Tribune. Thomas Petri, U.S. Congressman from Wisconsin, 1979-present. William Steiger, at age 28, the youngest member elected to the U.S. Congress, 196778. Pete Stark, U.S. Congressman from California, 1973-present. Robert Frederick Froehlke, former Secretary of the Army and president of Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA).

New program to develop socially responsible leaders

new center at Ripon College, which still is in the planning stages, will focus on socially responsible leadership and citizens’ role in advancing politics and public policy. The College’s mission statement charges the institution to “prepare students of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship,” says President Zach P. Messitte. “Part of preparing Ripon College students for ‘socially responsible citizenship’ means helping them to better appreciate civil and political discourse. “Unfortunately, politics at the national, state and local levels seem William to frequently drift from constructive McLeod ’73 debate and problem-solving. The center’s core mission is to try to connect good governance to contemporary debates about politics and the future of the state and the nation.” A lead gift to fund start-up costs for the new center at Ripon has been donated by Ripon College Trustee William MacLeod ’73 of Washington, D.C. “I spent a lot of my career working in government and working with government,” MacLeod says. “Like any other profession, it requires experience and expertise. This is something that students begin to acquire at Ripon College, and I think we could extend that with programs that we can offer at the center.” MacLeod has been an official at the Department of Justice and at the Federal Trade Commission, where he served as director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection as well as the Midwest Regional Office. “I thought Ripon was the ideal location for a center in politics and government given the history of the school, the history of the town, the tradition of Badger Boys State and especially now with our president, Zach Messitte,”

MacLeod says. Messitte earned his Ph.D. in politics from New York University. Prior to coming to Ripon, he served as dean of the College of International Studies and the William J. Crowe Chair in Geopolitics at the University of Oklahoma. He began his career in academia as a member of the political science faculty at St. Mary’s College of Maryland and helped to found and direct its Center for the Study of Democracy. ~ President Zach Messitte “I think the new center will benefit the people and the students of Ripon and more broadly the people of Wisconsin and the Midwest,” McLeod says. “I foresee this center becoming a hub of scholarship and analysis of the interplay of politics and public policy.” The center will attract people looking to understand and explain how this important and growing sector of our society responds to the desires of the public, MacLeod says. “What we hope to achieve is finding ways of improving the way government works and how well government responds to the desires of the citizens,” he says. “It also will explore how the citizens can express those desires -- from organizing, to creating and forming political movements and political parties, and ultimately by going to the ballot box to select their elected officials.”

“Unfortunately, politics at the national, state and local levels seem to frequently drift from constructive debate and problem-solving.”

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Ripon alumni engaged in political process Politics and government provide an avenue for dedicated citizens to profoundly impact society — whether it is through serving in positions directly in the public eye, or serving the political process behind the scenes. Here, several Ripon College alumni share their varied positions in the field, and why they chose to get involved. JOSÉ MIGUEL ALEMÁN ’78 Changing his country José Miguel Alemán ’78 of Panama City, Panama, spent much of his childhood in Washington, D.C., where his father, Roberto Alemán Zubieta, was a leading negotiator for the Robles-Johnson Treaties and later ambassador of Panama to the United States. Alemán earned a degree in politics and government from Ripon College and his juris doctor degree from Tulane University in Louisiana. He specializes in corporate, administrative, mining, insurance and business law. He also is director of Multibank Inc. and chairman of Multi Seguros, S.A. Alemán says Panama lived a military dictatorship from 1968 through 1989. When he returned permanently to the country in 1981, he joined the growing movement for a return to democracy. He helped organize the Panameñista Party and served in its District of Panama Committee. “Unfortunately, the dictatorship hardened its stance, did not respect the democratic process, and eventually declared Panama ‘in a state of war with the United States,’ ” he says.

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“This led to the U.S. invasion of 1989 and the restoration of democracy.” The party was reorganized in 1990 as the Panameñista Autentico Party, and Alemán served on its advisory board and later as director/treasurer in its National Executive Committee. In the national democratic governments, he was undersecretary of government and justice (1991) and secretary of state (1999 to 2003). He says politicians help people and can change their country. “Since 1990, our growth has been continuous and phenomenal,” Alemán says. “Panama has been transformed into a logistic center, for maritime and air transportation. … It is also a regional center for multinational companies and the United Nations system.” He is proud to have participated in drafting the document that in 1999 transferred the assets and liabilities of the Panama Canal Commission — a U.S. government agency — to the Panama Canal Authority — a Panamanian agency. “It transformed our

economy, which since that date has grown at a compounded annual rate of more than 6 percent,” he says. “The second accomplishment of which I am very proud is having lobbied the United Nations system, which eventually transferred all of its regional centers for the Americas from New York and other venues to the City of Knowledge in Panama.”

RODERICK ESQUIVEL ’49 Former Vice President of Panama Roderick Esquivel ’49, a doctor, professor and politician, served as the second vice president of the Republic of Panama from his election in 1984 until his ouster by General Manuel Noriega in 1988. He previously was a member of the National Directory of the Liberal Party; minister of Labor, Social Welfare and Public Health; president of the Liberal Party and vice president of Liberal International. A practicing physician specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, he

earned a degree in biology at Ripon College and his doctorate from the University of Chicago School of Medicine (now Pritzker School of Medicine). He served in prominent roles in several hospitals around Panama, including as professor and chief of the ob–gyn department at the University of Panama. He was ambassador plenipotentiary to the World Health Organization in 1965; and part of the Expert Committee of Federation of Faculties of Medicine Latin America which developed teaching programs in family planning. In 1985, Ripon College presented him with an honorary doctor of law degree. “Whatever I think or whatever I do in the field of medicine or in the field of politics, Ripon College and its very special educational system come forth in my behavior almost as automatically as a conditioned reflex,” he said at the time. Esquivel died Oct. 27, 2010. His nephew, Juan Luis Correa, is a 1979 graduate of Ripon College.

KELLY CROMBIE ’05 Mayor of Columbus, Wis. In his first bid for public office, Kelly Crombie ’05 became the mayor of Columbus, Wis., in the spring of 2013. “I saw a lack of cooperation between the city and school district to the point where the two entities

ANDREW DRECHSLER ’97 Focusing candidates strategically Andrew Drechsler ’97 of Washington, D.C., is vice president of two firms which specialize in microtargeting, a scientific function that builds statistical models predicting an individual’s behavior. Strategic Telemetry focuses on domestic political campaigns for progressive candidates and organizations; HaystaqDNA applies microtargeting to international campaigns and select commercial clients. “Microtargeting allows campaigns to be smarter about where they spend their time and money,” Drechsler says. “For example, we can tell a campaign the percent likelihood on whether an individual will vote in an upcoming election – they can make an informed decision on how to reach out to them based on their support score for a candidate. “Microtargeting is not magic,” Drechsler says. “A campaign still needs a strong candidate, strong message and a strong day-to-day operation. In close races, microtargeting can be the difference.” In January 2007, Drechsler’s firm was hired by an upstart campaign for a little-known U.S. senator who had the “monumental task” of knocking off two well-known, well-funded candidates. “Fast-forward to November 2008. I was sitting in the boiler room in Chicago watching the presidential results rolling in. While the numbers side of me knew that Barack Obama would win, I knew how early positive results could turn quickly. I knew the win was secure before the networks announced Obama’s win, but it was still an exhilarating, emotional moment for me knowing I did my little part in the historic win.”

were arguing over $32 dollars,” Crombie says. “I had to do something to encourage a better working relationship.” He says the role of politicians is to help people solve problems. “Local government has an immense impact on people’s quality of life,” he says. He already has overseen the groundbreaking for the new Gateway Business Park in Columbus. Crombie is a 2012 graduate of the

University of Wisconsin Law School and is an attorney in private practice. He also has owned Mullin’s Short Stop since 2007. Previously, he taught social studies at Columbus High School for a year. He says the skills of thinking critically, solving problems and communicating that he learned at Ripon College are helping his career progress.

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ROBB KAHL ’94 Wis. 47th Assembly District Ripon College’s liberal arts and sciences education has served him well, says Robb Kahl ’94 of Monona, Wis. Kahl is the state representative for Wisconsin’s 47th Assembly District, a position he’s held since November 2012. “Given my interest in public service and private business, the education and experiences I received at Ripon were instrumental in preparing me for my career,” he says. Kahl is executive director and general counsel of the Construction Business Group, a joint labormanagement organization serving Wisconsin’s construction industry; owns small businesses; and sits on business boards and the Ripon College Board of Trustees. “As I was growing up, my parents ran their own small business, so at an early age I grew to understand the struggles and successes the private sector has to offer,” Kahl says. “I felt that my experience with the private sector could be combined with my desire to give back to my community.” Kahl was mayor of Monona, Wis., for eight years. When he took office, Monona’s bond rating was on the verge of being downgraded. When he left office, Monona had the highest bond rating possible for a municipality of its size, the rainy day

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fund was dramatically increased, and there were major redevelopments, new businesses and an expanded commercial tax base. His four children inspired him to run for the State Assembly, Kahl says. “With my knowledge and skills gained from my private and public sector experience, I feel that I can

JORDYN RUSH ’07 Assisting with campaigns “I’ve always been interested in politics; I did my first phone bank when I was young with my mom,” says Jordyn Rush ’07. “There are so many different jobs you can do on the campaign side of politics, there is something for everyone.” Rush previously was the director of Member Services at the Ohio House Democratic Caucus of the Ohio Democratic Party, the third largest Democratic organization in the country. She currently is finance director of the Louisiana Democratic Party based in Baton Rouge. She says all elections are important, and the general public needs to take a bigger interest in their local elections. “Everyone knows when a presidential election is, but the elections that affect your day-to-day living are those of your local state representative, state senator, county commissioner or school board,” she says. “Electing a new Democratic member to the state legislature is just as important

help make Wisconsin an even better place to live and raise a family. The work I do in the State Assembly directly impacts the lives of all the people of Wisconsin. Whether it is public education, health care, venture capital or mining bills, all of those influence the day-to-day lives of the people of Wisconsin.”

to my goals as reelecting Senator Mary Landrieu to the United State Senate.” Rush says her most satisfying campaign has been the We Are Ohio campaign, working on behalf of everyday people. “We were able to repeal Senate Bill 5, a bill that would have stripped firefighters, police officers, nurses, teachers and many more of their ability to collectively bargain,” she says. “Ripon placed a strong emphasis on internships and outside-theclassroom activities,” Rush says. “By the time I graduated, I knew I wanted to work on the campaign side of politics as opposed to the legislative side. And when I graduated, I started the following morning at 8 a.m. at my new position in Iowa and haven’t stopped yet. I’ve had nine jobs in seven states since graduation. I’ve seen a lot of the country I would have never been to if it wasn’t for work. I’ve enjoyed every minute.”

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‘Biggest game in town’ fascinates Ripon professor “Politics is the biggest game in town,” says Marty Farrell, professor of politics and government and coordinator of the Global Studies Program. “Whether it’s macroeconomics, the environment or social policy, the framework is all decided in the political realm. The decisions are going to be made by the sovereign political authorities. I’ve told my students for many years that, for better or worse, politics is simply the biggest game in town.” When Farrell entered college at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., he started out taking premed courses. But it was the 1960s and there were many societal issues going on, including the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and the Cultural Revolution in China. “In the course of my studies, I discovered I cared a lot more about politics and in my sophomore year switched to political science,” he says. “I entered the University of Chicago as an international relations master’s student and really never looked back. Politics became and is still today a consuming passion in my life.” Not only has Farrell taught political science for many years, he also has kept up with research projects and been involved in the political process. He ran unsuccessfully for State Senate in 1994, but he has served for 19 years on the Fond du Lac

County Board of Supervisors and for the past seven years as its chairman. “It’s nonpartisan,” he says. “We don’t get hung up in the political party machinations. We make decisions based on what we feel are in the best interests of the county. I don’t have to listen to any party bosses. I do what I think is in the best interests of the county.” He says informed participation by all citizens is very important in the political process, “but people need to take the time and effort to become knowledgeable about what’s going on,” he says. “Gut reactions and extreme ideologies, these are more destructive than helpful. Thoughtful, informed participation is necessary if democracy is going to work properly.” Farrell says he had an excellent Chinese history professor at DePauw who inspired his interest in the country. The turmoil of the

Cultural Revolution was the subject of his master’s thesis. He has been visiting China since 1981 and has led tours there with Ripon College students and alumni four times, and an additional four times for faculty development seminars. He was on sabbatical for the spring 2013 semester to continue his research. “Currently, I’m trying to combine academic research and personal reflection on changes I’ve seen in China over the last 30 years,” he says. His current research examines questions such as, “How big a threat potentially is China with its huge economy now and military buildup?” “To what extent do we need to be concerned about China as a competing power?” A majority of China scholars feel that conflict is not necessary, so he is focusing on what we can do to minimize the likelihood of a lethal conflict in the immediate future.

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“No economy has grown that fast over three decades,” Farrell says. “No country has seen such rapid urbanization. While China still is only 50 percent urban, it has more than 190 cities exceeding one million people. We have nine such cities in the United States. When I first went to Shanghai, there was one building of 20 stories. Today, there are more skyscrapers there than there are in Manhattan. That’s all

happened in 25 years.” He is planning a public talk and a book manuscript about his research. Farrell is very proud of the large number of his former students who have made careers in politics or government. And even if a majority of students don’t pursue such careers, he feels it is important to teach them how to become informed and engaged citizens. “We help them learn how to think

critically about issues and to separate propaganda from fact,” he says. “Thoughtful citizens have to be able to use their critical-thinking skills to separate fact from fiction. “There is one thing you can count on in politics: things are always changing. It makes it interesting but challenging at the same time. There’s always something new on the horizon. We need to try to keep on top of it.”

