MAGA ZINE Summer 2015
CL ASS OF 2 0 1 5 :
Ready to change the world
Student research inspires lifetime of discovery
Class of 1965’s half-century of memories
Rising junior runs circles around track and field records S U M M E R 2015
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Summer 2015 VOLUME 48, ISSUE No. 2
RIPON COLLEGE SOCIAL NETWORKS facebook.com/ripon.college flickr.com/photos/ripon_college instagram.com/riponcollege linkedin.com/company/ripon-college twitter.com/riponcollege riponcollegeadmission.tumblr.com youtube.com/riponcollegevideo
RIPON COLLEGE ONLINE: ripon.edu
Ripon Magazine (ISSN 1058-1855) is published twice annually by Ripon College, 300 Seward St.,
Ripon College prepares students
Ripon, WI 54971-0248. Postage paid at Ripon, Wisconsin. Copyright © 2015 Ripon College
of diverse interests for lives of
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Ripon Magazine, PO Box 248, Ripon, WI 54971-0248
productive, socially responsible
Editor: Jaye Alderson, email: AldersonJ@ripon.edu, phone: 920-748-8364 Editorial Assistants: Melissa Anderson, Ric Damm and Mike Westemeier Student Assistants: Gabrielle Chin ’15 and Megan Sohr ’18 Design: Ali Klunick Photography: Ric Damm and Jim Koepnick 2
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citizenship. Our liberal arts and sciences curriculum and residential campus create an intimate learning community in which students experience a richly personalized education.
INSIDE
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Commencement
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Student researchers share discoveries with the world
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Ripon alumni carry research forward into their lives
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With high spirits and a charge to become leaders in the world, Ripon’s newest graduates received their diplomas May 17.
A special component of a Ripon College education is advanced student research — whether it is done independently, in collaboration with faculty members or as part of unique internships. Here, several share their stories.
Research done as students at Ripon College carries benefits far beyond the college years. Read about these alumni who still are expanding their knowledge and discovery.
Golden Memories Greekers and fires and grease poles, oh my! The Class of 1965 share their favorite memories of their time on campus, still vivid after 50 years.
DEPARTMENTS: 22 24 28 36
Sports Campus Notes Class Notes In Memoriam
PHOTO: Kaitlyn Welzen ’15, ’ Bailey Church, 5, and Dawson Church, 3, share a moment at the dedication ceremony for Ripon College’s new sustainable hoop house, which provides freshly grown herbs and greens for campus meals. Bailey and Dawson are the children of Alison Otto ’08, catering director, and Tyler Otto ’07. Welzen, an environmental studies and Spanish major, graduated magna cum laude and was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honor society. She served as the sustainability intern for Sodexo, led the hoop house effort, and earned the national Sustainability Best Practices Award for Sodexo student interns from across the country. Photo by Ric Damm. ON THE COVER: Giselle Kauffeld ’15, a sociology major and psychology minor from Ripon, Wisconsin, smiles on as she accepts her diploma.
Office of Constituent Engagement and Career Services: 920-748-8126
S U M M E R 2015
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PRESIDENT
My Favorite Day of the Year On the darkest and coldest days of February, when I am in my office struggling with a problem that doesn’t have a good solution, I dream about commencement. It is a spring day (hopefully, with no rain, not a cloud in the sky and 70 degree temperatures) where it all comes together. Students are honored for completing their degrees; our faculty and staff take pride in the growth of the newly-minted grads; and parents, grandparents and relatives beam with the satisfaction that their offspring are poised to make the world a better place.
Dr. Howard has had a remarkable career: U.S. Air Force graduate, starting running back on the football team that beat Ohio State in the Liberty Bowl, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, Harvard M.B.A., Lt. Colonel and Bronze Star recipient for service in Afghanistan, beautiful family, amazing speaker and one of the youngest college presidents in the country. Mr. Krummel, a fourtime recipient of the Marathon County High School Distinguished Educator Award was lauded as a teacher that “understands that the student is more than a grade in his book.”
Ripon does graduation right. The day begins with a brunch for graduates and their families in the Pickard Commons where we discuss a big topic with our honorary degree recipients. This year, over bacon and eggs, Professor Jody Roy and I discussed the critical importance of a liberal arts education to civic and military leadership. We were joined by our commencement speaker, Dr. Christopher Howard, the president of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and our distinguished educator, Mr. Kane Krummel, a biology teacher from Stratford, Wisconsin, who was nominated by his former student, Kamelle Van Der Leest ’15, a member of this year’s graduating class.
With threatening skies and the radar calling for thunderstorms, graduation moved indoors to Storzer and the heavens opened up just as we began calling the first names of our graduates. But (and forgive me for the hokey weather analogy), nothing could dampen the joy, the pride, the accomplishments of our graduates.
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For me, each class brings memories: getting an ice cream cone in Rome with Maddie Poulette ’15; the impact Kaitlyn Welzen ’15 made on campus sustainability; the way Kyle Lougherin ’15 played basketball with passion and heart; and the great conversations I had with Abi Quakenboss ’15 about politics. I know my colleagues also
have a special place for the Class of 2015 because it is not just talk – many Ripon alumni really do stay in touch with their professors and staff mentors for the rest of their lives. In the end, I asked our new graduates to try to remember why they came to Ripon College in the first place. Was it, as you will read in this edition of the magazine, to do primary and original research with a special professor who helped unlock a new career path or discovered in you a passion for lifelong learning? Or maybe it was to play a competitive varsity sport and break records the way Nicole Zeman ’17, also featured in the magazine, is doing in track and field? It could have been forensics, or the jazz ensemble or a fraternity or a sorority or all of these things, but “far within Wisconsin’s prairies” we are all proud of the Class of 2015 and as new alumni they are now part of a 164-year tradition that will last forever.
Zach P. Messitte, President
Record-breaking Imagine Tomorrow paves a path forward Imagine Tomorrow, Ripon College’s five-year, endowmentbuilding campaign, officially ended June 30, with the total approaching $70 million. Final figures will be announced after the annual meeting of the Ripon College Board of Trustees in October. This record-breaking campaign has secured gifts, pledges and deferred commitments to help fund more than 30 new scholarships, endow four faculty chairs and professorships, and more than a dozen restricted funds to support faculty/ student research and faculty development, new initiatives like the Career Discovery Tour and the Center for Politics and the People, and capital projects like updates to S.N. Pickard Commons and Lane Library. Donations have grown our endowment from $55 million
to a record high $85 million. During the same period, our planned giving pipeline has increased from $22 million to $55 million. The recently launched bridge campaign to renovate and expand the J.M. Storzer Center into a comprehensive athletics, health and wellness facility is off to a strong start with early lead pledges of more than $4.5 million. We are so proud of all that we accomplished together. Such generous support by alumni and friends demonstrates why Ripon College is such a special place to so many people. Your continued support reinforces the strength of our mission and propels us on a path forward. For more information, go to ripon.edu/imagine-tomorrow
Historic Ripon photos on digital archives Coaches Gordie Gillespie, Chris Graham ’93, Bob Gillespie and Jack Frank, and players, watch a game at the 1997 Midwest Conference tournament. Although Ripon was the number one seed for the tournament that year, St. Norbert won the conference. Earlier this year, the Ripon Red Hawks won the conference for the 21st time and celebrated the life of Gordie Gillespie, who passed away in February. This image and all other baseball photographs from the Ripon College archives have been digitized and put online as part of a digital library of the archives’ collections (http://goo.gl/XbH0qS). Other collections include Softball, Ripon College Dance Company and Ver Adest (http:// riponcollegearchives.omeka.net/). Most of the photos from the Class of 1965 golden memories feature on Pages 18-21 were selected from the archives. Help identify people and events by leaving a comment with names and other pertinent information in the comment area of the record for each image. S U M M E R 2015
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Commencement•2015
Class of 2015 moves forward as leaders into the world
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COMMENCEMENT SPEAKERS
Keynote Speaker Honorary Degree Recipient DR. CHRISTOPHER HOWARD
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Distinguished Educator Honorary Degree Recipient KANE KRUMMEL
t the 149th Ripon College Commencement, Dr. Christopher Howard defended the importance of a liberal arts and sciences education on leadership, the theme of this year’s Commencement.
“How are you going to pivot?” he asked. “We should call the liberal arts the pivotal arts. We provide a foundation that allows people to do all sorts of things. We do have to answer the call of more training and certification.”
Howard, president of HampdenSydney College and a Rhodes Scholar who graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy and later earned a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan, received an honorary doctorate degree.
He addressed the 174 graduates in attendance with charges of three “Be’s”: be yourselves, be accountable and be courageous. “All you can do is your best. 110 percent doesn’t exist. 100 percent does. Did you try your best? Did you work smart and hard?”
He spoke first at a senior brunch and forum and later gave the Commencement address. “Train for what you know; educate for what you don’t know,” he quoted military wisdom. He said statistics show that many jobs for which people are receiving more specialized training today won’t exist anymore in 20 years.
The Senior Class Speaker was Nicole Malli ’15, of Urbandale, Iowa. This fall, she will pursue a master’s degree in anthropology with an emphasis in international development at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
Senior Class Speaker NICOLE MALLI ’15
She said Ripon College has transformed her and her fellow graduates and brought out their strengths, weaknesses, passions and interests. “The most important quality is critical-thinking skills and discussion of issues,” she said. “What is clear is Ripon has given us a voice. (Our voices) may not be heard by thousands but they still matter. We never know who they will inspire or how our words will impact others.” Kane Krummel, a biology teacher at Stratford Junior-Senior High School in Stratford, Wisconsin, received the College’s 2015 Distinguished Educator Award. Eighty-five percent of the senior class contributed to the senior class gift to the Annual Fund that, with a match, came to a total of $2,760.45
“All you can do is your best. 110 percent doesn’t exist. 100 percent does. Did you try your best? Did you work smart and hard?” DR. CHRISTOPHER HOWARD
Sydney Church ’15
Clarence Sanon ’15 S U M M E R 2015
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Commencement•2015
Bring it in: Celebrating with hugs
Commencement is an emotional time. There are always lots of hugs to go around between fellow graduates, family and faculty on hand to celebrate the occasion. Along with the hugs came a lot of words of wisdom for the new graduates to carry with them. For more Commencement photos, visit our Facebook page at goo.gl/zywVIJ. 6
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Live the liberal arts and sciences for the greater good.
DR. CHRISTOPHER HOWARD Kathryn Sowinski ’15
Never stop getting involved. Be willing to take chances, make new connections. Distinguished Educator
Donna Lohse ’15 Chelsea Moldenhauer ’15
Kane Krummel Use what we have learned here to better ourselves and the world around us. We are the voice of the future, and change is in our hands. Senior Class Speaker Nicole Malli
Sam Kay ’15
We expect you to make a
Samantha Lyn Klein ’15
difference. We expect you
Small-scale impacts can make an enormous difference.
to continue to learn and be curious. And we expect you to care about your community, your state, your country and the world.