P ro fe sso r, stud en ts e x a mi n e b u re a u c r a c y be hin d awarding f e d e r a l c o n tr a c ts The awarding of federal contracts has been a recent focus of interest for Henrik Schatzinger, assistant professor of politics and government. Schatzinger presented “Lobbying and Government Contracts: Why Some Organizations See a Bigger Return on their Investment than Others” at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) in Chicago in April, along with co-authors John Schmidt ’14 of Ripon, Wis., and Aaron Dusso, assistant professor of politics at Indiana UniversityPurdue University. Schatzinger says $515 billion was awarded to organizations and businesses in the form of federal contracts last year, but a considerable number of contracts were given out without making the process completely open and competitive. His research looks into what extent the quantity and quality of lobbying by specific organizations leads to more government contracts for them. An analysis of the top 100 recipients of federal grants between 2006 and 2012 finds that both lobbying expenditures and the intensity of the organization’s focus on specific relevant departments to be powerful predictors of the amount of money received by the businesses in the form of government contracts, Schatzinger says. The analysis shows that businesses and organizations in the defense and agriculture industries are particularly 16

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successful at targeting their federal departments. “Political Action Committee (PAC) contributions are not good predictors of who gets these contracts and to what extent,” Schatzinger explains. As he and his team expand their research, they will look at other factors that may affect Henrik Schatzinger the number of contracts businesses receive, such as the number of employees a business has, the number of states in which it operates, and its proximity to Washington, D.C. Schatzinger enjoys working with students on their own research projects. Reshma McHale ’14 of Shorewood, Wis., and Abigail Quackenboss ’15 of St. Cloud, Wis., each presented research at the same conference in Chicago. “I try to foster creativity in my students by encouraging them to conduct innovative research projects,” Schatzinger says. Student research experiences are good for the department, good for the school and good for developing valuable skills that employers look for, he says. This summer, Schatzinger is continuing his research with Dusso in studying the timing of PAC contributions in the policy process. Allie Pasdera ’14 Waukesha, Wis.

EPA Fellowship supports student’s work to determine environmental and human effects of human-engineered nanoparticles

The awarding of a two-year United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Greater Research Opportunities Fellowship is propelling forward the career plans of Michael Enright ’14 of Stevens Point, Wis. Enright, who is majoring in chemistry with a Spanish minor, is receiving up to $19,700 per year of academic support and $9,500 for internship support as part of the fellowship. This summer, he is conducting a research internship on the environmental fate of humanengineered nanoparticles at the Western Ecological Division of the EPA in Corvallis, Ore. His mentor is Joe Scanlon, assistant professor of chemistry at Ripon College. “I will be using various chemical instrumentation techniques to detect and observe the behavior of commonly used nanoparticles,” Enright says. “The goal of this

project is to understand the impact of nanoparticle distribution in the environment and determine the potential hazards they pose to the environment and to humans.” Enright says that engineered nanoparticles are very small nanoscale objects, larger than atoms but still too small to observe without a high resolution electron microscope. “Nanomaterials, including nanoparticles, have unique and very useful properties, so for the last 20 years nanotechnology has grown rapidly and nanoparticles are now used in a diverse array of applications,” he adds. These include cosmetics, medical imaging, solar cells and electronics; however, Enright is concerned with the fact that these nanoparticles might have negative impacts on the environment. “This is where my project comes in,” he says. “My job will be to examine the behavior and stability of

several of the most commonly used types of nanoparticles to understand their impact on the environment and in humans, plants and animals. I will be working to analyze the safety of engineered nanoparticles and determine any environmental risks associated with specific applications of nanoparticles.” As a student of science, Enright says, he believes that it is his job to use his knowledge to make a positive impact on the world. “Some scientists have the potential to make a lot of money working in industries where the objective is to produce new products quickly and at a lesser cost,” Enright says. “However, sometimes this drive for production comes at the sacrifice of the wellbeing of the environment. “I want to be able to look back on my career and see that what I have accomplished has made the world a better place than before I started studying chemistry.” Tsering Yangchen ’14 Madison, Wis. S U MMER 2 0 1 3

Finding Love At Ripon At the same time Ripon College students are discovering their areas of interest and setting the stage for their future lives, many of them also have found the loves of their lives right here on campus. For some of them, it was love at first sight, and they’ve never looked back. For others, that spark took a little longer to ignite. But as these love stories attest, they all look back fondly on the way their lives came together.

Richard Wright ’67

Tom Selsor ’68 Carolyn Calandra Selsor ’69

Lucy Brooks Wright ’67 Denver, Colo.

’65 the year I first saw her face. Shared a beer, The Spot the place. A few more months, A fraternity dance, An engagement ring. We took the chance ’67 in May. Graduated one day, Married the next, We were on our way. Thompson the reverend, We said our vows.

Not a single clue Of the whys or hows. Forty-six years later, My hair departed, We’re still together Just as we started On the Ripon campus Those years ago With a drink and kiss In The Spot below. What a time it was, Be it luck or fate, We met forever On a Ripon date.

I was a sophomore. It was late afternoon Sept. 10, 1965. I walked over the water tower hill and looked down at more than 200 students celebrating a beautiful day. There was a freshman pouring a draft from a quarter barrel. It was her 18th birthday. She (Carolyn Calandra ’69) had green eyes and black hair with a bit of red highlighted by the sun. I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Not sure what she was wearing, but I remember the beer was Chief Oshkosh. We were married in 1968, and it’s been 45 good years — so far. Tom Selsor ’68

Stoughton, Wis.

Sean Riesenberg ’01 and I met at Ripon when I was a freshman and Sean was a junior.

We got engaged after Sean graduated college and I was a junior. We were married the summer that I graduated, and this summer will be 10 years of marriage. Amanda Luttenberger Riesenberg ’03

De Pere, Wis.

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Alex Royzen ’08 Kendall Guimond Royzen ’08 My wife and I met at Ripon our freshman year as our best friends at the time started dating and we were forced to hang out. What started as a mutual dislike blossomed into love by second semester of our sophomore year. We traveled Europe together on our study-abroad programs and practically lived together in the dorms from then on. We have been together ever since and were married July 28, 2012.

Frank Anders ’69

Alex Royzen ’08

Evanston, Ill.

“Bobbi” Suess Anders 69 My wife, Barbara “Bobbi” Suess ’69 and I met as freshmen in the spring of 1966 at the Kiwanis water tower park during a beer and softball party. We graduated in 1969 and were married Nov. 6, 1971 (photo above), upon my return from Vietnam. We are both now retired (recent photo below). Frank Anders ’69

Danbury, Conn.

I did indeed meet my spouse at Ripon, about four weeks before graduation. Two fraternity brothers (Esa Kirikki ’91 and Bill Reap ’91) and I were behind on our senior seminars and short of funds, so we stayed on campus for spring break in 1991. Thursday of that week, Bill’s older sister, Ellen, came up to visit him from Chicago where she was working. Though I had known Bill and been his brother at Merriman House since freshman year, I had never really met his sister. Within a week, I was borrowing Scott Boback’s (also ’91) Chevy (consiberably older than ’91) to drive down to Chicago on weekends to see her, and we were engaged by the end of that summer. We’re married for almost 21 years now. Just goes to show, it’s never too late in your Ripon College career to finish your senior seminar, or meet the love of your life! Charlie Merwin ’91

Morristown, N.J. Carol Diedrich Cooley ’58 subsidized the 50 cents required to go to a beer party our senior year. She lived next door in Harwood but was always going with someone else. Turned out to be a pretty good investment for her. Tom Cooley ’58

Decatur, Ill. Susan Robinson Hermes ’68 and I met Feb. 7, 1965, at The Spot. Our first “official” date was on Feb. 14, 1965, at the Theta Chi Valentine’s Day Dance. We still celebrate both dates, although Feb. 7 seems more important. June 27, 2013, was our 43rd wedding anniversary, but we celebrated our 48th anniversary together in February. Thank you, Ripon. John Hermes ’68

Nichols Hills, Okla.

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Thomas Becker ’05 Diane Marie Keeling ’04 My partner, Thomas Becker ’05, and I met at the communication department orientation hosted by Jody Roy the year Tom transferred from UW-Milwaukee to play basketball for Bob Gillespie (2002). We chatted after the dinner meet and greet, walking from the commons back to the dorms together and discovered we both were in Jody’s Rhetorical Theory course. After sitting next to each other in class and studying for exams together, we were dating by the end of the semester. Diane Marie Keeling ’04

Bangor, Maine

Cal Schieler ’54 and I started our long

courtship at our 9th grade class dance, held in the old Ripon Junior High School. When saying “good night” at my front door, he brazenly kissed me — missed my lips and kissed my chin. It was a starting point to our marriage in 1955. Peg Schieler ’54

Green Valley, Ariz. I met Mark Andrews ’73 our freshman year, and we married after our junior year. We returned to Ripon — married — to finish our senior year. Forty-one years later, we are still married (even though Professor of English William Shang said it wouldn’t last a year since we were constantly arguing with each other in his literature class!). We have two sons and four grandchildren. Jackie Farmer Andrews ’73

Sebring, Fla. I met my husband, Josh Tobler ’99, the first or second day of freshman year. We met at the icebreaker the College had for freshman. We clicked instantly, and he soon became my best friend. We were friends all

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through college, but we were with other people romantically. A couple of years ago, we got back in touch with each other, and he confessed that he had been in love with me all along. We went out on a date on my birthday weekend, and after our first kiss I knew I wanted him kissing me for the rest of our lives. We got married April 11, 2013, in Puerto Rico. He’s pretty amazing! Jaime Smith Tobler ’99

Richmond, Ind. I had (my future wife) come to a West Hall (Alpha Phi Omega) dance. I believe that the dance was at Tuscumbia Country Club. She rode the train from Chicago to Fond du Lac. She stayed in one of Ripon’s girls’ dorms. We were married on my 22nd birthday, Dec. 26, 1953, in Arlington Heights, Ill., while home on leave from the U.S. Army at Fort Benning, Ga. Marv Prellberg ’53

Peachtree City, Ga.

Tom Bachhuber ’71 Leslie Ann Smith ’71 Leslie Ann Smith ’71 and I (pictured at left circa 1970) met at Ripon freshmen year in Professor Breithaupt’s History of Art class. First time I called her — or thought I did — I mixed up her photo in the Green Book and called another girl, not Leslie. I eventually figured it out. We dated on and off for a year or so, and then I wised up; pinned her (Phi Delta Theta) junior year and got engaged before Christmas break senior year. We married in Minnetonka, Minn., a week after graduation, May 22, 1971. Johnny Williams, pal and Phi Delt, was in the wedding party. Jeff Trickey, George Clam, Jim Fetters and other football teammates were there. Ruthmary Woods, Leslie’s Delta Phi Sigma sister, was in the wedding party. I remember studying in Lane Library until closing and then heading to The Spot with Les. We’d have a Bud draft for 15 cents and a dime bag of Cheetos. Pretty good way to end the day. I worked in the Commons and would sneak chocolate chip cookie dough to her after work. I think it was the key reason she stayed with me. Tom Bachhuber ’71

Milwaukee, Wis.

Family Legacies of Love Ron Balej ’53 Mary Alice Miller ’55 I remember clearly the day I met my wife, Mary Alice Miller ’55. It was early evening Sept. 11, 1952, and four of us from Alpha House fraternity were going to a movie and were about to drive off from Bartlett Hall when Dick “Tex” Hallock ’53 said, ‘Oh, wait a minute. Here comes my sister and her roommate!’ He got out of the car, and Art Wong ’53 followed. I sat in the back seat of the car grumbling and irritated about being late for the movie if we didn’t get going. Then I looked out the front windshield and saw Ann Hallock ’55 approaching with her roommate, a tall, very good-looking blonde. I got out of the car. Ann’s roommate turned out to be Mary Alice Miller ’55, a transfer student from the University of Illinois. The movies no longer seemed to matter. We began going out together. Most schools refer to the girl as being “pinned,” but the Ripon term was to get “keyed” — which meant giving your fraternity key to your girl as a symbol of going “steady.” Finally, in the second semester, my father let me have our old 1936 Oldsmobile with a stick shift to have at Ripon. It was fine and fun to be able to drive around to places on dates, but alas the starter motor on the car went out and when Mary Alice and I went out we had to find a hill to park on so I could coast down the hill and “pop the clutch” to get the car going. To show you what a trooper she was, when we couldn’t find a hill she would PUSH the car and I would pop it into gear. Of course, I eventually got the starter fixed. Honest, I did! Now here we are, 60 years later, celebrating our 59th wedding anniversary. We have a decent car now, and Mary Alice hasn’t had to push it yet, but it doesn’t matter anyway because you can’t start new cars anymore by pushing them — you have to call a tow truck.

Charlie Larson ’00 and I met in our first class at Ripon. It was Intro to First-Year Studies with Professor Douglas Northrop. Not love at first sight, but we had mutual friends. I knew he was hard-working, a good student, athletic. It wasn’t until the fall of our sophomore year that we started dating. Sigma Chi formal was approaching, and Charlie was debating whom to ask. (His father) Chuck ’65 advised young Charlie to take a chance and ask someone besides an old high school friend. Knowing my father-in-law, he was more than direct in his challenge to have some courage. Lucky for me, he took his father’s advice. I was delightfully surprised Charlie was interested in furthering the relationship. Sixteen years together, 12 years married, and two kids later, I would have never guessed that my first college class would deliver my life-long partner. We are just one in a long line of Ripon marriages in the Larson family: Chuck ’65 and Karen Hartman Larson of Ripon, Wis., and Sun City, Ariz. Karen worked in Lane Library while Chuck was teaching in the athletic department. Lex ’72 and Pat Wilke Epting ’73 of Aransas Pass, Texas. Jim ’86 and Janelle Carlson Larson ’87 of Wauwatosa, Wis. Brian ’91 and Kris Larson Besler ’89 of Wauwatosa, Wis. Todd ’95 and Sarah (Larson) Sippel ’95 of Appleton, Wis. Kersten Holm Larson ’00

Menomonee Falls, Wis. Whitney Bildsten Berens ’00 and I met at Ripon

and began dating during my senior and her junior year. I graduated and joined the Peace Corps. I was stationed in Zambia for nearly a year when Whitney graduated and visited me in Zambia in 2000. I proposed to her in Zambia. I returned a year later to meet up with her in Boston where she was wrapping up her first year of dental school at Tuft’s Dental. I enrolled at New England School of Law, and we both graduated in 2004. Whitney has two sisters. Lindsey Bildsten Altman ’02 is married to Mike Altman ’01. They live in Gig Harbor, Wash. Whitney’s youngest sister, Ashley Bildsten, and my brother, George Berens, graduated from Ripon in 2003. Whitney’s dad, Scott Bildsten, is a 1980 graduate of Ripon College. I am currently serving as an active duty Air Force JAG in Afghanistan. Mike Berens ’99

Port Orchard, Wash.

For more Ripon love stories, be sure to visit ripon.edu/couples

Ron Balej ’53 (pictured with Mary Alice

Miller ’55 above) Minneapolis, Minn. S U MMER 2 0 1 3

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Koth ’13 makes it three in a row Three years. Three All-Americans. Taylor Koth ’13 left his mark on the Ripon College men’s basketball program during his senior year by becoming its third consecutive AllAmerican, following in the footsteps of fellow alumni and teammates Scott Gillespie ’11 and Aris Wurtz ’12. Koth’s final season with the Red Hawks was nothing short of spectacular. The Cedarburg, Wis., native led the Midwest Conference in scoring with 25 points per game and ranked second in the MWC with 9.9 rebounds per game en route to being named MWC Player of the Year. Koth’s efforts helped the Red Hawks finish the season with a 13-11 record and the number four seed in the MWC Tournament. “This year, I focused on doing whatever the team needed me to do to win games,” Koth said. “I wasn’t necessarily looking to score as much as I did, but that’s the way it worked out. I was just glad I was able to help the team get to the MWC Tournament for the third time in the last four years.” Koth also was the third consecutive Ripon men’s basketball player named as one of 10 finalists for the Jostens Trophy, given to the DivisionIII player who best displays basketball ability, academic prowess and community service. “It was a great honor to be a final-

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ist for the Jostens Trophy because it shows that I’m focusing on things other than basketball and that I have a different perspective on things,” Koth said. A two-time All-Conference First Team selection, Koth left a dent in Ripon’s career record book, finishing sixth in school history in total points (1,514), second in rebounds (721) and seventh in free throw percentage (.825). His rebounding numbers were particularly impressive, as he became just the second Ripon player to grab at least 700 career rebounds, despite standing 6-foot-2. “Rebounding is more about the

heart of a player than how tall he is,” Koth says. “It says a lot about my character and the willingness that I had to go get the ball. One of the greatest things about Ripon is the tradition and the great teams and players that have come before me. To see my name among them is a pretty humbling experience.” Koth was a double major in business management and sports management, was involved in the College’s Creative Enterprise Center (now part of the new Center for Social Responsibility) and was the starting centerfielder for the Ripon College baseball team.

Jenna Breaker ’15 national champion in high jump Ripon College sports scored another national champion when sophomore Jenna Breaker took first place in the high jump at the NCAA Division-III Indoor National Championships in Naperville, Ill., March 9. The jump was a school record of 5-07.75 feet, breaking her own school record of 5-06.5 feet set a week earlier. The studio arts major from Tigerton, Wis., entered the tournament ranked sixth in the high jump in Division-III. She is the first woman national champion and the second overall in Ripon College’s track and field program. Breaker has participated in three national track and field competitions. She also qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 2012 and 2013. Mike Immel ’96 became Ripon College’s first national champion in the discus at the NCAA Outdoor Championships in 1996.

On the diamond, Koth led the team in hitting with a .383 batting average and helped Ripon to its third MWC Championship in four years and 20th in program history. He also ranked second on the team with nine doubles, to go along with one home run and 24 RBI. “At Ripon, you’re able to meet a lot of people who are unique,” Koth says. “The classes are tough, but you’re able to learn a lot of things that will help you later on in life. Ripon expanded my horizons and forced me to work hard.” By Mike Westemeier Sports Information Director

A+ Athletes: Excellence Beyond Sport To read profiles of some of Ripon College’s outstanding student-athletes, visit the College’s website at ripon.edu/athletes

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CAM P U S

Notes

FACULTY & STAFF ROBERT AMSDEN, professor of theatre, presented a “Mask Improvisation Workshop” at the Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival, Region 3, in January at Saginaw Valley Stage University, Saginaw, Mich. Amsden has been involved in the KCACTF festival for almost 35 years. LAMONT COLUCCI, associate professor and chair of the politics and government department, has been named Senior Fellow in National Security Affairs for the American Foreign Policy Council. His opinion piece, “Is there an ‘Obama Doctrine?’ ” appeared in the Washington Times in April. Colucci examined ways a potential Obama Doctrine might be characterized, considered its relationship to the Nixon, Carter, Clinton and Bush administrations’ foreign policies, and claimed that the Obama doctrine is disjointed. He is a regular columnist for the U.S. News & World Report Opinion section: http://www.usnews.com/topics/author/lamont_colucci ERIC CRUISE, in his first season as Ripon’s head baseball coach, was named Midwest Conference North Coach of the Year, while leading the team to its 20th MWC Championship in program history. That propelled the Red Hawks into the NCAA Division-III Regional playoffs for the 11th time. JOE HATCHER JR., professor of psychology, was honored with the 2013 Senior Class Award. This award is given to a faculty member who the senior class feels best exhibits a commitment to helping students realize their full potential by challenging them in and out of the classroom. TONI HOLLENBACK, secretary/technician for Admission, was honored May 9 at an Employee Recognition Breakfast for 40 years of service to Ripon College. JESSICA JOANIS, director of Residence Life, has been awarded a Young Alumni Award by Albion College in Albion, Mich. JULIE JOHNSON has stepped down as head women’s basketball coach after 23 seasons to become full-time athletic director. She is Ripon College’s all-time winningest coach with an overall record of 303-237 (.561). This past season, she became just the fourth Midwest Conference coach to reach the 300-win plateau, while also becoming the fourth coach in MWC history to win 200 conference games. LAUREN JOHNSON (no relation), a native of Black River Falls, Wis., has been named head women’s basketball coach. Last season, she was an assistant at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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KRISTINE A. KOVACK-LESH, assistant professor of psychology, gave a talk titled “Involving Students in Developmental Psychology Research” at Promoting Undergraduate Research at Liberal Arts Colleges, a one-day conference held in April at Augustana College for faculty and administrators to share best practices. STEVE MARTIN, associate professor of communication, presented “Remembering (and Forgetting) César Chávez: The Texas Board of Education’s Efforts to Erase Chávez from U.S. History” at a symposium hosted by the Center for Democratic Deliberation and the Institute for the Arts and Humanities at Penn State University in February. The Mulberry Tree magazine, published by St. Mary’s College of Maryland, is featuring an article in the Spring 2013 issue (http://www.smcm.edu/mulberrytree/) about the 10th anniversary of its Center for the Study of Democracy. Ripon College president ZACH P. MESSITTE began the center and was its first director while he held a tenure-track position in the political science department at St. Mary’s. LEIGH MLODZIK ’02, dean of admission, was featured in a U.S. News & World Report article about tips for college applicants still making their decision late in the college search process. The article discusses some of the remaining options for undecided students and the availability of financial aid and housing for late-decision students. MOLLIE OBLINGER, assistant professor in the department of art and art history, as well as director of the College’s Caestecker Gallery, showed her exhibit, “In Fringes Among Battered,” in February at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh’s Allen Priebe Annex Gallery. Oblinger drew imagery for the works from her time last summer as artist-in-residence at the Alpena Wildlife Sanctuary on the coast of Lake Huron in Alpena, Mich. DEANO PAPE, assistant professor of communication and director of forensics, taught at Harvard University in the Harvard Debate Council’s Summer Leadership Institute, teaching fundamentals of speech and debate to students from various schools in China, as well as coaching a public forum debate. J. TIMOTHY PETERSIK, professor of psychology received the 2013 James R. Underkofler Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching Award. The award is given in honor of James Underkofler’s 48 years of service to the utility industry. A book written by JODY ROY, professor of communication and assistant dean of faculty, would become a major motion picture. An option has been purchased for “Autobiography of a Recovering Skinhead: The Frank Meeink Story as told to Jody M. Roy, Ph.D” by East Gate Entertainment.

Jennifer Jaeger Machacek returns to Ripon College as the new vice president of enrollment, starting Aug. 1. She most recently served as associate dean of undergraduate admission at Marquette University, a position she has held since 2001. She also was executive director of the Wisconsin Education Fairs from 2003-2013 and will continue her involvement as a member of their executive board. She previously was the director of admission at Ripon from 1999-2001, and assistant dean of admission from 1998-1999. Prior to that, she held counselor roles in the admission offices of Marquette University and Alverno College. She has nearly 20 years’ experience in post-secondary enrollment management and an impressive track record of producing recordbreaking undergraduate applications. RAFAEL SALAS, associate professor of art, had a solo exhibition titled “You’re Invisible Now,” in the Kohler Gallery, Wriston Art Center, at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wis. His work also was included in a three-person exhibit at Macalester College; a group exhibit at the Portrait Society Gallery in Milwaukee; and in “Indiana Green” at the Frank Juarez Gallery in Sheboygan, Wis. HENRIK SCHATZINGER, assistant professor of politics and government, and three of his students presented new research projects at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) April 11 through 14 in Chicago. For a related story, see Page16. DAVID WILLIAM SCOTT, assistant professor of religion studies, is the first Pieper Chair in Servant Leadership, a new chair funded by the Suzanne and Richard Pieper Family Foundation. BRIAN SMITH, the Charles and Joan Van Zoeren Chair in Religion, Ethics and Values, published an article, “Teaching the Devout Student: Faith and Scholarship in the Classroom,” in the April 2013 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Teaching Theology and Religion. He also presented the paper “Teaching the Devout Student: Faith and Scholarship in the Classroom” at the Midwest American Academy of Religion in April. Also at that conference, two religion majors presented papers. RACHEL BORZICK ’13 presented “A Study of the Roman Catholic Womanpriest Movement” and participated in a panel. ORNELLA UMUBYEYI ’13 presented “A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Role of the Holy Spirit in Pentecostal Churches in Rwanda and in the United States” on the panel “History of Christianity.”

Center for Social Responsibility created The new Center for Social Responsibility at Ripon College is opening this summer and combines the best of existing programming and formalizes the curricular role of community engagement, service learning, social entrepreneurship and interdisciplinary studies in the development of ethical, sustainable and socially responsible leaders. The Center and its academic programming will benefit from resources through the Pieper Chair of Servant Leadership, the Office of Community Engagement and the Creative Enterprise Center. In addition, an innovative new minor in socially responsible leadership has been approved with two emphases: social entrepreneurship and innovation, and community engagement and service learning. Lindsay Blumer is the center’s executive director. David W. Scott, Pieper Chair of Servant Leadership, and Associate Professor and Director of Business Management Mary Avery are fellows of the Center and will teach courses for the new minor. Scott also will serve as academic adviser to students enrolled in the minor, and coordinate leadership and service learning training for faculty and student groups.

Founders’ Day This year’s Founders’ Day award was presented to Gregory Marcus of The Marcus Corp. The award is presented annually to an individual or an organization in the Ripon community who exemplifies the ideals of the founders of Ripon College. The Marcus Corp., headquartered in Milwaukee, was founded Nov. 1, 1935, by Ben Marcus with the purchase of the Campus Cinema, a single-movie theatre screen in downtown Ripon. Today, Marcus is the sixth largest motion picture circuit in the United States, owning or operating 684 screens at 55 locations throughout the Midwest. Marcus Hotels and Resorts owns or manages 19 hotels, resorts and other properties in 10 states. Two students presented research talks about noted Ripon alumnas. “Ripon to Ghana to Pakistan: Mary Sargent’s Life in the Liberal Arts” was presented by Elizabeth Brown ’13 of Brandon, Wis., about the 1939 graduate who lived throughout the world during her husband’s foreign service. “Ann Ewing: From a Star to the Stars” was presented by Lacey Buchda ’13 of Sparta, Wis., about the 1941 graduate who followed passions for science and writing and became the first to report on so-called “black holes.”

TOUOROUZOU HERVE SOME, assistant professor of educational studies, published two chapters in the book “Space, Transformation and Representation: Reflections on University Culture.”