INTERIM DEAN OF FACULTY JODY ROY
Shane Sommers ’15
President Zach Messitte S U M M E R 2015
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Professor/student research collaboration leads to provisional patent application
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esearch experiences have become an ever-increasing part of undergraduate education, especially at places like Ripon. From the perspective of a faculty member, undergraduate research encourages us to stay current with our discipline while concurrently challenging us to strive for excellence as we present and publish for our respective broader communities. As a student, no other college experience more directly prepared me for a career in the chemical sciences. As an institution, undergraduate research will continue to expand the capacity for state-of-the-art scholarship at Ripon College, while propelling our notoriety within the liberal arts community. Several students and I have been using modern techniques 8
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in organic chemistry to discover new reactions with important implications for the pharmaceutical industry. During these studies, we have discovered a new chemical process for producing alpha-branched benzylic amines, a family of chemicals that is otherwise expensive and difficult to prepare. These chemicals are building blocks for the production of many pharmaceuticals. Application of the invented methods could reduce current manufacturing costs and lead to the production of new drugs that treat a range of ailments. The novelty and proprietary potential of these findings motivated us to file a provisional patent application this past January. This process was discovered by accident last spring during
Assistant Professor of Chemistry Patrick Willoughby, left, is joined by students Emily Cliff ’15, Robert Enright ’17 and Jeffrey Grinde ’17 in the lab.
our early experiments. It actually took some time to determine exactly what happened, but we were very excited when the outcome was finally determined. This happens fairly often in organic chemistry research because even a small-scale reaction involves billions of molecules. The probability of unexpected molecular events is much less random than one might expect. If unusual starting materials are chosen, the outcome is, itself, very likely to be unusual. For our studies, we used a starting material that was prepared in one step and has not been extensively studied in the past 40 years. With a large supply of starting material in hand, we were in a position to expose the compound to a variety of reaction conditions. Conditions ranging from the cutting edge to more traditional or textbook were screened.
In this case, conditions thought to promote an aldol reaction, one of the oldest and most well-studied reactions, led to the discovery. It has been an exciting roller coaster ride ever since. Efforts continued throughout the academic year, and five students are studying the process this summer. Student researchers on this project are: Knop Scholar Robert Enright ’17 of Stevens Point, Wisconsin; Knop Scholar Lucas Henningsen ’15 of Rice Lake, Wisconsin; Lincoln Wurtz ’17 of Ripon, Wisconsin; Emily Cliff ’17 of Mukwonogo, Wisconsin; and Jeffrey Grinde ’17 of Ripon, Wisconsin. Patrick Willoughby Assistant Professor of Chemistry S U M M E R 2015
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STUDENT RESEARCH AT RIPON
Katie Warczak ’16 pictured with the subjects of her research.
TWO VERSIONS OF SHORT STORY REFLECT THEIR TIMES English and history major Katie Warczak ’16 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, first read “Smoke, Lilies and Jade” for an English class at Ripon College. The controversial short story by Harlem Renaissance writer Richard Bruce Nugent was published in the magazine Fire!! in 1926. When she read the story again — in an anthology published in 2010 — something seemed off. The modernist, stream-of-consciousness story deals with bisexuality and interracial relations. In the original version, the main character was first with a man 10
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and ended with a woman. Warczak recalled the line, “One can love two at the same time.” In the anthology version, the final page-and-a-half was omitted, leaving the lead character with the man. “I explored the influence of the time period on the story,” Warczak says. “The 1926 ending was more reflective of the times in which the piece was published. In the 1920s, anything not strictly heterosexual was controversial to write about. “Since that time, a lot of scholars have interpreted ‘Smoke, Lilies and Jade’ as a homosexual text. So my theory was that in 2010, homosexuality was more accepted as a lifestyle. The authors cut out that last section in order to keep with the times yet stay true to what they perceived to be Nugent’s intentions.” Warczak presented a paper in March at a conference held by Sigma Tau
Delta, the English national honor society for college students. Previously, she spent a semester doing research at the Newberry Library in Chicago. This summer, she will do independent research through a research program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Warczak plans to be an English professor. “I want to help students understand literature and why it is significant, and serve as a mentor in helping them pursue their own research interests.”
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Nicholas Luedtke ’16 in the lab.
RIPON CHEMISTRY MAJOR TAKES RESEARCH TO THE WORLD STAGE Last summer, Nicholas Luedtke ’16, a chemistry major from Appleton, Wisconsin, was accepted into a two-year research program through Princeton University focused on the upcoming field of molecular biophysics. He worked with post-doctoral and graduate students in the chemical and biological engineering department. “They gave me the opportunity to know first-hand what it’s like to be a graduate student,” Luedtke says. “It let
me explore whether I wanted to focus on research or take a different route. I really enjoyed the research experience. “One of the biggest things I got out of the experience was the appreciation for biology and how closely chemistry and biology work together and interact in the science field. It showed me a different aspect of the science field.” Luedtke is with the same group of research students this summer at the Institute of Nanobiology and Structural Biology (http://goo. gl/2SVXah) in the Czech Republic. He also will attend a science conference in Budapest, Hungary.
“This opportunity has opened the door for me to get my name out there and build up my experience as a student. It did wonders for my confidence as a student. I can pretty much attempt anything that I desire.” He enjoys research because it puts him on the front lines with questions yet to be answered. “The best response you can give is that, ‘We’re not sure, that hasn’t been explored yet,” he says. “If you’re doing an experiment, you honestly have no idea what it’s going to give you.”
The experience has been lifechanging. “I originally had thought about going into chemical engineering, but this experience has pulled me into the chemical and biological engineering field and especially research,” Luedtke says. S U M M E R 2015
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STUDENT RESEARCH AT RIPON
Logan Soich ’15 chats with Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences Chester Ismay.
THE PROBABILITY IS, THIS COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH YIELDED A GREAT NEW APP Probability has gotten a little easier to understand with joint research by Logan Soich ’15 of Franklin, Wisconsin, an economics and mathematics major, and Assistant Professor of Mathematical Sciences Chester Ismay. Ismay and Soich worked together to make short videos explaining concepts of probability, created an interactive applet to help students visualize different probability distributions, 12
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and designed a barebones probability textbook and solution manual. In January, Soich gave a presentation about the research at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. Soich took Ismay’s Math 331 course in the fall of 2013 and passed the first actuarial exam. He since has gone on to pass two more exams. During the spring semester of the same year, Soich took Ismay’s programming course. Ismay had been looking into creating an applet in Rstudio, an app-designing program which writes in “R,” the common programming language used among statisticians. The “shiny package” makes it easy to code apps, Soich says. He had developed a passion for programming, so when he approached Ismay about the subject, they mutually decided to create an applet together.
“We applied for and obtained a summer research grant through the dean of faculty to develop the applet and curriculum for my fall 2014 Probability course,” Ismay says. The applet was created to view different probability distributions and to calculate variances, probabilities and means. It is designed to help students visualize how different properties of probability work, he adds. The applet is now in use by faculty of Ripon College, Indiana University, the University of Central Florida and Northern Arizona University. In addition, professors at five other schools have shown interest in using the app. Soich and Ismay’s probability applet is available for free at: http://ismay. shinyapps.io/ProbApp
MEGAN SOHR ’15 OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN
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Laura Shively ’15 presents her research
CAPTAIN AMERICA GIVES SENIOR SCHOLARLY FOCUS With a double major in art history and history, Laura Shively ’15 of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, was required to present at not just one, but two senior seminars. She focused her research on how media, such as art, has influenced people throughout history. Her art history project focuses on the comic book hero Captain America. “His name is Captain America. There’s no other superhero named like that,” Shively says. “He’s a patriotic figure.” Captain America, popular in the 1940s and 1960s, as well as enjoying
a resurgence today, is meant to be a relatable figure behind whom Americans can rally. “He starts out as some Joe Schmoe and rises to greatness,” Shively says. “That’s basically the American Dream.” Shively adds that with the hero’s powerset, “He doesn’t fly or shoot webs out of his hands. He’s everything a normal human is, but just more. He’s just a little faster, a little stronger — he’s something people can aspire to become.” The character of Captain America was born during World War II and surged in popularity again during the Cold War. He has also become popular again recently, playing a vital role in movies such as The Avengers. “Sometimes people didn’t take me seriously when I told them my seminar would be on a comic book character,” Shively says. “But I was shocked at
how much scholarly material there is on Captain America.” Shively’s second seminar, done for her history major, focused on propaganda posters during World War II. She studied how these posters created a dialogue between the government and citizens. They glorified “war heros” and demonized enemies. They were meant to rally people and inspire them to join the cause. “Working on two seminars was a little overwhelming, of course,” Shively says. “My work overlapped a lot at the beginning, but then I had to start separating information for each project. It was a lot of work, and I’ve spent a lot of time at the library and organizing my information. But working on something like this has been really interesting.”
MEGAN SOHR ’18 OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN S U M M E R 2015
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Student research, activities yield results all year obert Enright ’17, Akash Sen ’16, Katie Vander Galien ’15 and Jadee Kellogg ’16, all members of the Society of Physics Students, prep bottle rockets for launching in October 2014. View takeoff at https://goo.gl/Q0cHyA
assie Olson ’15, a biology major, discusses her poster “The effect of phenylpropanolamine on the development of the lateral line system, heart rate and morphology of Danio rario larvae” in Great Hall during Senior Showcase in April. iology and German major Samantha Petroski ’15 discusses “More than Entertainment: Why and to what extent were the films of the Nazi era censored by the Nazis and by the Allies?” at Senior Showcase in April.
randon Dzuba ’15, a physics major, explains his poster “Analysis of Instrument Families through Timbre” in Great Hall during Senior Showcase in April. 14
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nglish major Kristy Oglesby presents “PBL (Project/ Problem-Based Learning) in the Classroom at Senior Showcase in April. hemistry-biology major Raymond Allen ’15 takes tissue samples of registered sturgeon on Lake Winnebago in February.
leanor Davis ’15, an English major, presents “Briefly Speaking: A Life in Three Poems” at Senior Showcase in April.
ssistant Professor of Chemistry Patrick Willoughby, left, Robert Enright ’17 and Lincoln Wurtz ’17 discuss an experiment.
iology major Leighanne Lacy ’15 was a domestic violence intern at St. Agnes Hospital in Fond du Lac. S U M M E R 2015
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ALUMNIResearch
McNair Scholars Program, Ripon research inspires alumna’s interest in vaccine development
When Amber Rico ’11 first came to Ripon College, she was thinking about a career as a veterinarian. But doing undergraduate research “completely changed my direction,” she says. “I found I liked research much better.” Rico now is a doctoral candidate in the Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology program in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University, Fort Collins. Rico is from New Mexico. As a firstgeneration student of Hispanic heritage, she became involved in the McNair Scholars Program, a federally funded United States Department of Education TRIO program. 16
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For one summer, she received a grant from the National Institutes of Health to do undergraduate research at Texas A&M University. She conducted research correlating fruit fly food proteins and carbohydrates to human health conditions. Back at Ripon College, Rico worked with Associate Professor of Biology Mark Kainz to clone a protein from the tomato spotted wilt virus and look at interactions between proteins. Their work was presented at a regional meeting of the American Society of Microbiology. This undergraduate work was invaluable for Rico when applying to graduate schools. “Colorado State
University is a big research institution, and being able to put lab experience on my application allowed me to go further in the application process. Because I had worked in a lab, I was familiar with a lot of the techniques and it was easier for me to start work on a project and not need any assistance.” She is working on vaccine development and antiviral development and would like to continue that work in her career. “I like being able to ask questions and develop the means to answer them,” she says.
Communication graduate, now professor seeking to tackle airport security issues
Research done at Ripon paved the way to a career for Guy McHendry ’06 of Omaha, Nebraska. McHendry, who majored in communication and minored in history, conducted research as an undergraduate in collaboration with Associate Professor of Communication Steve Martin ’96. “It helped me learn more about research in communication and rhetoric, understand how a project goes from start to finish and how to cultivate and develop a research project,” McHendry says. “It wasn’t just writing a paper.” The opportunity to do research at the undergraduate level in close proximity to faculty is significant, McHendry
says. “If students want to go on to graduate or professional school, they need to demonstrate an interest in and enthusiasm for research. “And whether it’s for graduate work or in employment, research experience gives you the ability to think about a project, find resources for it and complete it. It allows you to think independently and creatively.” McHendry received a master’s degree from Colorado State University and a Ph.D. in communication from the University of Utah, and now is a tenure track assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska.
His dissertation and continuing research are on airport security. “Airport security is the news a lot, so that tells us there are a lot of issues that need to be worked out,” he says. “I hope the research I do will provide a way of looking at flaws and problems related to airport security.” He says part of his current job includes designing, carrying out and publishing his own research. “Working with Steve at Ripon showed me that I could do research, helped me learn to enjoy it and gave me confidence that this was something I wanted to do as a career.”
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CLASS OF 1965 FOR ITS GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY It has been 50 years since the Class of 1965 left the Ripon College campus to step into their futures. But for these classmates, it seems like only yesterday.
“My habit last semester was to work on my senior project late and then go to the Liberty Tavern (also known as Big Al’s or Greekers) for a snack and some refreshments. They had great French fries, hamburgers and hot dogs all at $0.35. “There were some practical jokers in our class. In South Hall, with the assistance of Mrs. Linley, a burned-out light bulb was regularly substituted for a good one in Clint Carlberg’s ’65 desk lamp. Clint finally caught on when a bulb filled with the contents of a flash bulb (remember them?) was carefully inserted into his bulb by some un-named physics majors.” Jim Sebben ’65 Littleton, Colorado
Students hanging out next to former South Hall.
“My most vivid memories are centered either on the Tri-Dorms or on East Hall, then the home for the music department, where it seemed I was either singing or playing an instrument almost every day of the week. The Indigos (with Al Jarreau), who I believe performed in one of our very first gatherings as freshmen. ‘The Fantasticks’ in the Red Barn with Harrison Ford ’64 as El Gallo. ‘Carmina Burana’ in the church converted to the theatre after the fire, with extra sharp memories of the swan, John Uhrig ’66, being roasted on the spit! ‘The Most Happy Fella’ with Ed Willson ’66 and Elaine Walters Baker playing the romantic leads. Spring Sings and hearing the Sigma Chis serenading newly-pinned freshmen. College Bowl and welcoming home the team. Basketball games watching Al Jarreau ’62 and John Ankerson ’64 at work.”
Harrison Ford ’64
Al Jarreau ’62
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Ruth Carwithen Satterthwaite ’65 Palo Alto, California
“One of my most vivid memories is a Saturday night when I was a sophomore. Craig Ferris ’65 The Sigma Nu house had decided to hold a toga party in its lounge. Mattresses were dragged down from the second and third floors and someone whipped up a grain-alcohol-based punch. (Remember alcohol was forbidden in the houses and dorms.) Many of the members and their dates were wrapped up in sheets that had been stripped off the beds. Music blared, the punch flowed and the lights were extinguished one by one. “About 10 p.m., the lounge doors flew open and light shot across the room revealing the toga-clad couples plus Harrison Ford who was attired only in an open-backed hospital gown. ‘Close those doors,’ someone shouted. There stood Dean of Men David Harris, puffing on his everpresent pipe after he apparently was summoned by the Center Hall dorm mother, Mrs. Lord, who no doubt was afraid to try to break up the party. Dean Harris then announced, ‘I’m looking for your social chairman, Bill Haljun ’64 (now of Winnetka, Illinois).’ Someone replied, ‘He’s up in his room.’ Presumably, he was up there with a date, but women were not supposed to be upstairs.
“All of us must have taken the infamous Saturday 8 a.m. class at one point in our tenure. The one I remember the most was taught by Dr. Jack Powers (chemistry). Apparently, I fell asleep in class and Dr. Powers said in a loud voice, ‘Mr. Fleck, you’ll have a much better chance of passing this course if you stay awake.’ In a physics class, John L. fell asleep and was snoring. The professor, who was very nearsighted, heard this strange noise but could not see its cause. We finally poked John and woke him up with a start. “As a freshman living in the dorms, my parents had given me a popcorn maker. I soon learned that I could use this to heat soup and make all kinds of food if I didn’t want to eat at the cafeteria. The window ledge on the third floor offered a precarious perch to store soft drinks during the colder weather. I know that in the spring that there was glass on the ground from those who had not secured their drinks.
Ruth Potts Fleck ’66 and Bob Fleck ’65
“Even though I grew up in Chicago, it seemed as if the snowfalls in Ripon were somehow prettier. Perhaps due to the lack of traffic, the snow remained more pristine. My girlfriend (Ruth Potts Fleck ’66) lived in town. When I walked back to campus from her house at night during a snowfall, I walked down the middle of the streets because the walks had not been shoveled. The snowflakes glistened from the streetlights in a way I had never seen in Chicago. Of course, being in love could have influenced my perceptions.” Bob Fleck ’65 Columbus, Georgia
“Dean Harris didn’t miss a beat. He made a harrumphing sound and announced, ‘Please tell Mr. Haljun to see me in my office on Monday morning.’ And out the door he went — virtually ending the party.”
“I remember coming back from spring break after a tornado had hit part of the campus. A big tree on the corner across from Farr Hall was broken off about 15 feet up, and someone put a sign at the top of what was left that said, ‘Beware of large beavers.’ ”
Craig Ferris ’65 Chevy Chase, Maryland
Win Ryder ’65 Fennville, Michigan
Farr Hall of Science in the early days.
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“One winter, it was so cold it hit 17 below and did not warm up for a week. Walking from the Quads to class or downtown at night, going up the hill toward Scott Hall, it actually hurt to breathe. Then there was sitting in Dr. Livingston’s economics classes (he always wore a bow tie) as he talked about the Federal Reserve Bank and how bonds were a better investment than stocks. There was also the fact that he would talk to you after class or in his office about any economics concept or money and banking concept you wanted clarified. There was Dean Harris who would pull out his pipe when you were in his office to discuss fraternity business, and ask you what you thought, before expressing his own opinion. Professor Emeritus Doug Northrop.
The grease pole.
“I thought freshmen hazing engaged us in a much different way than our studies and facilitated our getting to know each other. The picture in the yearbook of Gary Mevis ’64, Larry Tice ’65 and myself covered with crankcase oil and grease from the greased pole fight between the frosh and sophomores leaves me with good memories. “I remember the wonderful writing class with Doug Northrop. It was a challenge for me initially to write imaginative stories, but Northrop created a setting for experimenting and learning. He was my favorite prof even though I started out with a math and chemistry focus.
“Socially, there was the pledge football game between DU and Merriman played at Merriman at 2 a.m. in the snow. There were the basketball games and concerts in Memorial Gym which had cardboard boxes hanging from the ceiling because a science class years before had determined it would provide better acoustics. There was graduation, held in Memorial Gym because it was raining, and seeing our classmate Jim Dienhart ’65, a very nice boy from Oconomowoc who was dying from cancer, giving his big smile and there to get his degree.” John Newhard ’65 Suffolk, Virginia
“Shari (Tremberth Hyde) ’65 and I played many enjoyable hours of bridge sitting on the basement floor of the Tri Dorms freshmen year with our close friends Karl Beres ’65 and Diane Bolton Beres ’65. That’s when Karl called Shari and I incorrigible! “Freshman year, I pulled a prank on my Sig big brother, not having the forethought that there could be repercussions. The next thing I heard from my new frat brothers was that my bed had been reassembled in the Alpha Xi Delta chapter room in Johnson Hall. John Hyde ’65 Conover, Wisconsin
Merriman House in winter.
“Within a few days of arriving at Ripon, I had my first faceto-face encounter with Dean David Harris. Upon approaching me, he addressed me by name and asked me a specific question about my hometown. I couldn’t believe that he knew my name and where I was from. It was at that moment that I knew Ripon cared about me — and all of us. It made me feel special that he took the time to get to know each of us.” The late Dean David Harris, right, chats with students.
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Chad Nelson ’65 Plymouth, Minnesota
“I’m sure we all remember when the Red Barn burned down. Most of us sat around to watch. After a while, long before the fire was out, I decided to return to the dorm. The phone in the hall was ringing. I think it was for Al Jarreau ’62 — he got a lot of calls. I’m pretty sure it was a woman on the line asking for ... someone. I explained that there were few people in the dorm. Everyone was outside watching the college theatre burn down. After a pause, she said, ‘Do you know when it will be over?’”
The late Lucille “The Hawk” Hawkinson, left, and her staff.
Tom Hamilton ’65 Washington, D.C.
The Mill Pond in Ripon.
An image captured from the College Theatre fire.
“Dr. William Martz, who really did inadvertently steer me toward a teaching career, friends, with whom I still am in touch — roommate Dorothy Liska Hunter, Tom Hamilton, Roger Mills ’64 – and happy memories of many others. “Small academic victories — such as earning an extra credit 10 The late ProfessorWilliam Martz. points on a French lit exam for being able to come up with the words of ‘The Marseillaise’ for Dr. Delakas and earning an A in senior Shakespeare, winning Spring Sing one year with some great barbershop renditions, led by Ruth Carwithen Satterthwaite.
“Our freshman year, meals were served family-style in the Union dining hall with student waiters. The director of food service was The Hawk (Lucille Hawkinson). We’d gather outside or in the rotunda until the appointed time, then rush to ‘our’ tables. “The tug of war over the Mill Pond was found to be rigged in the upper-classmen’s favor as their end was tied to a vehicle. Who could forget the walk back to the Quads when you reached the crest of the hill and faced the fierce Wisconsin winter blast? And who could forget ‘women’s hours,’ when we’d have to take our dates back to their residence halls (and often the guys would return to The Spot for a night cap)?” Jim Thorsen ’65 Idaho Falls, Idaho
“Breathtakingly beautiful autumns, vibrant colors all around campus and fields beyond, the joyful anticipation of returning to friends and campus in the falls of sophomore, junior and senior years.” Jennifer Lloyd Maxson ’65 Riverwoods, Illinois
The Spot restaurant in downtown Ripon.