EMILY STOVEL, associate professor of anthropology, received a $2,500 grant from the Meemic Foundation for the Future of Education to purchase anthropological documentaries; and fiber, spinning tools, dying equipment and three looms for her class about South American textile traditions. She received a $20,000 grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation to organize an international conference in Argentina; and a Thirteen for ’13 grant from Ripon College to set up a public archaeology field school. She published a paper, “Concepts of Ethnicity and Culture in Andean Archaeology,” in the March 2013 issue of Latin American Antiquity. She also has given a number of academic talks. MARY UNGER, assistant professor of English, is a Summer Scholar with the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute for college and university faculty at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The program is titled “Making Modernism: Literature and Culture in Twentieth Century Chicago, 1893-1955.” ROBERT WALLACE, the Patricia and Philip McCullough 1969 Professor in Biology, and colleagues at the University of Texas-El Paso and the University of Massachusetts-Lowell have been awarded a $600,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. The award will be over four years and used to study rotifers. Wallace’s component is $25,000 per year for a total of $100,000. He also published an article in the Wiley Online Library, “Rotifera,” with HILARY SMITH ’07, Ph.D. http://goo.gl/lZtCc

JEANNE WILLIAMS, professor of educational studies and president of the Wisconsin Association of Colleges for Teacher Education, co-wrote an opinion editorial in the Milwukee Journel-Seninel, was quoted in the Star Tribune, and appeared on Wisconsin Public Radio in defense of Wisconsin colleges’ teacher preparation against a report by the nonprofit National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ). GEORGE “SKIP” WITTLER, professor of biology, received the 2013 May Bumby Severy, Class of 1908, Award. The Faculty Development Committee and Dean of Faculty evaluate and identify recipients of this award from nominations received from faculty and students for excellence in undergraduate teaching. ANDREA YOUNG, assistant professor of mathematics, co-wrote “Ricci Yang-Mills Solitons on Nilpotent Lie Groups” for the Journal of Lie Theory in 2012. She also was one of the keynote speakers at the Undergraduate Mathematics Symposium at the University of IllinoisChicago; and co-organized a special session, “Geometric Analysis and Riemannian Geometry” at the Fall Western Section Meeting of the American Mathematical Society at the University of Arizona. DMYTRO ZHOSAN, associate professor of business and economics, co-wrote “Problems of the commons: group behavior, cooperation and sanctioning in a two harbor experiment,” published in Environment and Development Economics. The results of this paper were used in writing a chapter included in the book, “Analyzing Global Environmental Issues: Theoretical and Experimental Applications and their Policy Implications” (Abingdon, UK: Routledge, edited by Ariel Dinar and Amnon Rapoport, 2013). The chapter combines experimental results with theory to analyze conditions that can aid in a successful co-management of the commons.

First Career Discovery Tour pairs students, alumni

The Ripon College Offices of Career Development and Alumni Relations launched a new career development initiative, The Career Discovery Tour, to further expand student-alumni career networking opportunities. As part of the inaugural tour in March, 12 current students gained first-hand knowledge of a variety of careers directly from successful Ripon alumni in their workplaces. Alumni participating in this tour were: • Scott Strazzante ’86, photographer for the Chicago Tribune. • Scott Fleming ’83, operations manager with Jump Trading. • Howard Draft ’77, CEO of Draftfcb Inc. • Scott Perry ’85, president of Bankers Life and Casualty. • DeBorah Lenchard ’75, director of education and talent development for Spot Trading. “The students soaked up every ounce of information about networking from our alumni hosts,” says Amy Gerretsen, director of alumni and parent relations. “It was so interesting, even as a staff member on the trip, to hear first-hand the value of our Ripon education and Ripon connections, both of which were key to our hosts’ achievements. It was exciting to see the students interact with our alumni on such a professional and personal level. Each student returned home to Ripon College with a newfound understanding and appreciation for their Ripon experience.” The next tour will visit Washington, D.C., in October. Twelve current students are registered to attend.

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STUDENTS LIZ BROWN ’13 of Brandon, Wis., and NICK ZUPAN ’13 of Monona, Wis., were presenters this spring at the ACM Student Symposium in Chicago. In the spring semester of the 2011-12 academic year, Brown participated in the ACM London-Florence offcampus program, and Zupan participated in the ACM Costa Rica-Field Research program. Professors DIANE BERES and KARL BERES accompanied the students to the symposium. ASHTON FRIES ’13 of Williams Bay, Wis., received an honorable mention in the 2012-2013 ACM OffCampus Study Photo Contest. She took the photo while attending the ACM Chicago: Urban Studies program in the spring semester of the 2011-2012 academic year. MICHELLE MATTER ’13 of Sussex, Wis., will have a research paper published in the 2013 issue of the Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research. “Beer Commercials: A Contradiction in Communication” was written for a rhetorical criticism class. Matter graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with a degree in communication. RIPON COLLEGE NATIONAL ETHICS BOWL TEAM made it to the National Quarterfinals at the 17th Annual Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl Feb. 27 through March 1 in San Antonio, Texas. The team advanced to be among the top eight in the country. Thirty-two teams competed. Team members were KYLE RUEDINGER ’13 of Oshkosh, Wis.; ARIEL BERRES-GREEN ’13 of New Richmond, Wis.; AMY REULING ’13 of Saint Germain, Wis.; PAUL MEUER ’13 of Elburn, Ill.; and SOPHIA KAOUNAS ’14 of Brookings, S.D.

FORENSIC TEAM HIGHLIGHTS BILL HEINZE ’13 of Barrington, Ill., won the Kevin Heineman Award at the American Forensic Association District IV National Qualifier at Minnesota State University in March. The Heineman Award goes to the student in District IV (Iowa-Nebraska-North Dakota-South Dakota-Minnesota-Wisconsin) who best exemplifies leadership, team spirit, sportsmanship and a true love of the activity of college forensics. Six Ripon College students were invited to perform at the district qualifying tournament, and all received recognition: KATIE BIEDLER ’15 of Sauk Rapids, Minn., was the tournament champion in persuasion and also placed third in communication analysis. DAVID GARCIA ’14 of West Chicago, Ill., placed third in extemporaneous speaking. AMBER ATKINSON ’16 of Chaska, Minn., and Heinze both earned certificates for their at-large qualifications for nationals in dramatic interpretation, extemporaneous speaking, impromptu speaking and after-dinner speaking earlier this year. CAROLINE “CARLY” LUNDT ’16 of Madison, Wis., and KATIE WARCZAK ’16 of Oshkosh, Wis., earned final-round placements, in extemporaneous speaking and impromptu speaking, respectively. Heinze, Atkinson, Biedler and Garcia advanced to the

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AFA National Tournament held this year at Hutchinson Community College in Hutchinson, Kan., in early April. JEREMY JOHNSON ’12, a graduate student at Penn State University, traveled with Ripon’s team as a judge. He was recognized as one of a handful of AFA All Americans in attendance at the awards ceremony. Johnson is the only Ripon College student to earn All American designation and was one of only 12 students in the entire country last year to earn that honor. In April, Ripon College, Ripon High School and Ripon Middle School hosted the Wisconsin Forensic Coaches Association High School State Championships for the 10th consecutive year. In June, HEINZE, SOPHIA KAOUNAS ’14 of Brookings, S.D., ANDERS GOODWIN ’15 of Milwaukee, Wis., and DEANO PAPE, director of forensics and assistant professor of communication, travelled to Birmingham, Ala., to work with the National Forensic League and National Junior Forensic League high school and middle school speech and debate national championships. Ripon College sponsors the International Extemporaneous Speaking championships.

SPRING ATHLETICS HIGHLIGHTS Ripon’s baseball team won its 20th Midwest Conference (MWC) Championship in school history and made its 11th appearance in the NCAA Regional Tournament. Both accomplishments are the most of any school in the MWC. Ripon First Baseman ADAM GRAMBOW ’13 was named MWC North Player of the Year. STEPHANIE RIEUWPASSA ’13 and ASHLEY GNACINSKI ’15 both were named to the MWC North All-Conference softball team. Rieuwpassa also broke Ripon’s career strikeout record during the season. JENNA BREAKER ’15 (high jump) and CORY ZIMMERMAN ’13 (800 meters) both qualified for the 2013 Indoor Track National Championships. Breaker won the high jump, making her the second national champion in Ripon track and field history and the first on the women’s team. See story on Page 23. Ripon qualified four student-athletes for Outdoor Track Nationals, the most qualifiers Ripon has had in one season: BREAKER, ZIMMERMAN, MICHELLE MATTER ’13 (3K steeplechase) and ADAM SELLNER ’13 (hammer throw). This was Breaker’s third appearance at Nationals, including indoor and outdoor; Matter’s second; Sellner’s second; and Zimmerman’s third, including both indoor and outdoor this year. Sellner earned All-American honors for the second consecutive season. ZACH MEULEMANS ’13 was selected to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Honors Court, recognizing collegiate basketball student-athletes who excelled in academics during the 2012-13 season. He also was named to the Academic All-Conference team for the third time in his career.

Students, staff help out in Jamaica’s Hagley Gap A dozen Ripon College students and two staff members, including LISA ELLIS from Advancement, journeyed to the rural mountains of Jamaica for a two-week Maymester trip. The annual trip, part of Professor JOE HATCHER’s Peace Studies class, is in collaboration with the Blue Mountain Project, a nonprofit organization which partners with the people of the Hagley Gap District of Jamaica to improve health, education and the local economy. A brief video about the work accomplished during this trip can be viewed at http://goo.gl/3LMmTk

Rove visits campus The Ripon College Republicans and Pre-Law Society, with support from the Young Americans Foundation, successfully won a petition to the Student Senate to secure Republican strategist Karl Rove as a guest speaker. Rove spoke before an audience of students, faculty, alumni and community members in Ripon College’s Great Hall Feb. 6, 2013.

Redskins could look to Ripon for mascot Ripon College got a shout out in John Kelly’s Washington column in the Metro section of the Washington Post July 9. “Several readers pointed out that there are precedents for Tuesday’s suggestion that the Redskins transform themselves into the Redhawks. Tom Hamilton of the District reminded me that in 1994, Wisconsin’s Ripon College changed its team name from the Redmen to the Red Hawks. “Three years after that, Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, went from the Redskins to the Red Hawks.”

Eight retire with 215 years of combined service to Ripon This spring, the Ripon College Board of Trustees recognized eight College employees for their years of dedicated service to the College and its students. Combined, these faculty, staff and adminitrators provided 215 years of service to Ripon College, its students and alumni. ROBERT YOUNG taught as a professor of psychology for 44 years. He simultaneously served Ripon for 23 years as an administrator, including 18 as vice president and dean of students. “We have first-class people here, and it has always been a treat to come to work every day,” he says. In his retirement, Young is currently having fun and enjoying his family. He plans to attend many events at the College and engage in more recreational reading, fishing and helping the school in any way he can. JACK CHRIST, professor and director of Leadership Studies, has been with Ripon for 43 years. He taught English for four years, was associate director of college relations and an assistant professor at large for five years and director of Leadership Studies, a program he helped create, since 1980. He also is a professional video producer, has more than 60 programs in national distribution and will continue that work in retirement. He also continues as director of the Wisconsin Leadership Institute, which he helped create. “Ripon is great place because of the people and the collegial atmosphere,” he says. “The only thing I won’t miss is grading papers.” VANCE COPE-KASTEN has been asking thought-provoking questions for 43 years as a professor of philosophy. He received the Victor and Carrie Palmer Endowed Chair for Leadership Values in 2001. “What I have liked best about Ripon was the richness of opportunities for what seemed to me usually worthwhile and usually pleasant work,” he says. “For me, that included exploring with students and colleagues what to make of questions like, “What do you like best about X?” Are those really meaningful questions? Are they actually questions with many meanings? What will I do in my retirement? The first thing is to figure out with my wife what we’ll do in my retirement, besides, that is, read a lot and learn to play the viola.” MICHELLE FUERCH joined the Romance and classical language department in 1983. As a professor of Spanish and Portuguese, she has enjoyed teaching many courses, including “Islam in Spanish Literature,” “Feminist/ Misogynist Literature,” “Spanish for Medical Professionals,” “The Quijote” and “Hispanic Theater,“ which attracted large audiences for 27 years. Research projects resulted in prestigious

publications in “Hispano-Muslim World,” “Portuguese Empire in India” and “Teacher Adaptation Strategies with Immigrant Children.” Fuerch performed with Ripon Summer Players and met her husband, Professor of Anthropology Emeritus Paul Axelrod, at Ripon. Their daughter, Sonia, graduated from Ripon College in 2012. At their retirement apartment on the Mediterranean, Fuerch teaches English classes and interprets for a Pilates instructor. In Ripon, she will continue to interpret for Ripon School District and Birth to 3 Programs in Fond du Lac and Green Lake counties; study Arabic; write about Goa with Paul; and volunteer. BEVERLY S. CHRIST served 10 years as a member of the staff in the registrar’s office and six years in the President’s office where she retired as an administrative assistant. She was a nontraditional student and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude in 1996. Her son, Eric Bice, graduated in 1997. She met her husband, Jack Christ, professor and director of Leadership Studies, at the College, and they were married in Great Hall in 1990. They plan to stay in Ripon and continue to attend College activities. “The College and the people here are near and dear to us,” she says.

MARY M. DEREGNIER was named vice president of finance in 1997. She managed the College’s finances and a good portion of the administration, including the physical plant. She developed the current financial forecasting model and several programs with the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (WAICU). She and her husband, Greg, plan to remain in Green Lake, and also may attend a few Virginia Tech football games next fall. JANIE T. FAILOR has been a housekeeper with the physical plant department for 16 years. “I’ll miss the girls I work with, my coworkers,” she says. She now plans to stay home and take care of her cat and her dog. SHARON K. WIELGUS joined the College in 2006 as a secretary/technician and acquisitions/technical services assistant at Lane Library. “The campus environment is so nice,” she says. “I will miss the students who are just beginning their adult lives and that enthusiasm that they have. I will miss my colleagues in the library, who have been absolutely wonderful. My husband and I have some land, and we have dreams of doing something organic with it. Now we’ll have the time.”