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SPORTS
Zeman is breaking school records When Nicole Zeman ’17 first stepped foot on the Ripon College campus as a freshman in fall 2013, she hoped to be a big part of the Red Hawks track and field team. She could not anticipate just how big a role she would play in such a short amount of time. A rising junior, Zeman already has been part of three school-record relays (Indoor 4x200, Indoor 4x400 and Outdoor 4x100), and also owns school records in the Indoor 60-meter hurdles and Outdoor 400-meter hurdles. “I didn’t expect to have this much success so soon, but a big reason is due to the practice workouts, which focus on improving strength and endurance,” Zeman says. “I’m very excited that the hard work and training program is paying off, and I can’t wait to continue to progress.” Zeman’s school record in the 400 hurdles, which she ran in 1:05.94 to break a six-year-old mark, is her most important accomplishment thus far. “When I saw that I broke the school record, I was immediately overwhelmed with happiness and couldn’t 22
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believe I achieved my goal,” she says. “I was congratulated by my team and coach, and my roommate jumped into my arms at the finish line, which made the experience even more memorable.” Zeman attended Hamilton High School in Sussex, Wisconsin, which has an enrollment nearly twice the size of Ripon. “Everyone at Ripon is extremely welcoming and every student here is more than just a number,” she says. “As a high school senior, I was in contact with Ripon’s coach and my admission counselor several times per week, and they would randomly call just to check up on me.” In addition to track and classroom activities, Zeman is vice president of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, vice president of the Pre-Law Society, a member of the Presidential Leadership Program and a Student Senate representative. She also holds campus jobs in Admission and Athletics. “Being involved in a variety of things enhances my college experience,” she says. “I’m able to connect with a lot of individuals on many different levels and can make
Volleyball standout plays in Costa Rica “Everyone at Ripon is extremely welcoming and every student here is more than just a number. As a high school senior, I was in contact with Ripon’s coach and my admission counselor several times per week, and they would randomly call just to check up on me.” NICOLE ZEMAN ’17
connections with people from different groups on campus. There’s a time commitment that can sometimes be stressful, but it allows me to enjoy and experience as many things as possible in my four years at Ripon.” Zeman is a business and politics and government double-major, with a minor in law and society. She earned Academic All-Conference honors as a freshman, which turned out to be just the beginning of a promising college career. “I hope to work in family law or as a guardian ad litem for children,” Zeman says. “I’m interested in pursuing law school with a master’s program in social work once I graduate from Ripon.” Mike Westemeier Sports Information Director
Katie Berrell ’18 in Costa Rica
Katie Berrell ’18 of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, travelled to Costa Rica May 22-30 for Beyond Sports’ Third Annual Costa Rica Volleyball Tour. She joined Beyond Sports’ team of All-Conference honorees and statistical Katie Berrell ’18 leaders from colleges across the country who were selected to play 15 games against Costa Rica’s National Volleyball Team and top club teams. “My favorite match was against the women’s Costa Rica national team,” Berrell says. “My team was very talented, and we played great together. Beyond Sports also participated in a program called 180 degrees, in which we assisted two clinics for underprivileged children. During the clinic, we interacted and played with disabled children and children from a poverty-stricken area.” The group also visited Manuel Antonio National Park, Volcano Arenal, Baldi Hot Springs and the city of San Jose, with opportunities to zip-line through the rainforest, learn to surf and encounter wildlife such as monkeys, sloths, toucans and iguanas. Berrell appeared in all 27 matches as a freshman for the Red Hawks in 2014, recording a team-high 302 kills (3.11 kills/set), which ranked second in the Midwest Conference. She was third on the team in hitting percentage (.231) and fifth in total blocks (20). Berrell was named MWC Offensive Performer of the Week September, 2014. S U M M E R 2015
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CAMPUSNotes FACULTY AND STAFF MOLLIE OBLINGER, associate professor of art, had work shown this year at the Ridley Gallery, Sierra College, in Rocklin, California; and Unity Gallery, Maharishi University of Management, in Fairfield, Iowa. In March, she was awarded a fourweek residency at Playa, a program in Summer Lake, Oregon, for artists, writers and scientists.
MARTIN F. FARRELL, professor of politics and government, gave three off-campus presentations: Brazil’s Metamorphosis: Order and Progress (With a Touch of Stagflation) in the Foreign Policy Association’s “Great Decisions” series at the Franklin Public Library, Franklin, Wisconsin, and the Manitowoc Public Library in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. On April 17, he was the luncheon plenary speaker for the 30th Annual Conference of the Wisconsin Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies, held at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His topic was Democracy, Peace and Conflict in the 21st Century. He also was honored with the 2014-15 Dick Ringler Distinguished Peace Educator Award for the state of Wisconsin.
ROBERT AMSDEN, professor of theatre, chair of the department, and the Doreen L. ’73 and David I. Chemerow Chair in Theatre, received a May Bumby Severy, Class of 1908, Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April.
MELISSA ANDERSON ’02, executive director of marketing and communications, received a Ripon College Presidential Staff Award in the area of advancement.
LESLIE ELLEN BROWN, professor RAFAEL FRANCISCO SALAS, associate professor of art, created a solo exhibit in two parts, “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights,” shown this spring at the Portrait Society Gallery and Walker’s Point Center for the Arts in Milwaukee. It reflected on allegorical portraiture and personal history surrounding cultural identity. Salas also is a contributing writer for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
...snow and sky and pine #2 2014, digital print Jukebox 2015, oil on canvas
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emerita of music and past academic vice president, has published a book, Artful Virtue: The Interplay of the Beautiful and the Good in the Scottish Enlightenment (Ashgate Ltd.).
LINDA BROWN, secretary/ technician in admission, received a Ripon College Presidential Staff Award in the area of admission.
LAMONT COLUCCI, associate professor and chair of politics and government is a 2015 recipient of Sigma Chi fraternity’s Significant Sig Award–Sigma Chi’s highest recognition for achievement in a brother’s professional career and civic endeavors. Colucci regularly contributes opinion pieces to U.S. News & World Report and other publications.
JOHN P. DINEGAN, associate professor of exercise science and athletic administrator, received the Senior Class Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April.
JENNIFER FRANZ, director of human resources, received a Ripon College Presidential Staff Award in the area of general excellence.
CHESTER ISMAY, ANDREA YOUNG and MCKENZIE LAMB, all assistant professors of mathematics and computer science, are among Ripon College faculty involved in two of the six projects that received funding in the fall 2014 cycle of the Faculty Career Enhancement Program of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. They and colleagues from Luther College, Grinnell College and Coe College received funding for “Harnessing Big Data: Planning for Collaborative Courses in Data Science.”
MARK KAINZ, associate professor of biology, received a May Bumby Severy, Class of 1908, Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April.
MEMUNA KHAN, associate professor of biology, was quoted in an article in the Oshkosh Independent in March about the Menominee Park Zoo in Oshkosh. Khan is president of the Oshkosh Zoo Society. goo.gl/9U6aEf. She has connected several students to opportunities there.
KRISTINE KOVACK-LESH, associate professor of psychology and chair of the department, received a May Bumby Severy, Class of 1908, Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April.
CLAUDIA LEISTIKOW, administrative assistant to the vice president and dean of faculty, received a Ripon College Presidential Staff Award in the area of administration.
MICHAEL MAHONEY, associate professor of global studies, received the Faculty/Staff Service Learning Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April.
STEVE MARTIN ’96, associate professor of communication and chair of the department, wrote an article for the journal Voices of Democracy about the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organization and how it was influenced and shaped by the actions of John L. Lewis. It was published in 2013.
TRAVIS NYGARD, assistant professor of art and chair of the department, co-wrote a book chapter, “The Shifting Spatial Nexus of an Urban Maya Landscape: A Case Study of Architecture, Sculpture, and Ceramics at Yo’okop” for Maya Imagery, Architecture, and Activity: Space and Spatial Analysis in Art History, published in 2015 by the University of New Mexico Press. goo.gl/jUhojx. He presented “Was Ancient Art a Tool to Think About the Conquest of the Americas? A Study of Spoliation at Palenque, Mexico,” at the College Art Association’s 103rd annual conference, Feb. 11-14, 2015, in New York, New York.
J. TIMOTHY PETERSIK ’73, professor of psychology, published “Flicker-defined forms in the Ternus display” in Perception, volume 44, 2015. The coauthor is Molly R. Silva of the University of Louisville in Kentucky.
JODY ROY, interim vice president/ dean of faculty, professor of communication, and the Victor and Carrie Palmer Endowed Chair for Leadership Values, received a Faculty/ Staff Mentor Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April.
HENRIK SCHATZINGER, assistant professor of politics and government, was quoted in a Politifact article examining the outlook of Gov. Scott Walker’s second term. He also received a May Bumby Severy, Class of 1908, Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April. SARJIT SINGH, general manager of food service, received a Faculty/Staff Mentor Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April.
BRIAN SMITH, professor of religion, and colleagues from Lake Forest College and Colorado College received funding in the Fall 2014 cycle of Faculty Career Enhancement Program of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. The grant will allow them to attend the American Academy of Religion’s meeting in Atlanta in November and participate in a camp focusing on integrating digital technology into their teaching and research. Smith and three students also presented papers at the annual meeting of the Midwest
American Academy of Religion in April at Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio.
TOUORIZOU HERVÉ SOMÉ, associate professor of educational studies, is the first author of Immigration and Schooling: Redefining 21st Century America, published by Information Age Publishing, Charlotte, North Carolina, in March 2015. Pierre W. Orelus, associate professor of education at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, New Mexico, is the second author.
VINCENT TOMASSO, visiting assistant professor of classics, contributed to the book Classical Traditions in Science Fiction, recently published by Oxford University Press. His chapter is titled “Classical Antiquity and Western Identity in Battlestar Galactica.” He also presented a talk about the engagement of the Disney movie Hercules with classical antiquity at the University of Kentucky in April. The recorded presentation can be viewed at goo.gl/8ml9m7. He also contributed to the book Classical Myth on Screen, published by Palgrave Macmillan. His chapter is titled “The Twilight of Olympus: Deicide and the End of the Greek Gods.” He received a May Bumby Severy, Class of 1908, Award at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April.
CINDY VIERTEL, director of counseling services, received a Ripon College Presidential Staff Award in the area of student life.
ROBERT L. WALLACE, professor of biology and the Patricia and Philip McCullough 1969 Professor in Biology, received the James Underkofler Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at Ripon College’s Awards Convocation in April. PATRICK WILLOUGHBY, assistant professor of chemistry, and several students presented at the American Chemical Society’s National Meeting in Denver in March. Willoughby also presided over a session of lectures about new chemical reactions and methodology.
ANDREA YOUNG, assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, had a paper, “Flipping the Calculus Classroom: A CostEffective Approach” accepted for publication in the mathematics journal PRIMUS. “Improvisation in the Mathematics Classroom” was presented at the Center for Undergraduate Research in Math/Intermountain Section of the Math Association of America’s spring meeting at Brigham Young University in March.
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CAMPUSNotes AROUND CAMPUS Ed Wingenbach, Ph.D., officially assumed the role of vice president and dean of faculty at Ripon College July 1. He will serve on the president’s administrative council and hold tenure in the Department of Politics and Government. Wingenbach previously worked as a professor of political science and as associate provost for academic affairs at University of Redlands in California. He held several academic and administrative roles since 2001.
NSF grant supports student summer research Ripon College has received a supplemental funding grant of $6,250 from the National Science Foundation to support summer research by a student. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) grant is supplemental to an NSF grant received earlier by Bob Wallace, Patricia and Philip McCullough 1969 Professor in Biology, and a major research instrumentation grant received by Patrick Willoughby, assistant professor of chemistry, and Colleen Byron, L. Leone Oyster ’19 Chair in Chemistry, and Wallace. The research will add a new dimension to Wallace’s ongoing research on the biology of rotifers, by investigating their lipid biochemistry. Brooke Olson ’16 of New London, Wisconsin, is assisting Wallace in his research this summer, and is supported through the grant funding.
Creative Enterprise Consultants honored by county The Ripon College Creative Enterprise Consultants, part of the Center for Social Responsibility, recently received recognition and a “Scrappy Award” from Fond du Lac County Economic Development Corp. for their involvement in the IGNITE! Business Success partnership. Ripon College students are providing business consulting services and other resources to Fond du Lac County entrepreneurs as part of the new 14-business network.
College hosts forensics state championships Duehrings receive Founders’ Day Award Dave and Karen Stoddard Duehring of Green Lake received Ripon College’s Founders’ Day Award Jan. 27. The award is presented to an individual or organization in Ripon and surrounding communities who exemplifies the ideals behind the creation of Ripon College in 1851. Duehring is a Ripon native and a co-owner of Ripon Drug and Ben Franklin. Stoddard Duehring ’72 has taught at the high school and university levels, and formed her own private tutoring business.
Communication Consortium to foster growth, mentorship Faculty in Ripon’s Department of Communication are collaborating with others on campus to launch a new program — the Ripon Communication Consortium. Faculty and staff will foster growth and mentorship for broader forms of communication to appropriately prepare Ripon students to be effective and ethical communicators for the 21st century. The consortium serves as an organizational hub for a wide variety of existing as well as new student organizations, teams and co-curricular programs related to speech, deliberation/debate, technology and media at the College.
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Ripon College, Ripon High School, Ripon Middle School and First Congregational Church hosted the Wisconsin Forensic Coaches Association high school state championships April 11 for the 12th consecutive year. About 1,000 high school students and 250 teachers and coaches attended.
Ripon affiliated with Eli Lilly screening program Ripon College now is affiliated with the Open Innovation Drug Discovery Program at Eli Lilly. Through this program, students and faculty will use the technology at Eli Lilly to virtually screen molecules for their potential to be pharmaceuticals. After virtual screening, students and faculty will send molecules prepared at Ripon College to Eli Lilly for actual biological testing. This program allows students and faculty to use their research to directly participate in the discovery of new pharmaceuticals.
Grant assists with curriculum planning and review The Arthur Vining Davis Foundation awarded Ripon College a $50,000 grant to use toward the Ripon College Curriculum Planning and Review. Faculty have been working this past year reviewing and revising the curriculum and will continue the process this fall under Dr. Ed Wingenbach, the new vice president and dean of faculty.
RAYMOND ALLEN ’15 of Lac du Flambeau, Wisconsin, a chemistrybiology major, and Assistant Professor of Biology Barbara Sisson braved chilly temperatures Feb. 14 to take tissue samples of registered sturgeon on Lake Winnebago. It was the opening day of sturgeon-spearing season. They were included in a profile for On Wisconsin Outdoors: http://goo.gl/eQ6eyo
KAITLYN WELZEN ’15 of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, won the national Sustainability Best Practices Award for Sodexo student interns across the country. Her submission was about partnering with the College and Sodexo to implement the hydroponic tower gardens. Harvested greens are used in the meal service’s daily menus. Seniors ANDREW CARBALLO of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, a history and politics and government major; SAMANTHA KAY of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a philosophy and politics and government major; and ABIGAIL QUACKENBOSS of St. Cloud, Wisconsin, a politics and government major, presented their senior research theses at the Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference for politics and government students held mid-February in Washington, D.C.
RYAN PLANTZ ’16, a biology major from Berlin, Wisconsin, was one of 20 undergraduates from top colleges and universities nationwide and abroad who conducted original biodiversity and conservation policy research this spring to inform international efforts to protect the Sargasso Sea, a critically important ecosystem in the remote North Atlantic Ocean. He participated in Sea Semester: Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, offered by the Sea Education Association in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
FRASSETTO ’17 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; MICHAEL GABLEMAN ’16 of Greendale, Wisconsin; TYLER SHIMEK ’16 of Greendale, Wisconsin; and LINCOLN WURTZ ’17 of Ripon, Wisconsin — attended the Center for Undergraduate Research in Math/Intermountain Section of the Math Association of America spring meeting at Brigham Young University. All of them gave talks. The students were among 46 undergraduates from around the country to have participated in this year’s CURM program, which provided funding for them to do research all year.
MITCHELL EITHUN ’17 of New London, Wisconsin; JEREMIAH HARGIS ’15 of Elgin, Illinois; and BRAXTON SCHAFER ’15 of North Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, placed ninth out of 60 teams at a programming contest held during the Midwest Instruction and Computing Symposium at the University of North Dakota, April 10-11.
SPRING ATHLETICS HIGHLIGHTS For the second time in her distinguished Ripon College career, JENNA BREAKER ’15 is a national champion. She won the high jump at the 2015 Outdoor Nationals in May, adding to her 2013 Indoor National Championship win in the same event. Her earlier career-best jump 5-10 is the fifth-best mark in the history of Division-III Track and Field. Ripon’s baseball team won its 21st Midwest Conference Championship in program history, advancing to the NCAA Regional playoffs for the 12th time and fourth time in the last six years. They finished the season with a 24-16 record, the seventh-highest win total in school history, and finished first in the MWC North Division for the third straight year. The men’s track and field team broke two school records during the outdoor season. KYLE NOVACK ’15 broke his own school record with a personal best mark of 14-09, breaking his previous mark by nearly eight inches. LEANDRE SOME ’17 also broke his own school record in the triple jump with a mark of 45-02.50, which earned a second-place finish on day two of the MWC Outdoor Championships. Red Hawks shortstop MICHAEL POLCYN ‘15 of Ripon, Wisconsin, agreed to a free agent deal with the St. Louis Cardinals Rookie League affiliate in early June.
Students and alumni of Ripon College received honorable mentions for their National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship applications: • JORDAN BUHLE ’15 of Milton, Wisconsin, studied chemistry-chemical catalysis, at Ripon College. • MICHAEL ENRIGHT ’14 of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is studying macromolecular and supramolecular chemistry and nanochemistry at the University of Washington. • ELIZABETH M. WALSH ’14 of College Station, Texas, is studying life sciences – ecology at Texas A&M University. Buhle also had a communication published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society from her work during the summer of 2014 with Dr. Steve Kass at the University of Minnesota.
ANDREA YOUNG, assistant professor of mathematics and computer science, and four students — ERIN
Polcyn ranks second in the College record books for batting average (.403) and fourth for home runs (25). In his final 14 games for Ripon, Polcyn hit 12 home runs, including four during Ripon’s three Regional Tournament games. Polcyn finished the year with the highest batting average (.380), home runs (13), total bases (106), walks (27), runs scored (44), slugging percentage (.746), and on-base percentage (.476) among his team.
RETIREES MICHELLE HERMES, associate director of financial aid, was with Ripon College for more than 16 years. “I liked greeting the students when they came back in August each year, I enjoyed seeing once young, scared faces walk across
the stage four years later with confidence. I will miss the day-to-day interaction with the people on campus students and colleagues.” Retirement plans: “First, break the alarm clock, sit on the back deck in my pajamas and drink coffee, visit my mom in northern Wisconsin, watch the garden grow etc. That’s just the first two weeks. I’m saving the ‘clean the basement’ job until winter.”
PATTI WORM, director of student accounts, was with the College for 39 years. “I love going to Commencement. I’ve got my spot on top of the hill and have gone many, many years. It was fun working with all the people.” Retirement plans: “Traveling around the country with Karen Smith and not going to work. I have known ‘stress-free’ for the first time in my life, and if I want to go on vacation I can come back anytime I want and there is never a pile of work waiting for me!”
KAREN SMITH, secretary/technician, bookkeeping, was with the college for 32 years. “It was a great family.” Retirement plans: “Traveling around the country with Patti Worm and spending time with friends. I have no deadlines on anything I want to do.”
KATE SONTAG, visiting professor of English, was with the College for 16 years. “Community spirit, supportive colleagues, great discussions with students, and wonderful walks on the prairie.” Retirement plans: “Write, read, swim, cook, socialize with friends, live the good life with my husband, dogs and family, and whatever else I can dream up.”
LEE SHIPPEY, art department assistant, adjunct instructor of art, was with the College for 22 years. “I’ve really enjoyed working with so many students, faculty and staff to help make things happen, especially getting more art up around campus. It’s been fun to show students how to mat, frame and prepare art works for installation. It’s also been wonderful to talk with faculty and staff about what things to display and where to hang them to their best advantage.” Retirement plans: “I’m looking forward to spending more time on my own painting, drawing and printmaking. And, oh yes, I’ll be doing lots of baking as well!”
J. TIMOTHY PETERSIK ’73, professor of psychology, was with the College for 34 years, plus four years as a member of the Class of 1973. “Without a doubt, I liked best the close relationships I developed with students and faculty. I particularly cherished the opportunities to work closely on professional research with students.” Retirement plans: “I’d like to keep on teaching on a part-time basis. It will be a great opportunity to spend more time with family, too. Finally, my bicycle is waiting for me to ride.”
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CLASSNotes The 1930s/1940s
The 1950s
The 1960s
Connected by Ripon College
Connected by Ripon
Connected by Ripon College
LIZ WILKE SCHUTZ ’49 and BOB POTTER ’50
KEVIN WARMACK ’79 of Chicago, Illinois, shares that NED LUFRANO ’54 lives in the same
When PAT CARSON ’64 of Aurora, Illinois, moved into a new house, she overheard someone mention Ripon College. JUDY ELLICSON KOVARIK ’63 was a sorority sister, and her husband, DICK KOVARIK ’64, was in Pat’s husband’s fraternity. “Since we met, they went to Ripon for Alumni Weekend and were kind enough to get me a new sweatshirt at the bookstore — my old one was in tatters. There is also another gentleman here whom I have not met, JIM SHERWOOD ’55. Small world! Always nice to meet someone from Ripon.”
both taught at Brookfield East High School. Bob taught music for 35 years. He says he still walks every day and has a glass of wine “to keep my arteries open. Work with the activities director trying to keep the residents active. The gal I work with has a son at Ripon, so I do keep up with the current activities.”
VOSSE RICHARD LEWIS ’37 of Mankato, Minnesota, celebrated his 100th birthday on Aug. 27, 2014.
JIM “MAGGIE” MEGELLAS ’42 of Colleyville, Texas, has received the Audi Murphy Award for Distinguished Service in the United States Military during World War II from the American Veterans Center. Megellas, a colonel, is the most decorated officer of the 82nd Airborne Division.
MARY EGERMAN TREMBOUR ’45 of Boulder, Colorado, enjoys living in the retirement community Meridian.
ELEANOR HEALY ANDERSON ’48 and her husband, Henry, of Racine, Wisconsin, celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary on June 17, 2015. They have two children and five grandchildren.
LEWIS WALLACE ’48 and GERALDINE “JERRI” KONKLE WALLACE ’46 of Cary, North Carolina, met at Ripon, and their 68th wedding anniversary is coming up. They have three daughters and three grandchildren, and enjoy travelling.
ELIZABETH TILDEN BEATTIE ’49 of Kirkwood, Missouri, directs a choir in her retirement home. RUTH KORTMEIER ROEBER ’49 of Fort Mitchell, Kentucky, writes: “Cincinnati Alumni — great, friendly group!”
building where his father manages the parking garage. “There was one day when my dad may have been wearing a Ripon shirt, or I think he has a Ripon sticker in his car, and Ned noticed and asked Dad how he knew about Ripon. Well, my dad, with his chest puffed out, told Ned that his oldest son (me) was a graduate. Well, Ned then tells Dad that he was a graduate, also, and thus began the connection between myself and Ned.”
JERRY WADLEIGH ’50 of Geneva, Illinois, writes:
JOHN T. BENKA ’60 of Park Ridge, Illinois, completed
“I still play golf twice a week and go trapshooting with my grandsons.”
nine years as a member of the Park Ridge Library Board in June 2014. That fall, he co-chaired a volunteer committee in support of a successful library referendum for additional library funding.