Students join community in aid trip to Panama Ten Ripon College students joined Ripon community members in a January 2013 trip to Wacuco, Panama. Professor of Religion Brian Smith and Development Associate for Major & Planned Giving Michelle Lippart also participated. A group from Ripon travels annually to help Ripon native Fr. Wally Kasuboski work on a dam to provide fresh water to the impoverished people in the Bayano Mission. Kasuboski, who received an honorary degree from Ripon College in 2010, has organized a construction company in Wacuco with a spiritual mission that has created jobs, built churches and a hospital, maintained roads and designed water systems. In addition to work, the annual Ripon trip is designed as a cultural exchange between the two communities. In the photo above, Lippart shares Ripon College pencils and laughter with some of the local children. A time-lapse video of the work done there in a few days can be viewed here: http://vimeo.com/57412324. Another trip is planned in January 2014.

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The 1940s MARY LOU SPINK SPINDT ’40 of Allison Park,

Pa., does volunteer research for the Western Pennsylvania Genealogical Society and participates in a friendship group for blind people. She has four great-grandchildren. http://goo.gl/ BDBHb IRENE GELHAR HOCHREIN ’41 of Berlin, Wis.,

observed her 71st wedding anniversary with her husband, Francis, May 23, 2013. She enjoys playing bridge and eating out. JOHN LAPOTKA ’42 of Madison, Wis., served

with the 1st Allied Airborne Brigade and attended to the 82nd Airborne Division from D Day until the 82nd occupied Berlin; then served during the occupation of Berlin and helped in the organization of the Potsdam Conference. He also served in the 2nd DIV, 38th Infantry, in Korea, and was wounded Feb 12, 1957. He retired from the military in July 1963 as a lieutenant colonel. He then worked as a recreation counselor at Mendota Hospital for 15 years, retiring in July 1978. Robert Keedy, the husband of MARY HOCKENHULL KEEDY ’45 of Hagerstown, Md., writes that they have been married for 67 years. Mary has Alzheimer’s disease, but he still is taking care of her. “We met when I was a student at Ripon in 1942 under the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP),” Robert says. “I was only there nine months, and we were shipped back out to the Army again.” Mary’s family farm was between Ripon and Berlin, and the couple visited every summer for many years. RUTH KORTMEIER ROEBER ’49 of Fort Mitch-

ell, Ky., writes: “Though I don’t get to attend often, I enjoy the friendly Cincinnati Ripon group! They are all greatly interesting and fun.” DICK SCHARNO ’49 and CHARLOTTE KRAUS SCHARNO ’49 of Venice, Fla., write: “Florida has

been our home state for 20 years, and we love it! Luckily, we are still very active and blessed with good health.”

The 1950s THOMAS HARTNETT ’50 of Waukesha, Wis.,

writes: “Enjoying this retirement. Will celebrate 65th wedding anniversary on Aug. 28. Family now numbers 50 people. Still play golf at NagaWaukee every Thursday at 88 — just happy to golf.” MARY JANE WERNER ROBERTS ’50 of

Oceanside, Calif., writes: “I’ve been a member of Audubon since 1972. Very into birds. I finally caught up with my Life Bird records. The total did not come out as high as I’d hoped. I should have traveled more when I could still do so. Feed them every day and watch them from the windows.”

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PRESIDENT ZACH P. MESSITTE, left, and BOB WITT ’55 shoot the breeze while shooting hoops in February during a visit to Bob’s Coto de Caza, Calif., home. RONALD ALBURY ’51 of Medford, N.J., writes: “Travel and church work. Daryl and I are still having a great time in retirement. Keeping the doctors ‘in business.’ ” VILMA BUTCHER CARLSON ’51 of Tekonsha, Mich., writes: “I spent 31 days last year in India — from New Delhi to southern Mysore — learning what 1.2 billion people look like, the Hindu faith and the Christian faith. The people were friendly and beautiful, as was the Taj Mahal. I even saw a tiger with two cubs in the wild. Hot weather, hot food and hot time! Great!” MARY WERNECKE GOEKS ’51 of Cedarburg,

Wis., recently returned from a Medical Ministries International project in Guatemala and left in May for an exchange to Ireland with Friendship Force International. “This personalized travel is always worthwhile — gaining insight while giving of yourself,” she says. GRETCHEN RIEPMA HEWITT ’52 of Hot Springs Village, Ark., writes: “I sang in the Ver Adest show ’49 to ’52 and am still singing solos and in a choir.” ROBERT HOVEY ’52 of Mission Hills, Kan.,

retired in 2006, 50 years to the day — March 24 — of starting the practice of intellectual property law at Hovey Williams LLP in Kansas City, Mo. (now in Overland Park, Kan.) JOHN FRISVOLD ’53 of Eden Prairie, Minn., writes: “It was an honor to represent the class of ’53 at the inauguration of Dr. Zach Messitte as our new president.” BARBARA BAGEMIHL ANDERSON ’54 of Wil-

liamsburg, Va., is teaching/tutoring at Literacy for Life located at William and Mary College. “My

learner is a young Latin American who is a beginner in English. It is fascinating!” she writes. WALTER HOFMAN ’54 of Glenview, Ill., writes: “Work two days a week, 53rd year of practice in dentistry. It’s now my ‘hobby.’ ” He has moved in to a retirement community. http://goo.gl/pdpFt

NEIL BARBER ’56 of Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., still enjoys doing watercolors, pencil drawings and babysitting. EDWIN CROMEY ’56 of Tuxedo Park, N.Y., celebrated the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the Episcopal priesthood Dec. 21, 2012. ANNE SACHS KLEBOE ’59 of La Grange, Ill., is an artist who currently has sculptural works on view in Terminal 3, L Concourse, at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago. Information about her work can be found at www.annkleboe.com. KENTON NOAKES ’59 of Ocala, Fla., has pub-

lished “Living, Losing and Learning,” the history of his difficult early life and his discovery that visualization works to help fulfill your dreams. He also talks about how important going to Ripon College was for him on his way to becoming a Merrill Lynch broker, securities analyst, trust investment office, private investment adviser and the founder of a new product research company. The book is available on amazon.com: http://goo. gl/23X4s

DONNA HAUBRICH REICHLE ’59 of Kingston, Tenn., received

the Joy Margrave Nonfiction third-place award at the recent annual conference of the Tennessee Mountain Writers. The award was given for her short story, “Poot Roots in the Closet,” drawing on experiences at a rural cabin and farm that is shared as a second home with her son and his family.

The 1960s HOCK HUAT YEOH ’61 of Malibu, Calif., still

practices nephrology (kidney), teaches at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Los Angeles and the UCLA School of Medicine, and serves as a senior consultant for Kaiser Permanente Renal Business Group. He also has been traveling and enjoying time with his four grandchildren. JUDY HUGHES PHILLIPS ’62 of Appleton, Wis.

writes: “Enjoying travel — on my way to Alaska and many adventures. I just completed a term as American Association of University WomenWisconsin (AAUW-WI) state membership vicepresident. Looking forward to being on the Ripon College Alumni Board of Directors — going from one board to another!” HELEN ACKLEY ’63 of Pewaukee,

Wis., recently received a Distinguished Alumni Citation during Ripon College’s annual Alumni Association Dinner & Awards Presentation. The award was in recognition of her active role in the Pewaukee community. A great-grandmother, Ackley is involved in more than a half dozen community organizations, from the Pewaukee Area Historical Society to the Pewaukee Food Pantry. In 2010, she was named Citizen of the Year by the Pewaukee Chamber of Commerce and received a certificate of achievement from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

MARILYN KAISER INDERMUEHLE ’64 and her husband, David, of Schofield, Wis., traveled to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji in 2011 and were in South Africa in June 2013. DICK BENNETT ’65 of Nekoosa, Wis., a Wisconsin basketball coaching legend, received the Coach Wooden “Keys to Life” Award at the 17th Annual Legends of the Hardwood Breakfast held in conjunction with the NCAA Final Four Tournament in Atlanta April 6. Part of the award was a $10,000 special gift, which he presented to Ripon College. Bennett’s overall coaching record was 489-307, earned with teams from Eau Claire Memorial High School, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. http:// goo.gl/2W52G WILLIAM MOORE ’66 of Lahaina, Hawaii, writes: “Had to curtail foreign travel the last three years for five major surgeries and recovery. Finally able to resume this June. Last Aug. 1, 2012, opened Hawaii’s only Life is Good Genuine Neighborhood Shoppe with a partner.” GEORGE GITCHO ’67 of San Antonio, Texas, recently returned to Vietnam with his son and daughter-in-law. He had been based at Marble Mountain Air Facility near DaNang as a Marine CH-46 Helicopter Pilot, HMM-364, the Purple Foxes, in 1969. He spent two weeks touring Hanoi, the mountainous region of SAPA, Cat Ba

Island, DaNang, Hoi An, Hue Phu Bia, Quang Tri, the DMZ and finally Ho Chi Minh City. RICHARD BROCKHAUS ’68 of Kensington, Md., retired in June. He had been teaching AP calculus, AP physics and multivariable calculus at the Landon School in Bethesda, Md., for 28 years. He was the science chair for 10 years and a baseball coach for 22 years. NANCY ALLEN KREUSER ’68 of Libertyville, Ill.,

writes: “Tom ’67 and I are enjoying retirement, grandchildren and traveling.” SCOTT MATHOT ’68 of Loudon, Tenn., writes about himself and his wife, Karen: “Once considered about passing the family name to further generations. We welcomed two beautiful grandsons in 2012 — Lennon and Michael! Now with five grandsons and three granddaughters, I guess we are overachieving!” THOMAS REINECKE ’68 of

Alexandria, Va., recently received a Distinguished Alumni Citation during Ripon College’s annual Alumni Association Dinner & Awards Presentation. The award was in recognition of his contributions to the field of nano science. A Rhodes scholar, he has received many major honors, published more than 300 articles and is currently the senior scientist for nano science and head of the semiconductor physics section of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C.

CATHY OLSON PARISIE ’63 of Aptos, Calif., received her master’s degree in social work from the University of California-Berkeley in 1965. Her career is in social work. She also is a church organist/music director and a Suzuki piano teacher. She vacations at a cabin in the Sierra Mountains, and has traveled in Europe, Japan, India, Russia and around the United States. She has one daughter who is a professor at Dartmouth College. ROGER WHEELER ’63 of Southbury, Conn., writes: “I am living now in retirement at Heritage Village 76D in Southbury, Conn. I sold my house in Woodbury.” DIANNE ASHLEY ’64 of Eastham, Mass., recently

produced, with 10 other people, a conference, “Roots of Violence, Seeds of Change.” She made a vegan lunch for 75 people using all local and organic ingredients for vegetable wraps, with herbal tea, apples, cloth napkins and ceramic cups.

CRAIG FERRIS ’65 of Chevy Chase, Md., says, “I never thought that I would ever get to Red Square and the Kremlin when I took Soviet Systems from Professor Milton Westhagen in 1963. But here I am with my wife, Nancy, with Lenin’s tomb on the right in front of the Kremlin’s walls and the GUM (pronounced GOOM) department store, once famous for having very little selection and very poor quality clothing. (Some say it was great if you liked only one style of itchy woolen underwear). Westy would be astounded. GUM has gone from a Russian people’s joke (‘What did you buy at GUM?,’ the woman said to her friend. ‘Nothing; by the time I got to the head of the long line, the one clerk had died.’) to what is now the epitome of capitalism — a huge collection of mostly French and American boutiques. Westy would love the irony!”

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The 1970s SUSAN HALL BEAMON ’71 of Thornton, Colo.,

retired from the United States Postal Service Jan 31, 2013. SANDRA LEE HECKMAN ’72 of Springfield, Ill., retired this year after 10 years as the college counselor at Sacred Heart-Griffin High School. She plans to continue counseling students in a not-for-profit situation. LYNN SPICER-TUCKER ’72 of Watertown, Wis.,

writes: “We sold our Wisconsin home and now enjoy a comfortable condo, still in Watertown, which gives us more time to travel.” SARAH WRIGHT ENDSLEY ’73 of Minneapolis,

Minn., writes: “I have stepped out of the classroom after 34 years (Montessori Primary), handing it over to a former student I had from 3 to 6 years old. He co-taught with me for three years, moving through a complete three-year developmental cycle with the children, before I passed it over to him. Very proud!” ROBERT L. SCHMAUS JR. ’73 of Kissimmee,

Fla., teaches civics in Celebration, Fla. He and his wife, Barbara, have downsized with their daughter, Sarah, now in California and their son, Michael, at Florida State University.

JAMES B. THOMPSON ’73 of Salem, Ore., showed 65 new paintings and prints in April and May at the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University in Salem. The exhibit was titled “Linear Metaphysics: Contemporary Mark-Making and Time-Based Art Works.” Thompson is professor of art/curator at the university. JACQUELINE VIECELI ’74 of

Mankato, Minn., has written the book “A Philosophy of Global Pluralism: A Multicultural Approach to Political Theory,” published in 2012 by Edwin Mellen Press. It explores a sample of Western and non-Western traditions – including Confucian, Buddhist, Hindu, Islamic, African and Western traditions – and thinkers’ positions on normative political philosophy. There are few scholars employing a multicultural approach to political theory, and her thesis contends that engaging in dialogue with other cultural traditions can bring a superior understanding of others and lead to an increase in global understanding. http://goo. gl/Vth0e WARREN BLUHM ’75 of Luxemburg, Wis., writes: “CJ and I are in a brand-new home overlooking the three acres of southern Door County we bought six years ago. The two of us, Willow (the-best-dog-there-is) and five assorted cats are having the time of our lives. I’m still at the Door County Advocate newspaper and have been writing science fiction and superhero stories on the side. Seek me out in the Kindle store.” JONDI GUMZ ’75 of Scotts Valley, Calif., reports

that The Santa Cruz Sentinel, the newspaper where she has been a reporter since 1995, was chosen best in California in its circulation category for the second time in three years. She writes about business, housing and healthcare. DAN SHERMAN ’76 of Wakefield,

DENNIS FRAHMANN ’74 and his partner, Robert Tieman, have retired and moved to Cambria, Calif. Frahmann recently published his first novel, set in northern Wisconsin. “Tales from the Loon Town Café” is available on Amazon.com. He and Tieman also took an extended cruise from Hong Kong to Fort Lauderdale, via Southeast Asia, South Africa and South America. Frahmann is a trustee of Ripon College.