WILLIAM MILLER ’52 of Barrington, Illinois, writes, “I raise bluebirds, chickadees, tree swallows and screech owls in the wild, using my own self-made nesting boxes. Breeding and fledging extend from April to late August annually.”
MARIANN CHERRY POWELL ’52 of Fresno, California, and her sister BETTY CHERRY RAVERET ’56 of Sun Lake, Arizona, both have summer homes north of Tomahawk, Wisconsin. “We’re from Tomahawk, so it’s going home for the summer,” she says.
RUSS BREMNER ’53 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, teaches English as a second language and works with SCORE clients.
JEAN SPIKINGS DAVIS ’54 of Arlington Heights, Illinois, teaches a class about writing family memoirs and is writing her own family recollections.
WALTER HOFMAN ’54 of Glenview, Illinois, lives in the retirement community Vi at the Glen. He works 1½ days a week as a dentist in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
BILL IHSSEN ’55 and BETTERAE ELLESON IHSSEN ’53 of Fort Wayne, Indiana, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary Aug. 14, 2014. Bill met Betterae in the registration line at Ripon when he was a freshman and she, a junior. For Bill it was love at first sight, but Betterae needed “considerable persuasion.” They have four children, three boys and a girl, nine grandchildren and one great-grandson. According to Bill, “It’s been a Ripon good marriage!”
FREDRIC ROEMING ’55 of Green Valley, Arizona, writes: “In May 2014, I swore my grandson, AUSTIN OLIVER ’14, into the Army reserve as a 2nd lieutenant. He graduated with a four-year ROTC scholarship.”
NED WEBSTER ’49 and CAROL THRUMSTON WEBSTER ’50 live in Eros, Louisiana, after living in Panama from 1953 to 1977 and raising their children there. In 2013, they visited Nashotah House, the theological seminary which Ned attended in Neshotah, Wisconsin, to celebrate his 60th anniversary of graduation. On Oct. 4, 2014, he celebrated his 61st year as an Episcopal priest. He still holds occasional missals at Grace Church in Monroe, Louisiana.
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JANET M. GORN ’60 of Montclair, Virginia, is a senior foreign affairs officer at the U.S. Department of State. She recently served as the U.S. representative and head of delegation for a 30-member interagency delegation to the 2015 Meeting of the Joint Convention on Spent Fuel and Radioactive Waste in Vienna, Austria. She is an adjunct professor at a college where she teaches international relations and American government. She also is president and founder of the Kings Highway Republican Women’s E Club and an appointee to the National Federation of Republican Women Board of Directors.
JOAN ANDERSON BACHUS ’57 of Penn Valley, California, writes: “Busy playing golf, volunteering, watching my seven grandchildren grow up.” SANDRA FOX OSBORNE ’59 of Mequon, Wisconsin, is retired after 20 years as a librarian at Dominican High School in Whitefish Bay. Her current interests are photography, especially close-up photography of flowers, travelling and keeping track of her grandchildren.
PETER JOCHIMSEN ’61 of Iowa City, Iowa, is now emeritus professor of surgery at the University of Iowa when he retired in 2002, and worked in the pharmaceutical industry for five years before retiring in 2007. “Major interests now are maintaining a 100-acre plot of land that is farmed, has a pond where the bass grow big, and hunting white tail deer, which is possible since the farm land is surrounded on three sides by a state park, where hunting is for the most part, not allowed,” he says. “That, and nine beehives in the backyard of where my wife, Grace, and I live in Iowa City, complements the day-to-day activities. Grace and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last year. Grace continues her antique business, in spite of having sold the Antique Mall of Iowa City in 2006, with outlets now in Kalona and Amana, Iowa.”
DAVE MAWSDLEY ’61 of Danbury, Connecticut, taught high school mathematics for 37 years, then was semi-retired running a computer repair/training company. His “quest to fill in blanks of my knowledge base” has led to studying cooking, paleontology, genetics, differential equations and physics. He also has taken up piano playing.
AKIRA “AKI” TOMITA ’61 of Kawasaki Shi city, Japan, worked for 10 years in the Tokyo office of Chemical Construction Corp, New York, as the general office manager. He then returned to his hometown near Kanazawa Shi city. He worked for a home builder until retirement. He now works part time building a resort facility on Guam, U.S.A.
BOB TYKAL ’61 and his wife, MARILYN DEPLEWSKI TYKAL ’60, celebrated their 75th birthdays and their 53rd wedding anniversary in June 2014 at their Lake Summerset home. The more than 80 guests included their four children and their spouses, and 10 grandchildren. Marilyn was ill and died Dec. 16, 2014.
ROGER WHEELER ’63 of Southbury, Connecticut, lives in the Heritage Village retirement community and enjoys singing in choruses and choirs.
MEG LEE NOLL ’64 of Littleton, Colorado, is retired, travelled to Africa, volunteers at Zuma Rescue Ranch for horses every Saturday, and is a volunteer speaker for the Crime Victim Advocacy Council about long-term effect of childhood sexual abuse.
CATHERINE ZENDER CUMMINS ’65 of San Antonio, Texas, is president of the Coppini Fine Art Academy in San Antonio. She teaches more than 60 hours a week and created two reading programs — Early Bird Reading and Reading Masters at San Antonio Academy. More than 9,000 students have taken classes.
MARY STAKE HAWKER ’65 of St. Louis, Missouri, has received Ripon College’s Distinguished Alumni citation. She has been director of the Deer Creek Foundation since 1992; and previously was a law clerk for the chief judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals; a partner in a law firm; and an adjunct instructor at Washington University School of Law in St. Louis.
SUE PURTELL KULLICK ’65 of Hamilton, Montana, In March 2015, several alumni from the classes of 1961 and 1962 got together in the greater Phoenix, Arizona, area. They spent some time at the home of JIM COWLEY ’62 in Buckeye. Above are Cowley, left, HOWARD MYERS ’61 and DAN BEHRING ’62.
CAROL PICKHARDT FANCHER ’62 of Naperville,
volunteers at a hospital and is a director of Birthright, a pregnancy support center. When Sue and her husband, Ronald, first went to see the movie American Graffiti with HARRISON FORD ’64, neither knew Ford was in the movie. When he came on screen, Sue and Ronald each separately murmured, “Harry!” Turns out that Sue knew Harry through her connections with Sigma Nu, and her husband went to grade school and high school with Ford.
Illinois, sings and directs Gospel Group and Chimeringer Choir at her church.
settling in to retirement and doing a small amount of consulting with NASA. Recently helped PETE BIRD ’66 move from Waupun to Neenah. I also go to an excellent dentist, ROB HERING ’68 and had a really nice phone conversation with my old friend DAVID ‘TURTLE’ SINISH ’69. I also see ERIK FORSGREN ’70 on occasion. His parents still live just down the road from me.”
The 1970s Connected by Ripon JEAN KIRKPATRICK LEDERER ’73 and GARY LEDERER ’72 of Bonita Springs, Florida, and their family were a Caribbean cruise over the Christmas holidays one year. “We went to the magic show in the lounge, and the magician called some people up to the stage,” Jean says. “I said to Gary that one of the men looked familiar. When the magician asked the man his name, he replied, ‘Steve from Minnesota.’ I said to Gary, ‘I knew it — that is Steve Anderson.’ Later, I saw the man again, and sure enough, it was STEVEN ANDERSON ’75 of Eden Prairie, Minnesota.”
BRUCE CHORBA ’70 of Hamilton Square, New Jersey, recently travelled through China, Australia and New Zealand.
RAYMOND ROBINSON ’71 of Key Biscayne, Florida, teaches orthopaedic residents as professor and chief of joint reconstruction, Department of Orthopaedics, at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine.
Illinois, has been inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. In basketball, he graduated with the fourth-highest point total in program history and was the leading scorer (20.1 ppg) on Ripon’s 1972 MWC Championship team.
is semi-retired but consults for two medical device corporations; and serves as invited speaker at medical and nursing nephrology conventions.
AL JARREAU ’62 of Highland Park,
VERNON CRONEN ’63 of Wilmington, North Carolina, professor emeritus, University of Massachusetts, and adjunct faculty, Department of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, presented a workshop last summer on the theory of communication which he co-wrote, “Coordinated Management of Meaning,” at the Attractor-Ramboll Summer institute in Copenhagen, Denmark. It focused on working with emotion and aesthetics in organizational consultation. He also presented two short lectures there. CMM theory is one of the main theories of communication. He and his wife, Myrna, then traveled to Stockholm and the fjords of Norway.
TOM MACE ’69 of Menasha, Wisconsin, shares: “I’m
RONALD COOPER ’72 of Winfield,
SUSAN HANSEN ’62 of Lake Forest, California,
Illinois, was featured on the web page NCAA After the Game™ in December. goo.gl/0C4sVz. The web page celebrates the success of former NCAA studentathletes after college. Al saw success in three sports at Ripon College. He went on to become a seven-time Grammy-winning jazz musician.
WILLIAM GEBHARDT ’69 of Frankfort, Illinois, retired on Good Friday, April 18, 2014, as a sales manager for Schilling Lumber in Mokena, Illinois. “I called it Great Friday!” he says. He has travelled to New Mexico, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, Arizona and Las Vegas. “Playing lots of golf and not missing work at all.”
GARY LEDERER ’72 of Bonita Springs, GARY YERKEY ’66 of Washington, D.C., was in Selma, Alabama, in March for the 50th anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery march. His book South to Selma: ‘Outside Agitators’ and the Civil Rights March that Changed America detailed his and a Ripon College contingent’s participation in the voting rights march in 1965. It is available through amazon.com.
Florida, is president of Honeywell’s Fire Safety business worldwide.
BOB FERNBACH ’69 of Pasadena, California, married Stacy Dietz, Aug. 1, 2014, in Portland, Oregon. The Other Half ensemble was integrated into the ceremony and then did a concert after dinner. The members are BARRY MORTON ’69 of Laguna Hills, California; DAVE RICHARDSON ’69 of San Gabriel, California; JEFF SCHEFERMAN ’69 of Spring, Texas; Angus Foster and Fernbach. L to R: Jeff Scheferman, Dave Richardson, Angus Foster, Barry Morton, Bob Fernbach together in 2009.
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CLASSNotes JOHN SPITTELL ’72 of Galesburg, Illinois, has been named to an endowed chair at Knox College. Spittell, a professor of business and management and executive-in-residence, is the college’s first recipient of the Joseph E. and Judith B. Wagner Distinguished Chair in Business.
BOB BRENNAN ’73 of Baraboo, Wisconsin, retired
JAN PETROVSKI MACLEOD ’74 of Clarendon Hills,
June 30, 2014, after more than 25 years with the Farm Credit System. He was manager of business planning and policy administration with Badgerland Financial in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin. He and his wife, Sue Mueller, celebrated with a trip to Alberta, Canada – Banff and Calgary.
Illinois, was re-elected for a third term as president of the Clarendon Hills Public Library Board. She has been a librarian at Hinsdale Central High School for 13 years.
DEBORAH EVANS CLEM ’74 of Boulder, Colorado, volunteers with Dalcroze and Colorado Music Festival Center for Musical Arts. She also sings with the Broadway Boomers.