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Mass., recently started his own actuarial consulting business, Sherman Actuarial Services. Some of his clients are the prepaid college tuition plans for the states of Alabama, Texas, West Virginia and Nevada. Dan is one of a very few actuaries in the country with prepaid tuition plan experience. He continues to consult on the pension and benefit plans for a number of cities and towns in Massachusetts and is a member of the Rhode Island treasurer’s task force, working to improve the solvency of pension and benefit plans for Rhode Island cities and towns. MARK PORUBCANSKY ’77 of Los Angeles,

Calif., has been promoted to foreign editor of the Los Angeles Times newspaper. He has been an assistant foreign editor, foreign projects editor and deputy foreign editor since 1998 and previously

worked in the Moscow, Vienna and Hong Kong bureaus of the Associated Press. An article about Mark can be accessed at http://goo.gl/M28Dr MICHAEL POULOS ’77 and SUZANNE MONROE POULOS ’75 of Evanston, Ill., joined

with the Chicago Bar Association Chorus and members of the orchestra in February to perform “Lincoln and His America: A Musical Celebration” in the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill. The concert included Michael’s arrangement of a piece of music written in honor of Mary Todd Lincoln for a White House ball Feb. 5, 1862. “This polka, composed by Marine Band leader Francis Scala, has never been published, and I have found no record of it ever being performed again. I was honored that Jane Gastineau, Lincoln Librarian at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne, Ind., was kind enough to share this wonderful gem of music with me,” Michael says. ROD HAYNES ’78 of Renton, Wash., has self-published his third book, “Zoey’s Tales and Other Short Fiction,” available on Amazon.com. A former naval officer, Haynes previously published in memoirs, “Rogues Island Memoir” (2000) and its sequel, “100 Bowen Street” (2002). He works for the federal government and volunteers for numerous humanitarian causes, including teaching American citizenship at a nonprofit organization and involvement in local homeless issues. For more information, visit zoeyfiction.blogspot.com/ HELEN HOLTER ’78 of Seattle, Wash., recently received a Distinguished Alumni Citation during Ripon College’s annual Alumni Association Dinner & Awards presentation. The Emmy Awardwinning producer was given the award in recognition of her efforts to aid global health and understanding. She is principal and executive producer of Helen Holter Communications. JAMES SWENSEN ’78 of Valdese, N.C., writes:

“Still working at Baker Furniture Co. (a subsidiary of Kohler Co., Kohler, Wis.) as a staff analyst in engineering. And I will have been with Baker 29 years, come December 2013. Karen, my wife of almost 33 years, is still keeping me out of trouble and helping to keep the homestead viable. Winemaking has become a hobby of mine, but I still prefer locally brewed porters and stouts.” LISA WOLLAN ’78 of Valley Forge, Pa., has been elected president of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Philadelphia Affiliate board of directors. She previously had served as secretary and vice president for the breast cancer organization. Lisa is head of Consumer Insights & Brand Strategy for Wawa Inc.

JAY MCDONALD ’79 of Ripon, Wis., received the Wisconsin Market Leadership Award for Alliance Laundry Systems LLC. He is the vice president of sales for Alliance. BETH NEMECEK ’79 of Neenah, Wis., is now the CEO/executive director of Bella Medical Clinic in Oshkosh, Wis. The not-forprofit pregnancy resource center provides information regarding pregnancy, fetal development and related issues with medical pregnancy testing and life-affirming ultrasounds. “I am enjoying this new stage of my life,” Beth writes. MICHAEL ZAHN ’79 of Merrill, Wis., is an account manager for HCI Chemtec Inc. in Wausau, Wis. He has 10 grandchildren.

The 1980s MICHAEL ALLAN ’82 of Encinitas, Calif., has

returned to the United States after seven years in London. He now is chief financial officer of Zodiac Pool System. ROBERT L. BRANDFASS ’83

of Peoria, Ill., has been appointed senior vice president of legal services for OSF Healthcare System, a not-for-profit $1.8 billion Catholic healthcare system comprising eight hospitals and 14,000 employees. SHELLEY ANDERSON BYRNES ’84 of Scotts-

dale, Ariz., is an independent massage therapist with her own practice, and also the director of Children’s and Family Ministries at Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Scottsdale. JOYCE WATRY DIECK ’84 of West Bend, Wis.,

reports that her company, Networkers Funding, was named to the Metro Milwaukee Future 50. Her daughter, Katie, is a senior at Ripon College. ERIC LUSTY ’84 of Grafton, Wis., retired from

the Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Department in December and was hired as a patrol officer with the Thiensville Police Department in February. LON MICHELS ’84 of Cathedral City, Calif., had artwork included in the 25th Anniversary Exhibition at the Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee, Wis. DAVE SHOGREN ’84 of Maplewood, Mo., chief operating officer of American Food Exporters, received the 2013 Global Pioneer Award from the St. Louis Regional International Partnership. He has worked for 25 years in the food industry in marketing, sales, operations and finance. American Food Exporters operates in St. Louis, Mo., Cleveland, Ohio, and Shanghai, China.

BILL QUISTORF ’80 of Everett, Wash., right, is chief pilot for the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Department and a search and rescue helicopter pilot working with Everett Mountain Rescue. He recently met Jim Whittaker, the first American to summit Mount Everest in 1963. Whittaker told Quistorf a couple of his own helicopter rescue adventures. JEFF SZYMCZAK ’84 of Aurora, Ill., is the principal at the Mooseheart K-12 school, which will celebrate its 100th year in July. STACY HEINRICH SHUDA ’85 of Faribault,

Minn., and her husband, Mike, vacationed at the Adventura Spa Palace on Riviera Maya in Mexico, and in Breezy Point in northern Minnesota. They also were involved in Arcadia, Wis., high school wrestling at the state and national levels. She also is involved in a hobby sending and receiving postcards worldwide via the website www. postcrossing.com. SCOTT STRAZZANTE ’86 of Yorkville, Ill.,

the company’s engineering organizations and overseeing new product development.

The 1990s SUSAN FRIKKEN ’90 of Madison, Wis., graduated in May 2013 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a doctor of physical therapy degree. She graduated with MINHWAN KIM ’08 of Kenosha, Wis. Her practice, Yahara Therapy, now will expand to merge physical therapy with massage therapy to provide wholeperson care. She also plans to become employed with a hospital system or clinic in the area.

photographed renowned Chicago photographer John H. White for the April 2012 issue of New Photographer magazine, of the National Press Photographers Association. His detailing of the assignment and photos can be viewed at http:// goo.gl/rMliZ

MAURA ROBINSON ’90 of Stevens Point, Wis., owns a Home Instead Senior Care office.

BARBARA BLAHNIK ’88 of Seymour, Wis., is the

LORI KOMETER BASALDU ’91 of Gilbert, Ariz.,

regional operations coordinator with Green Stone Farm Credit Services. ANDY METCALF ’88 of Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.,

has been named president of Riverview Health Care Foundation, which contributes grants to community nonprofit healthcare and social service organizations. He is the owner of Metcalf Lumber and coaches youth basketball. OUSSAMA EL-HILALI ’89 of

Maple Grove, Minn., has joined Carbonite Inc. as senior vice president of engineering. Carbonite is a leading provider of online backup solutions for consumers and small- and medium-sized businesses. Oussama is building and managing

DAVE TROY ’90 of Wethersfield, Conn., is the investor center account executive at Fidelity Investments.

has been a mental health and chemical dependency therapist for 10 years. She and her husband, Pete, have 14-month-old twins, Harper Karly and Robinson Matthew Basaldu. AMIE DOUGHTY ’92 of Oneonta, N.Y., has published her second book, “Throw the Book Away: Reading Versus Experience in Children’s Fantasy” (McFarland). It explores the role of books, reading and writing in children’s fantasy books and film from Harry Potter to Inkheart to Percy Jackson. PATIENCE GILMAN HEENAN ’92 of Birmingham, Ala., is the pastry chef of Danberry at Inverness Retirement Community.

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Notes CHRIS WYLIE ’92 of Appleton,

Milwaukee, Wis., was inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. Wepner excelled in both softball and basketball. As a catcher, she was a four-time All-Conference performer and set records that still rank in the top 10 in program history. As a basketball player, Wepner was part of the program’s first-ever Midwest Conference Championship.

KAREN DERF ’93 of Homosassa, Fla., was named

sen, Minn., is one of three partners to establish the Tonka Beer Co., a craft brewery that donates 100 percent of its profits to SaveOur-Lakes to battle the onslaught of lake-choking invasive species like zebra mussels. A story featuring the brewery can be accessed at http://goo.gl/p7Rth. Johnson also is vice president of new business development, Emerging Markets Segment, of Cigna HealthCare and was recognized as salesperson of the year (one of six awards presented companywide) in May 2013 in Scottsdale, Ariz.

2012-13 Teacher of the Year for Parrott Middle School in Brooksville, Fla. She also was a finalist for Hernando County’s Teacher of the Year. KARIN HANKWITZ ’93 of Madison, Wis., is the membership operations administrator for the Wisconsin Medical Society. LAURA SCHULTZ ’93 of Pitman, N.J., was

elected in November 2012 to a three-year term on the Pitman Board of Education. KIM SKERVEN ’93 of Milwaukee, Wis., has

been promoted to associate professor at Alverno College in Milwaukee, where she is chair of the psychology department. She also is a psychologist at the Center for Behavioral Medicine in Brookfield, Wis. TODD JOHNSON ’94 of Wahiawa, Hawaii, just

completed one year of battalion command and will complete one more. He ran two marathons in the past several months and will run the New York Marathon this fall. NELLE AVERITT SOMERVILLE ’94 of Baltimore, Md., is now the

catering sales manager of Kimpton Hotels’ Hotel Monaco Baltimore and B&O American Brasserie. She has more than 18 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Previously, she held the position of convention services and events manager for Visit Baltimore where she managed client events and tradeshows, and designed and marketed familiarization trips showcasing Baltimore. JUSTIN ANDERSON ’95 of Radford, Va., will be tenured and promoted to associate professor of biology at Radford University. He recently was featured on the public radio show “With Good Reason” to discuss a paper that came out last March. The interview can be heard here: http://goo.gl/ JEyQO/. The paper is here: http://goo.gl/p9CDk. ANGELIQUE GIANAS ’95 of Rancho

Santa Margarita, Calif., married Jeffery Fong, May 4, 2013. She recently celebrated 17 years of working at The Disneyland Resort, where she is a business relations manager for Downtown Disney. She also serves on the Disney VoluntEars Leadership Council.

ANDREA WEPNER ’96 of

Wis., coaches tennis at the University of Wisconsin-Fox Valley. He was named the Wisconsin Collegiate Conference Men’s Coach of the Year after the men’s team won the 2012 state championship. It was the first state championship for the team in 20 years. In the 2013 state championship, both the men’s and women’s teams captured the state championships. Wylie again was named Coach of the Year in both the men’s and women’s divisions.

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RYAN JOHNSON ’97 of Chanhas-

SHERRY MESSIMER ’97 of Mechanicsburg,

Pa., has retired from the Pennsylvania Department of State as chief of the campaign finance and lobbying disclosure division. She and her husband, Tom Bainbridge, have a daughter, Chloe Isabella Bainbridge, born Sept. 30, 2011. KRISTINE PETERSON ’97 of Madison, Wis., is an art consultant at Concepts in Art LLC. VICTORIA KUPO ’98 of Woodland, Calif., is the director of the Women’s Resources and Research Center at University of California-Davis. SHANNON MCKINNEY-FREEMAN ’98 and

her husband, Kevin, of Germantown, Tenn., have a son, Jack Carbett McKinney-Freeman, born Dec. 20, 2012. She also has received a grant from the Hartwell Foundation to support her research at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She is the principal investigator studying hematopoietic stem cells. Information is on her research page: http://goo.gl/Yk9Qr. She also was awarded a Scholar Award by the American Society of Hematology in both 2008 and 2012, among just a few to receive this award twice and the only woman. LEIGHANNE METTER-JENSEN ’98 of Sheboygan, Wis., is an education specialist at Center High School, Bookworm Gardens. MARCI BAILEY MOLING ’98 and her

husband, Shawn, of Albany, Ore., have a son, Octavian Marcellus Moling, born Feb. 15, 2013.

DAN STERNER ’99 of Milwaukee, Wis., gradu-

ated in December 2012 with a master’s of architecture degree from the University of WisconsinMilwaukee. His emphasis was on ecological and sustainable design. He now is working for Flad Architects in Madison, Wis. WILLIAM “BILLY” SWARTZ ’99 of Wauwatosa, Wis., was

inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. Swartz was a three-sport athlete at Ripon College, competing in soccer, track and basketball. A member of four MWC Championship teams (two in basketball and two in soccer), Swartz was named Ripon College Male Athlete of the Year during the 1997-98 school year. Swartz had an extraordinary impact on the men’s soccer program as a player and then as head coach. JOSH TOBLER ’99 and JAMIE SMITH ’99 of Richmond, Ind., were married April

11, 2013, in Puerto Rico. See story on page 20.