WARREN BLUHM ’75 of Luxemburg,
MARY WEBSTER ’72 recently married Ned Jackson. She has taught in international schools since 2002 and currently teaches English in an experimental, academic school in Santa Clara, province of Cocle, Republic of Panama. “There are 50 students, most of whom speak three languages,” Mary writes. “This tiny population embodies more than 20 different nationalities. I live in a wee house near the school; it is a 20-minute walk down a narrow, almost paved but unlit road, which means I try not to be walking home after dark since that is when the snakes and other creatures need the roadway.” Mary’s parents, NICHOLAS WEBSTER ’49 and CAROL THRUMSTON WEBSTER ’50 lived in Panama from 1953 to 1977 and raised their children there.
Wisconsin, put out 12 Myke Phoenix adventures (10,000-word ebooks) in 2013-14 and collected them plus a bonus story into the ebook and paperback Myke Phoenix: Year of the Dinosaur, available on Amazon, Kobo myke and Lulu. They are superhero stories on phoenix the whimsical side. These all extend the story begun in The Adventures of Myke YEAR OF THE Phoenix, and he also has released short DINOSAUR novels The Imaginary Bomb and The WARREN BLUHM Imaginary Revolution and the non-fiction Refuse to be Afraid and A Scream of Consciousness.
LEN KACHINSKY ’75 of Neenah, Wisconsin, ran a marathon in Estonia, Biggest Running Party in the Baltics, on Sept. 14, 2014. More than 10,000 ran in the marathon, half marathon and 10K. This was Len’s 79th marathon, and he finished with a time of 5:01.
LITA WEISLOW KATZ ’75 of Silver Spring, Maryland, has retired after 39 years of U.S. Government service. She worked for three years for the Army, then for 36 years with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), mostly with the National Ocean Service.
KATHY KURKE ’75 of Omond Beach, Florida, says: “I am loving being able to tap into my artistic side again because I did not have time for a lot of hobbies while practicing law for 30 years,” she says. “I still have fond memories of taking a few of Professor (Lester) Schwartz’ art classes while at Ripon.” She and her husband, Richard Davis, also enjoy travelling.
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DOUG CASSELL and ANN DEVENISH-CASSELL ’75 of North Falmouth, Massachusetts, celebrated their 39th wedding anniversary in May. Doug is an independent management consultant. Ann is a librarian at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
STEVE RUGO ’75 of Chicago, Illinois, is the owner of Rugo/Raff Architects. Among his projects are several restaurants in the Chicago area including all of Chef Grant Achatz restaurants. Next Bistro; Alinea, the flagship, recently was named number one, has three Michelin stars and will host the James Beard Awards; Grants second restaurant, Aviary, a leading cutting-edge mixology venue; under construction, Roister, a new concept; and the redesign of Alinea for its 10th anniversary.
Class of ’75 back with Jeopardy! At this year’s Alumni Weekend, the Class of 1975 held its fourth iteration of its version of the game show Jeopardy! “It all started in 2000, when more than 40 members of the class, along with numerous significant others, gathered in Rodman for our 25th reunion,” says RICK ESTBERG ’75, the instigator of the whole thing at Ripon. “While the rules of our version are nearly identical to those on TV, the categories are markedly different. There is plenty of emphasis on the College and professors, the Class of ’75, Wisconsin, world events of the 1970s, and then a few other categories which can only make us longingly reflect back on college days: booze, sex stuff, beer and Seventies Rock & Roll Name That Tune. “With as many as 50 or even 60 contestants, how, you may ask, are we able to ‘ring in’ with questions to the Jeopardy! answers? First, we have around 8-10 players at each of several tables. Each table represents a single ‘contestant.’ Then, their ‘buzzers’ are, in fact, empty
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beer or wine bottles, banged loudly on the tables! One challenge we’ve always faced is determining which table actual ‘banged’ in first. So, we have invented the position of Chief Judge, whose sole responsibility is making the tough calls. It’s a thankless job, to say the least, since every table full of boisterous contestants, especially as the game and evening progress, swears that they are always the first. “I’ve always loved creating — or recreating — games, whether for neighborhood kids, my own sons, coworkers at office picnics or Ripon classmates. Jeopardy! has been by far the most popular — and safest! I like to think that our game is just another example of how the Class of 1975 stands alone.”
Estberg with actual TV Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, bumped into each other in the Phoenix airport just after Estber’s first Jeopardy! offering at Ripon College.
ROBERT C. BENSON ’76 of Newark, Delaware, has retired after 30 years in the Crop Protection (AG) Division for the DuPont Co. He now is “fixing up the house, caching up on things I’ve put off and, hopefully, will enjoy my hobby of collecting rocks and minerals.”
KITTY NORTON ’76 of Clemson, South Carolina, has been promoted to assistant vice president at Wells Fargo Advisors in Seneca, South Carolina, after 16 years with the company. GERALD D. ROTHROCK ’76 of Canton, Maine, retired in June 2014 after a 34-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency. Most of his assignments were focused on Middle Eastern issues, “an area of the world I first became interested in during a Middle East history class at Ripon,” he says. PATRICK SAUNDERS ’76 of New Franken, Wisconsin, retired after 37 years in public education, then was selected as the director of Ph.D. Studies and assistant professor of education at Marian University.
The 1980s
DAVE OLENCHEK ’87 of Brookfield, Wisconsin,
Connected by Ripon RUTH MIALE ’81 of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, says that many years ago, she visited her friend, LUDY D’ANGELO ’83, in New Jersey. “When I was living in Princeton (Ludy’s hometown) with my soon-to-be husband, Elan Sicroff, Ludy called to say he wanted to stop by with his girlfriend (also soon to marry him!) Georganne Cassatt took one look at Elan and asked, “Don’t I know you from Oberlin?” She and my husband had been freshmen together in Ohio.
MARK A. GREENE ’80 of Laramie, Wyoming, has received Ripon College’s Distinguished Alumni citation. He is the director of American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming. He has taken leadership roles and earned numerous honors with the Society of American Archivists.
JEFF RYAN ’80 of South Portland, Maine, has signed with Down East Books, who will publish his first book, Appalachian Odyssey: A 28-year hike on the Appalachian Trail. The book chronicles his nearly three decades of hiking the 2,100 mile trail in sections with a childhood friend. It is a story of friendship and perseverance, punctuated with humor and stunning photography. Visit Jeff’s website: www. feedthevision.com.
RICHARD WEBSTER ’76 of Shoreline, Washington, has retired as a victims advocate with the Seattle Police Department. He and his wife, Arlene, enjoy travelling, and he continues to design support systems for tensioned fabric structures, including tents. He holds two patents, and products on the market use his designs.
LARRY NEUMANN ’81 of Racine, Wisconsin, writes: “Dental practice is still going strong, traveling to Thailand this spring to visit our son who is there teaching English. Life is good!”
Dublin, Ohio, has been inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. He was a four-year starter on the gridiron, earning First Team AllConference honors at linebacker for three seasons, was the team’s Most Valuable Defensive Lineman and earned Associated Press Little All-America honors in 1978.
California, has been promoted to principal project manager at Nuance Communications, and received remote office status. “So now I can live anywhere,” she says.
PHILLIP J. TROBAUGH ’88 of St. Paul, Minnesota, was board-certified as a labor and employment specialist by the Minnesota State Bar Association. He is the charter school liaison in the Department of Education for the State of Minnesota.
COLLEEN TOWNSEND ’89 of Napa, California, is chief medical officer of Community Health Clinic 06, serving Napa County.
The 1990s MICHELLE RIEDER ’90 of Aurora, Illinois, received a degree in accounting from Aurora University in May 2015.
KAREN MCCULLOCH CHILSTROM ’92 and her husband, John, of Austin, Texas, welcomed a son, Joseph Christopher, into their family in January 2014. Joseph, who was then 10 years old, was adopted from western Ukraine.
JUDEE STOJSAVLJEVIC FISCHER ’92 of Racine, Wisconsin, is a clinical study manager at AbbVie (spinoff of Abbott), supporting an oncology compound in development to target brain tumors.
BOB WELCH ’92 of Madison,
AL GARCIA ’79 of Knoxville,
WILLIAM A. SCHNESE ’79 of
DEBORAH HANNI DAMROW ’88 of Oakland,
KIRSTEN HERDER WALDRO ’92 of St. Louis Park, Missouri, is an international trade compliance officer at TE Connectivity. She graduated from Marquette University Law School in May 2011.
REBECCA GALLOWAY ’78 of Seattle, Washington, worked for 10 years at Planned Parenthood and has been with the University of Washington for 14 years. “In both places, I try to help people get the most out of their computer,” she says. “I’ve done some hiking, but mostly I love swimming in the local lakes.”
Tennessee, retired as a colonel in the United States Marine Corps. He now is vice president of operations for Paragon Systems, a national security company.
chair of the math department at Hartland Arrowhead High School, was recognized as outstanding Wisconsin teacher of mathematics at the spring meeting of the Wisconsin Mathematical Association of America, hosted at Ripon College by the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
CHARLIE SCHEIPS ’81 of New York, New York, spoke at Ripon College April 29 to promote his new book Elsie de Wolfe’s Paris: Frivolity Before the Storm about the “international smart set” of Paris in the years just before World War II. He is a curator, art adviser, artist, writer and cultural historian.
LON MICHELS ’84 of Palm Springs, California, opened the Lon Michels Gallery (lonmichels.gallery) in January 2015.
Wisconsin, gave a public presentation, “The Interplay of Wisconsin Politics from a Lobbyist’s Perspective,” on campus March 31. Welch served in the State Legislature for 20 years before he established The Welch Group, a full-service government relations and public affairs firm. He ranks among the top 10 of individual lobbyists in Wisconsin.
JUDY BARTOLETT ’93 of Roseville, Minnesota, married Char Miller, July 19, 2014. She works for Minnesota Wild.
LINDA MENSCH BISAREK ’93 of Hillsboro, Wisconsin, is an after-school coordinator at Hillsboro Elementary School.
KARIN HANKWITZ ’93 of Madison, Wisconsin, has a son, Christopher James, born May 1, 2014. PAUL GARDETTO ’85 of Brookfield, Wisconsin, retired as a colonel from the Air Force in September 2014. He works from home in Milwaukee as a health economics adviser for Thermo Fisher Scientific.
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CLASSNotes Mathematical Association of America, hosted at Ripon College by the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
RACHEL BERK BATA ’97 and her husband, Dan, of Saint Charles, Illinois, have a son, Alexander Brian Bata, born Sept. 18, 2014.
ERIC ATKISSON ’94 of Alexandria, Virginia, retired from the National Guard in May 2014, 25 years after enlisting in the Army Reserves and 20 years after commissioning as a second lieutenant at Ripon. Overall service included combat deployments to Saudi Arabia in 1991, Kuwait in 2003 and Iraq in 2010-11. He retired a lieutenant colonel. He now is indulging his creative side. He has had five short stories published and was a background extra in the pilot episode of “Point of Honor,” a Civil War TV drama filmed in Virginia and now available on Amazon. He continues to work full time as a public affairs specialist and speechwriter at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Alexandria, Virginia.
JOSEPH KRONCKE ’97 of Neenah, Wisconsin, has been inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. As a defensive lineman in football, he graduated with the fifth-most quarterback sacks in school history (11) and the third-highest single season total, seven in 1996. D.J. CURRAN ’98 of Madison, Wisconsin, is a product manager at PDS.
RYAN FERCHOFF ’98 of Honolulu, Hawaii, opened an alternative cancer treatment and retreat center in Sedona, Arizona, (sedonawellnessretreat.com) in 2012. It is an extension of a retreat he operates in Honolulu.