The 2000s JOSH KINDKEPPEL ’00 of Sun

Prairie, Wis., was featured in an article in the Wisconsin Law Journal (http://wislawjournal.com/) in April. He is a business attorney who focuses on employment cases and real estate, and is a shareholder with Eustice, Laffey, Sebranek & Auby SC in Sun Prairie. In the interview, he talked about how he makes public service part of his practice. ERIN MEYER ’00 of Bozeman, Mont., married Eric Johnston, Sept. 8, 2012. She received a master’s degree in history from Montana State University in 2006 and a master’s degree in human services from Capella University in 2013. She is a case manager with Career Transitions. KATIE VOIGT ’00 of Ohio, Ill., became the

pastor of Pecatonica United Methodist Church in Pecatonica, Ill., July 1, 2013. GAIL GITCHO ’01 of Boston, Mass., is the communications director for the Republican Governors Association. She assumes responsibility for the RGA’s communications strategy in the 38 gubernatorial elections through the end of 2014. She previously was communications director for Gov. Mitt Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.

ALEXANDER ARIFANTO ’99 of Notre Dame,

SEAN RIESENBERG ’01 and AMANDA LUTTENBERGER RIESENBERG ’03 of De Pere,

Ind., has been appointed a post-doctoral fellow with the Kroc Institute of International Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame. He will assume this position in August 2013.

Wis., report that Sean graduated May 12, 2013, with his master’s degree in liberal studies from St. Norbert College. Amanda completed her first marathon May 19 in Green Bay.

RUTHANNE YOUNG SKINNER ’01 and her husband, Grant, of Mesa, Ariz., have a daughter, Annastasia Ivy Skinner, born Jan. 13, 2013. RuthAnne works part time as a nurse practitioner.

MEGHANN MORISSEY JARCHOW ’03 of Vermillion, S.D., is an assistant professor at the University of South Dakota. She coordinates and teaches for the sustainability program and also works in the biology department.

TIFFANY WINTER ’03 of Madison, Wis., has

TROY DEVOE ’02 of Winneconne, Wis., was inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. DeVoe is the all-time leading rusher in Ripon College football history. He also holds the school record for All-Purpose Yards and is tied for second in program history with 39 rushing touchdowns. DeVoe’s 252 career points ranks fourth on Ripon’s all-time scoring list, just 12 points shy of the all-time record.

KARIN KEDROWSKI ’03 of Stevens Point, Wis., recently was inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. Kedrowski was an All-Conference performer in both tennis and basketball. As a tennis player, she won the 2001 Midwest Conference number three doubles championship with partner Etta Hilligoss Schwirtz ’04. In basketball, she finished her career with a school record 154 3-pointers and ranks third in program history in both points (1,274) and steals (189).

JENNIFER FITZGERALD ’04 of Mount Prospect, Ill., has been promoted to assistant treasurer/ staff accountant III at National Louis University in Chicago.

JUSTIN CLEVELAND ’03 of Madison, Wis., is the deputy communications director for the office of Assembly Speaker Representative Robin Vos. VAL CROISSANT ’03 of Wonewoc, Wis., is the

director of Gio’s Garden, a nonprofit organization with a therapeutic respite center in Middleton that provides care and therapy for children ages 0 to 6 with special needs.

LIZ MATELSKI ’03 of Milwaukee, Wis., earned her Ph.D. in American history in 2011 from Loyola University in Chicago. She is a postdoctoral teaching fellow in the humanities at Loyola.

MICHAEL DAVID ’03 of Portage,

ASHLEY BILDSTEN ROFF ’03 and her husband, Erick, of Kirksville, Mo., have a daughter, Gwenyth Whitney Roff, born April 4, 2013.

Wis., has had three crossword puzzles accepted for publication by the New York Times. http:// goo.gl/csRK4

MITCH SMITH ’03 of Minneapolis, Minn., has accepted a promotion to senior principal solutions architect with Vital Images.

JARED GOERLITZ ’03 and MELISSA ORTH GOERLITZ ’04 of Woodbury, Minn., have a

been appointed as an assistant attorney general to the Criminal Appeals Unit of the Wisconsin Department of Justice. In her “dream job,” she represents the state in felony appeals.

NOAH LEIGH ’04 and DAPHNE MEYERS LEIGH ’05 of West Allis, Wis., have a daugh-

ter, Felicity Grace Leigh, born March 1, 2013. LINDSAY HUTCHISON LOEWE ’04 and her husband, David, of Oshkosh, Wis., have a son, Harrison Manvel Loewe, born Aug. 6, 2011. Loewe is a mental health and substance abuse counselor and the owner/co-director at SuaSponte Center LLC. HIROKI NAKAJIMA ’04 of Tokyo, Japan, is working for external admissions in Japan for Leysin American School in Switzerland (LAS). She has worked for LAS since January 2011. MISSY SKURZEWSKI ’04 of Sheboygan, Wis.,

completed her Ph.D. in leadership studies from Marian University in May 2013. She is an associate dean and assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Sheboygan.

BRIDGET WHITEHOUSE ’03 of Chicago, Ill., married Matthew Thomas, Dec. 8,

2012.

daughter, Delaney Grace Goerlitz, born Nov. 23, 2012. Jared became a shareholder at his law firm, Peterson, Frahm and Bergman, in January 2013. BRIE TERRELL HADFIELD ’03 of St. Louis, Mo.,

works in orthopedic trauma at Mercy Hospital. LUKE HAGEL ’03 and JENNIFER NEE HAGEL ’03 of West Bend, Wis, have a son, Casyn

Thomas Hagel, born March 8, 2013. TIMOTHY HANEY ’03 and SARA WICHLACZ HANEY ’04 of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, have

a son, Evan Timothy Haney, born June 23, 2013. NICK JOHNSON ’03 of Prescott,

Wis., recently was inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. Johnson ended his baseball career as runner-up for the NCAA Division-III National Player of the Year. A four-time All-Conference First Team selection, Johnson was named MWC Player of the Year three times and MWC Pitcher of the Year once, leading Ripon to two MWC Championships and three NCAA postseason appearances. He also was a two-time All-American and three-time All-Region selection.

PATRICK KERSTEIN ’07 was part of a research team that has identified a new pathway in spinal-nerve growth. The findings contribute to understanding of neurological disorders and were published in the Jan. 2, 2013, issue of Journal of Neuroscience. He also was awarded a National Institutes of Health Predoctoral Fellowship from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (December 2012). Kerstein is a neuroscience training program graduate student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

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Notes PAUL STINSON ’04 of Neenah, Wis.,

AMBER KIND-KEPPEL ’05 of

married Heather Lichtfuss, Aug. 20, 2011. They have a daughter, Aubryn Emilia Stinson, born Nov. 4, 2012. Paul is a training supervisor at Biolife Plasma Services in Menasha. MICHAEL TIMM ’04 of Cudahy, Wis., is the featured student for June 2013 on the website of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s graduate school. http://goo.gl/Cvy3I. Timm is studying for his master’s degree in freshwater sciences and will present a paper this summer for the Great Lakes Futures Project. In the fall, he will present research on how climate change is expected to increase the risks of rain-related disease in Wisconsin; and will lead a research expedition on the Neeskay, the school’s 72-foot research vessel. Timm also is a free-lance writer researching corporate history projects and is interning as the science communication specialist at the Center for Water Policy. ELLEN VOSSEKUIL ’04 and PAUL GALLAGHER ’06 were married Sept. 15, 2012. GWEN SEFRHANS ’05 officiated at the wedding. SARAH BREWSTER ’05 of Three Lakes,

Wis., married Scott Reilly, June 14, 2012. Sarah is a forester and forestry technician for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in the Northern Unit of the Kettle Moraine State Forest and other state lands in Sheboygan County. She also is an engineer captain in the Army Reserves. MICHELLE ERICKSON ’05 married

Anthony Cook, Aug. 4, 2012. They live in Lake Mills, Wis., and Michelle teaches kindergarten in Cambridge, Wis. She recently finished her master’s degree as a reading specialist from Cardinal Stritch University. CATHERINE “CADY” SINNWELL GERLACH ’05 of Syracuse, N.Y.,

won the 2013 New York State Bar Association’s President’s Pro Bono Service Award for Law Students. She recorded almost 600 hours of pro bono and community service hours with the Volunteer Lawyer Project of the Onondaga County Bar Association. She graduated in May with a master of public administration degree from the Maxwell School and a juris doctor degree from the College of Law at Syracuse University. She also is executive director of the Moot Court Honor Society, a member of the National Appellate Team and an associate editor of the Syracuse Journal of International Law and Commerce. JUANITA BAATZ GUTBROD ’05 and her husband, Shane, brought home their 9-yearold foster son in December. After seven years of teaching, she now is in charge of staff development and curriculum for St. Adalbert School.

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Glendale, Wis., recently received a Herb Kohl Educational Foundation Teacher Fellow award. She is an English teacher at Whitefish Bay High School and directs the fall one-act play and the winter musical.

KACIE LOUIS ’07 of Danbury, Conn., is a research chemist at Akzo Nobel. She received her doctorate in physical chemistry from the University of WisconsinMadison in 2012.

CJ O’REILLY ’07 of Green Bay, Wis., has ac-

CHRIS LISOWE ’05 and his wife, Amie, of

New Holstein, Wis., have a son, Karsten Amel Lisowe, born March 2, 2013. BRIAN MACAK ’06 of Wausau,

Wis., recently received an Outstanding Young Alumni award during Ripon College’s annual Alumni Association Dinner & Awards Presentation. He is a franchise co-owner of five Jimmy John’s restaurants with a sixth restaurant on its way. All stores under his leadership have grown by double-digit percentages annually. GEORGE “GUY” MCHENDRY JR. ’06 of Salt Lake City, Utah,

completed his Ph.D. in the department of communication at the University of Utah in the spring of 2013. His dissertation was titled “The Politics and Poetics of Airport (In) Security Rhetoric: Materialism, Affect and the Transportation Security Administration.” He has accepted an appointment as a tenuretrack assistant professor in the department of communication studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., beginning in August 2013. ELIZABETH MILLER ’06 of Brooklyn

Park, Minn., married Chris Bennett, Jan. 8, 2013. JASON NEVINS ’06 of Verona, Wis., has been

promoted to documentation specialist at Home Health United. His wife, ALLISON FINSETH ’07, is an editor at the National Council on Crime and Deliquency. http://goo.gl/NVu8F ERIC GALLAGHER ’06 of Waukesha, Wis.,

is the director of annual giving at Carroll University. He and his wife, KRISTA CAGE GALLAGHER ’06, have a daughter, Lyla Evelyn Gallagher, born Jan. 14, 2012. ROBERT FAULDS ’07 and STEPHANIE SOMMER FAULDS ’08 of Cottage Grove,

Wis., have a son, Michael John Faulds, born May 21, 2013. BENJAMIN KONECNY ’07 of

Greeley, Colo., was ordained in May 2012 by the United Church of Christ and called to be associate pastor at First Congregational Church in Greeley, Colo.

cepted a position as a program manager at the University of Colorado Foundation. The foundation is an independent, privately governed nonprofit with a mission to support the University of Colorado. AMY DORMAN ’08 of Wauwatosa, Wis.

graduated in May 2013 with a master of fine arts degree in performing arts management from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in Winston-Salem, N.C. She will be employed as the associate director of annual giving at Milwaukee Repertory Theater in Milwaukee, Wis. KAREN HANADEL ’08 of Edina, Minn., married Brian Edmonson, June 15, 2013. They both work as physical therapists and moved to Edina from Arizona just before the wedding. MINHWAN KIM ’08 of Kenosha, Wis., graduated

with a doctorate in physical therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2013. She graduated with SUSAN FRIKKEN ’90 of Madison, Wis. KRISTEN LEMKE ’08 of Ripon, Wis., received her license for professional counseling (LPC) in February. She now is an adult protective services social worker for Green Lake County. PATRICIA MAZUR ’08 of New Berlin, Wis., received a master’s degree in business administration from Marquette University in December 2012. She will join General Electric’s corporate audit staff in September. JOHN MCGUIRE ’08 and JORDAN LANDER MCGUIRE ’09 of Columbus, Ga., have returned

to being stationed at Fort Benning, Ga., after living for three months in Charlottesville, Va., while John completed JAG training. Jordan is the director of marketing and communications at Medix Staffing Solutions. DANA MOORE ’08 of Waupun, Wis., mar-

ried her high school sweetheart, Gerald Kibbel, Feb. 5, 2011. They have a son, Cooper James Kibbel, born June 7, 2012. STEPHANIE JUNGENBERG WILSON ’08

and her husband, Jacob, have a daughter, Josie Grace Wilson, born Sept. 11, 2012. PERFECTO DIAZ III ’09 of Chicago, Ill., married Jessica Hunt, Feb. 9, 2013. He is a post-closing supervisor/officer for The Federal Savings Bank.

BRIAN FELIX ’09 of Peoria, Ill., is a registered

nurse at OSF St. Francis Medical Center in Peoria and Cottage Hospital in Galesburg, Ill. JENNIFER HESEMANN ’09 of Rochester, Minn., graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2011 with a master’s degree in medical genetics. She works full time as a genetic counselor in biochemical genetics at Mayo Clinic and works part time as an adjunct faculty member for the department of biology at Rochester Community Technical College. JOSH LEGREVE ’09 of Franklin, Wis., has been awarded the Wisconsin Association for Language Teachers Frank M. Grittner New Teacher Award for the 2012-13 school year. He teaches Spanish at Lake Denoon Middle School in

Muskego, Wis. TARA LISKO ’09 of Tempe, Ariz., graduated May 30, 2013, with a doctor of osteopathic medicine degree from Midwestern University, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine. She will begin an internal medicine residency program in July at Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center in Corvallis, Ore. EMILY MEYER ’09 of Hays, Kan., is a hall direc-

tor at Fort Hays State University. DANIEL STURGILL ’09 of Wauwatosa, Wis.,

graduated May 17, 2013, with his medical doctor degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin. He has begun his residency specializing in gastroenterology. DUSTIN ZUELKE ’09 of New York, N.Y., is a

BETHANY MEHLBERG ’10 married Greg Grunewald, June 23, 2012. They live in Marion, Wis., and are expecting their first child in August. She teaches fifth grade at Wittenberg Elementary School. BETHANY PATTEN ’10 married Oliver Wright, Sept. 1, 2012. They live in Madison, Wis., and Bethany will graduate with a degree in occupational therapy in May 2013. TOMISSA PORATH ’10 of Madison, Wis., re-

cently was published at the Levo League website. http://goo.gl/UuitL. Her article is about Generation Y women and unemployment. ALICIA M. RHYNER ’10 of Ripon, Wis., received

DAN SCHICK ’10 of Nashotah, Wis., gradu-

ated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in December 2012 with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. He now is working for EMTEQ, an aerospace lighting company in New Berlin, Wis.

JAMIE TOBIASZ ’11 of Rhinelander, Wis., is a

licensed customer service representative at American Family Insurance. RACHEL VON ARX ’11 of Caledonia, Minn., does

book processing for E.F. Library Services.

SAM BURTON ’12 of Kimberly, Wis., is an opera-

W.W. Grainger of Lincolnshire, Ill.

tor at Foremost Farms.

ROBERT BRUCE ’11 of West Bend, Wis., is a

CAMERON COLLIER ’12 of Wauwatosa, Wis., works at Hawks Nursery Company Inc.

marketing and trade show assistant at Manitou Group Inc. JESSE DE ANGELIS ’11 of Madison, Wis., is a

supported employment specialist at the Community Support Network in Madison.

Wisconsin after teaching on a Navajo Indian reservation. She now is employed at High Marq Environmental Charter School in Montello, Wis. KIRSTEN GEREK ’10 of Mundelein, Ill., is a

JULIA HEINRICH ’11 of San Antonio, Texas, is a

is a development coordinator at St. Joan Antida High School in Milwaukee, Wis.

LESLIE SULLIVAN ’11 of Saint Louis, Mo., is a marketing and sales associate for Insphere Insurance Solutions.

MAX BELLMORE ’11 of Grayslake, Ill., works at

ALAN HANSON ’11 of Blue River, Wis., is a historic site coordinator for the Wisconsin Historical Society’s H.H. Bennett Studio in Wisconsin Dells. He is working on a master’s of arts degree in historical administration through Eastern Illinois University.

THERESA KEDINGER ’10 of Fond du Lac, Wis.,

and development assistant for Sidley Austin LLP, a law firm.

engineer with Nextpoint.

The 2010s

SARAH GUSTAFSON ’10 of Apple Valley, Minn., works at the Fallon advertising agency and is pursuing a master’s degree in counseling psychology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn.

SARA SISCO ’11 of Arlington, Va., is the training

ROWEN BERRY ’12 of Minneapolis, Minn., works in patient education for Chiropractic Health and Wellness.

ANDY AYERS ’11 of Madison, Wis., is a software

CHASE ELSBECKER ’11 of Sobieski, Wis., works for Innovative Services Inc. in a crisis home for people with mental illness.

bilingual marketing assistant at NTN Bearing Corp. of America.

drew the ears of two different species of bats for a paper that her adviser just published. http:// goo.gl/tmqms. Meierhofer is a graduate student in animal behavior in the Dr. (DeeAnn M.) Reeder Research Lab at Bucknell University. She is doing bat research in New York and Kentucky this summer, and will present a talk at a conference in Costa Rica in August.

200-hour certification to teach Kripalu yoga.

research assistant researching the development and repair of motor systems at City College of New York.

AMANDA BOLAN ’10 recently returned to

MISSY MEIERHOFER ’11 of Lewisburg, Pa.,

team leader for a national nonprofit organization called City Year at Mark Twain Middle School in San Antonio, Texas. CASSANDRA HIGGINS ’11 of Fond du Lac,

Wis., is a program assistant at The ARC of Fond du Lac. CHRISTOPHER KOCHANSKI ’11 of Monterey,

Calif., is interning with the Office of Emergency Management for the city of Milwaukee over the summer.

DRIN DILLON ’12 of Peyton, Colo., is an office

manager at Shady Brook Camp in Sedalia, Colo. AMANDA HERRMANN ’12 of Chicago, Ill., is working at several theaters in the Chicago area this summer, including American Blues Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and The Looking Glass Theater. She also is a props production assistant at Peninsula Players in Fish Creek, Wis. STEPHANIE JENISCH ’12 of Bloomingdale, Ill., is a special education instructional aide at Lake Park High School in Roseville, Ill. RUSSELL RUNGE ’12 of Hubertus, Wis., is a patient access representative with Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wis. AMY SONIER ’12 of Jackson, Wis., is a special education paraprofessional for grades 2 through 5 in the Omro School District. BRYANNE TUDOR ’12 of Beloit, Wis., is the director of children, youth and young adult ministries at The River of Life United Methodist Church. DEREK K. WALLACE ‘12 of Madison, Wis., is

a family outreach worker for the Dane County Parent Council.

S U MMER 2 0 1 3

In Memoriam For full obituaries, please visit ripon.edu/obitsS13 DOROTHY KRAMER ROWDON ’34 of Houston,

JAMES LAMB ’51 of Edgerton, Wis., died May

LYNN “TONY” SPENADER ’59 of Coquille, Ore.,

Texas, died June 2, 2013.

12, 2013.

died Jan. 19, 2012.

IRENE GROTA RASHID LAY ’37 of Ripon, Wis.,

DONALD PEMBERTON ’51 of Wichita, Kan.,

BONNIE MEYER BROOKS ’60 of Ripon, Wis.,

died June 12, 2013.

died Sept. 24, 2012.

died Feb. 18, 2013.

LOIS TAYLOR RADTKE ’37 of Port Saint Lucie,

FRANK H. BACKES ’52 of Edgewater, Fla., died

REESE GRIFFITHS ’62 of Brookfield, Wis., died

Fla., died Jan. 3, 2013.

March 23, 2013.

July 1, 2012.

HOWARD KRATZ ’38 of Hendersonville, N.C.,

JOHN P. COSTELLO ’52 of Sacramento, Calif.,

PEGGY ROGERS VAN ALYEA ’62 of Greenbrae,

died March 14, 2013.

died Feb. 27, 2013.

Calif., died June 20, 2013.

MARGARET DUNN BARRER ’42 of

KENNETH JOHNSON ’52 of Yakima, Wash., died

PETER POWERS ’64 of Newport, Ore., died

Hendersonville, N.C., died Feb. 3, 2013.

July 8, 2013.

March 28, 2013.

KATHLEEN “KAY” POTTS SEARL BIRKBY ’42

ROBERT STEFFES ’52 of Brookfield, Wis., died

WALLACE “WENDELL” WILLIAMS ’67 of

of Fond du Lac, Wis., died May 7, 2013.

March 27, 2013.

Nathrop, Colo., died May 6, 2013.

JANET MARY STECKER JOHNSON ’47 of

GLEN BUCHHOLZ ’53 of Murphy, N.C., died

RICHARD A. PAYNE ’68 of Henderson, Nev.,

Madison, Wis., died April 30, 2013.

Nov. 14, 2012.

died Feb. 4, 2013.

EDNA SCHNEIDER KNITT ’47 of Monona, Wis.,

THOMAS HAYTER ’53 of Minneapolis, Minn.,

died Feb. 23, 2013.

died Nov. 20, 2012.

RODNEY K. CHIOGIOJI ’69 of Bangkok, Thailand, died March 2, 2013. GEORGE WALTERS ’74 of Carmel, Calif., died

KENNETH WILLIAMS ’47 of Sun City West,

JOHN PEARSON ’53 of New Hope, Minn., died

Ariz., died Jan. 3, 2013.

April 4, 2013.

June 26, 2013.

GORDON JENSEN ’48 of Oconomowoc, Wis.,

ANDY PALM ’53 of Indianapolis, Ind., died June

DIANE STEELE MILLER ’77 of Beach Park, Ill.,

died April 14, 2013.

13, 2013.

died Feb. 8, 2013.

PHYLLIS FORTIER SINES ’49 of Hopewell, Va.,

KENT OLIN ’55 of Colorado Springs, Colo., died

DAN SUTTER ’01 of Omro, Wis., died May 21,

died March 21, 2011.

March 4, 2013.

2013.

KENNETH DEERWESTER ’50 of Deerfield, Wis.,

JOHN “JACK” PEOT ’55 of Cudahy, Wis., died

died March 3, 2013.

March 11, 2013.

WILLIAM F. HEJNA of Riverside, Ill., who served on the Ripon College Board of Trustees from 1982 to 1989, died May 4, 2013.

DONALD JOHNSTON ’50 of Robbinsdale, Minn.,

RICHARD “DICK” BARBER ’58 of Minnetonka,

died May 1, 2013.

Minn., died June 2, 2013.

JOHN JAMES ROUMAN ’50 of Appleton, Wis.,

CAROL LUENSMAN PEARSON ’59 of Houston,

died Feb. 16, 2013.

Texas, died April 25, 2013.

Alumni Weekend attracts hundreds of attendees Alumni Weekend, held June 27 through 30, was a huge success. More than 650 attendees represented 37 states from California to Maine, and class years from 1950 to 2016. There was a packed schedule of events and activities. On Friday, 132 golfers participated in the 5th Annual Red Hawks Golf Scramble, raising more than $17,000 for the Athletic Department; and President Zach Messitte presented his first lecture on campus, with lively discussion about U.S. foreign policy. At the Class Celebration on Saturday, trophies were presented to the Class of 1963 for highest on-campus reunion attendance; the Class of 1978 for highest reunion class gift participation at 59.9 percent (the Class of 1963 was right behind, with less than one percentage point difference); the Class of 1973 for both the largest reunion class gift (a whopping $444,604) and the most generous giving over the past five years. See more photos from the weekend at ripon.edu/alumniweeked2013.

RI P ON C o l l e g e

THOMAS “TED” E. JONES of Gainesville, Fla., professor of German emeritus, died April 21, 2013.

Alumni referrals support Ripon’s next generation Personal relationships developed at Ripon College often are cited as cherished and supportive factors as alumni move forward in their lives. Personal relationships between alumni and young people in their lives can promote the College’s advantages. Gordon Enk ’62 of Seattle, Wash., understands the significance of this. When he came to Ripon in 1958, he was the first of his family to go to college. A financial aid package made it possible for him to attend. He majored in biology and economics, and also was interested in trees, land and nature. But he did not know how to combine all of that. He did not understand what a doctorate degree was or what it could mean. He credits professors Jack Livingston (and his wife Nancy) in economics and Daniel Thompson in biology with helping to steer his course. Robert and Scottie Willey of the biology department arranged for him to receive a summer internship at the Woods Hole Oceanic Institute on Cape Cod in Massachusetts. “There is a theme here,” Enk says. “In my time at Ripon, it was not just the professors, who were outstanding, or the fellow students and fraternities, or the dining hall experiences. It was all about the personal relationships.” After three years in the Army in Italy, he earned a master’s degree

from Yale in forestry economics, and a Ph.D. in natural resource economics and strategic planning. “I feel my Ph.D. is more a tribute to Ripon than it is to me,” he says. Enk’s devotion to Ripon encouraged other members of his family to attend. His son, Terry, graduated in 1985, and his niece, Erika Enk Rueter, graduated in 2000. In 1990, Enk and his wife, Elise Werner Enk ’62, moved to the Pacific Northwest, eventually settling in Seattle. They shopped daily at Pike Place Market and got to know several of the young employees. One, Garrett Fonteyne, caught his eye. “He was different,” Enk says. “Garrett is quiet, he’s reserved, and you can trust him. He was going to a local community college and taking a course similar to environmental anthropology. His eyes would light up when he talked about it. I realized this was a young person to whom learning meant a lot. He was interested in his own intellectual development. He is highly motivated.” Fonteyne applied to Ripon and was accepted in 2011. “The referral process absolutely played a role in my decision to come to Ripon,” Fonteyne says. “(Enk) helped me to see that there were many other aspects to an undergraduate education

Gordon Enk ’62, left, met Garrett Fonteyne ’13, above right, at Pike Place Market in Seattle and encouraged him to consider Ripon College.

important for growing which Ripon could fulfill — particularly, acquiring the ability to ‘learn how to learn’ through maintaining a balanced, wide-ranging course load.” Fonteyne recently spent four months in Tanzania with Anthropology Professor Molly Margaretten, researching the initiation ceremony of the Masai people. He plans to study anthropology in graduate school and become a professor, to “have the same kind of impact on others that my teachers have had on me.” Enk continues spreading the word about Ripon College, and he is proud of Fonteyne’s success. “He will make unique contributions to the field of environmental anthropology or whatever he decides to pursue,” Enk says. “He’s cut from a different bolt of cloth, and Ripon is now part of that tapestry.” If you’d like to help the admission office recruit new students, visit ripon.edu/admissionvolunteer, call 800-947-4766 or email adminfo@ripon.edu. W INTER 2 0 1 3 S USW MMER 2 0 21 03 1 3 UINTER MMER

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1854

Republican Party On March 20, 1854, a group of Ripon residents met at the Little White Schoolhouse to organize a new political party â&#x20AC;&#x201C; the Republican Party. Members pledged to fight the spread of slavery. The one-room building was designated a National Historic Site in 1974. The modern Ripon Society, a Republican think tank, takes its name from Ripon. See the related story on Page 3