KATHERINE PAWLIK JOHNSON ’98 of Nokomis, Illinois, is an associate council for the Illinois State Police, Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau
MICHAEL BERENS ’99 of Port Orchard, Washington, has opened a private practice law firm.
RACHEL THOMPSON CASEY ’99 of Saint James, Minnesota, graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University with a master’s degree in science in education. She teaches English learners in grades 6-12.
Affairs Coordinator at NBC Universal for the USA and Syfy networks. Her husband, WADE PACKARD ’93 assists the EVP at Warner Horizon Television Business Affairs. They live in Los Angeles. She also teaches spin class at 24 Hour Fitness and was trained to teach Les Mills RPM classes.
JOHN HINDS ’96 of Seattle, Washington, writes, “After five years at Starbucks, I took a new job at Banfield pet hospitals (a subsidiary of Mars) as their senior manager of learning technology. I now split my time between Seattle and Portland.”
HEIDI HITCHCOCK MARKS ’96 of St. Croix Falls, Wisconsin, who teaches at St. Croix Falls High School, was recognized as outstanding Wisconsin teacher of mathematics at the spring meeting of the Wisconsin
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NICOLE BAUMANN-BLACKMORE ’01 of Verona, Wisconsin, is chief of the Division of Pediatrics with Meriter Medical Group. She also sees pediatric patients at Meriter Hospital. Her husband, DEREK BLACKMORE ’01, is the support manager at WTS Paradigm. JASON BECK ’01 of Neenah, Wisconsin, is president of TotalMed Staffing in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Ranch, Colorado, is a nurse at the University of Colorado Hospital.
AMY LETCHER ’99 of Wadsworth, Illinois, married
REBECCA PROVENCHER CRIOLLO ’01 of Chicago,
Jeff Wasil, Oct. 11, 2014.
KIM CONROY ’94 is a Business
Kentucky, have a daughter Veronica “Vera,” born in August 2014. Dmitri is a pilot for Delta Airlines, based in Atlanta and flying the Boeing 717. Marina homeschools their three older girls and teaches excellence in writing to middle-school children and music appreciation to grade-school children in their local home-school co-op.
An article about MARK BECKER ’01 of Darien, Wisconsin, and a partner who founded Geneva Supply was published Jan. 7, 2015, in the Gazeteer of Janesville, Wisconsin. The global wholesaling company grew rapidly in five years by helping manufacturers sell products more efficiently to Internet retailers, big box stores and other distributors.
MARY ROSE GRAGIDO SIVIK ’99 of Highlands
MICHELLE BENEDICT ’94 of Honolulu, Hawaii, is the aquarist at Dolphin Quest. She is responsible for Hawaiian green sea turtles, Hawaiian brown stingrays and a variety of reef fish, caring for them, maintaining their habitat and training them using positive reinforcement.
DMITRI SMIRENSKI ’00 and MARINA ANTIPOVA SMIRENSKI ’00 of Burlington,
The 2000s Connected by Ripon SARAH HOFFMAN KRAMER ’02 of Grafton, Wisconsin, was hired by US Bank in 2007. “A few years later, a manager in my area said that she was hiring someone who had gone to Ripon College, wondering if I knew him,” she says. “FRANCISCO RODRIGUEZ ’07 graduated from Ripon the year that I started working at US Bank, so we did not know each other, but a couple of years after he started he actually moved over to my team! Soon after, KEVIN BRAUN ’08 and ELYSE BEINE ’11 also started working in our office.”
PATRICK J. CASEY ’00 of St. James, Minnesota, has started a new law firm in Mankato, Minnesota, with partners. LINSEY CROWNINSHIELD ’00 of Highwood, Illinois, married Quinn Ryan, Sept. 20, 2014. She is assistant director of the Civic Education Project at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.
Illinois, writes: “I married Sergio Criollo in 2012. I had a daughter, Katia, on May 12, 2014. After 10 years of teaching in a Chicago public school, I’m taking some time off to be home with Katia and working part-time teaching university classes for pre-service teachers and supervising student teachers.”
SARAH NEUMEYER ’01 of Seattle, Washington, works for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the Alaska fisheries science center, helping to keep Alaskan fisheries sustainable.
JACOB SUMNER ’01 of Salem, Oregon, leads the chain of Chipotle restaurants in France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
ELIZABETH WEBB BEELES ’02 of Salem, Oregon, is the publications and web coordinator with the Oregon State Department of Agriculture.
City of Ripon Police Department, the past eight years as an investigator, and now as the school resource officer for the City of Ripon Police Department and Ripon Area School District.
JAMIE GRANT ’02 of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, is executive director of enrollment management at Silver Lake College. She also recently presented at the NAGAP 2015 Annual Conference in New Orleans on “Inbound Marketing for General Enrollment Management: How to Leverage Content to Attract Students.”
Wisconsin, is a line therapist with The Wisconsin Early Autism Project.
CORRYN SIEGEL GREENWOOD ’02 of Orland Park,
BETH HUNTER ’04 of West Bend, Wisconsin, is a
Illinois, graduated in December 2014 with a master’s degree in education for healthcare professionals from the University of Cincinnati. She also was the first author in an article published in the Journal of Pediatrics, “Early empiric antibiotic use in preterm infants is associated with lower bacterial diversity and higher relative abundance of Enterobacter.”
ZACHARY MORRIS ’02 of Madison, Wisconsin, spoke on campus in two alumni master chats April 10. He was a 2002 Rhodes Scholar and is completing his radiation oncology residency program at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.
KELLY BOLLIG MUNDTH ’02 of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, graduated with her master in business administration degree from the Wisconsin School of Business in May 2015.
MATTHEW J. NIELSEN ’02 of Sacramento, California, leads the governmental and regulatory affairs team at Risk Management Solutions Inc. in Newark, California.
EMILY BACH BATTISTI ’03 and her husband, Shayne, of Silver Lake, Wisconsin, have a daughter, Ramona Mae Battisti, born April 11, 2014.
CHERITH TREU BROWN ’03 of De Forest, Wisconsin, who teaches math and theatre courses at Wisconsin Heights Middle School and High School, was recognized as outstanding Wisconsin teacher of mathematics at the spring meeting of the Wisconsin Mathematical Association of America, hosted at Ripon College by the Department of Mathematical Sciences.
BRIE TERRELL HADFIELD ’03 and her husband, Jay, of St. Louis, Missouri, have a daughter, Maya Mae Hadfield, born Aug. 8, 2014.
ANGELA ANTONIEWICZ HALVERSON ’03 of Jersey City, New Jersey, is an assistant prosecutor with the Union County Prosecutor’s Office in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
EMILY HANSON ’03 of Brookfield, Wisconsin, married Josh Brooks in August 2014 at Ripon College.
HEIDI RIECKMANN SCHROEDER ’03 and her husband, Phil, of Waupaca, Wisconsin, have a son, Dempsen Edward-Jo, born May 5, 2014.
MITCH SMITH ’03 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was promoted to systems engineering manager at Vital Images Inc. in November 2014.
LINDSEY GORSKE-MICHELS ’04 of Ripon, Wisconsin, and two colleagues were named Fond du Lac County Officer of the Year for 2014. She works for the
AMANDA PHILLIPS GROSS ’04 of Clintonville,
clinical research technician at Spaulding Clinical Research.
RACHEL YATES ’04 of Portage, Wisconsin, has changed career paths from hospitality and now is the director of business operations at H.G. Meigs, an asphalt and emulsion company.
TOM BECKER ’05 of San Diego, California, has been inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. He earned Midwest Conference Player of the Year honors in both basketball and soccer. He scored more than 1,000 points in just three years in basketball, while graduating as Ripon’s career steals leader. In soccer, he was the program’s leader in both goals and assists.
PAUL M. NEUBERGER ’05 of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, a financial associate with Thrivent Financial, recently linked up with Milwaukee Bucks general manager John Hammond and former Green Bay Packer Gilbert Brown. They met at a fund-raising event Neuberger hosted for the Gilbert Brown Foundation at the BMO Harris Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
KHAATIM BOYD ’06 of Santa Cruz, California, is the regional leadership gift officer for the West Coast for Cornell University, based in the San Francisco Bay area.
SHELBY DEERING ’05 of Verona, Wisconsin, is a full-time freelance writer with her own business, Shelby Deering LLC. She writes for local and national publications, magazines, websites and small businesses. An article she wrote for Girls’ Life magazine was mentioned in the New York Post as one of the best back-to-school articles for girls.
JANINE EMMER ’05 of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, has been inducted into the Ripon College Athletic Hall of Fame. She was named Midwest Conference Player of the Year twice in basketball and once in volleyball.
CATHERINE “CADY” SINNWELL GERLACH ’05 of Iowa City, Iowa, has received Ripon College’s outstanding Young Alumni Award. She is an associate at a law firm; and serves on the board of directors for Shelter House Community Shelter and Transitional Living Services and as district representative for the Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys (I.O.W.A.).
LIS CONDE ’06 of Guatemala received a master’s degree in media education in November 2013 from the University of Calabria in Italy. Previously, she spent three years helping develop e-learning courses as a language trainer in Guatemala and one year as a workers’ rights organizer in Chicago. She is studying for her Ph.D. in educational technologies at Melbourne University in Australia.
VICTOR MAGNUS ’06 of Princeton, Wisconsin, is an office representative for Josh Carter Agency–State Farm in Neenah. He also surpassed 15 years of military service in May.
TATENDA MAKWEMBERE ’05 of Pentagon City, Virginia, successfully defended her dissertation at Seton Hall University and has earned her Ed.S., in marriage and family therapy. ERIC NEE ’05 of Pardeeville, Wisconsin, is the athletic and activities director at Sun Prairie (Wisconsin) High School.
AMBRE NEUSER-GAJEWSKI ’06 of Appleton, Wisconsin, was promoted to full time at NBC26 last September and now runs the master control room in the afternoon/evening on weekdays. She also helps MyNew 32 Sports Showdown by running camera at live sporting events like high school football, Timber Rattlers baseball and Gamblers hockey.
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ALI J. NOWAK ’06 of Omro, Wisconsin, works at Bemis Company, headquartered in Neenah, Wisconsin, as a global category specialist in the procurement department. She volunteers as the VP Ritual and Fraternal Appreciation and VP Intellectual Development adviser for the Ripon College Delta Lambda chapter of Alpha Chi Omega. AMANDA BREITENFELDT WERY ’06 of De Pere, Wisconsin, is the client services coordinator for the Green Bay Packers.
ALEX ROYZEN ’08 and KENDALL GUIMOND ROYZEN ’08 of Evanston, Illinois, have a daughter, Carter Lee Royzen, born Dec. 13, 2014.
RYAN AVERY ’09 and RACHAEL THIEL ’09 of Ripon, Wisconsin, were married June 21, 2014. Ryan is the catering coordinator and a kitchen supervisor for Christianos in Green Lake and has gotten a real estate license. Rachael is a senior therapist with Fox Valley Autism Treatment Program, an in-home behavioral program for children.
MATTHEW BIWER ’09 and KORINE VIERTHALER ’09 of Goleta, California, were married Aug. 30, 2014. ADAM CLARK ’07 of Hong Kong is the CRM manager
WILL GILLIS ’09 of Shawano, Wisconsin, received his
for Cathay Pacific Airlines.
doctor of pharmacy degree in 2013 from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is the lead clinical pharmacist at Theda Care in the Shawano area.
JOHN MCCULLOUGH ’07 of Chicago, Illinois, is an
is a prospect research analyst with the University of Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.
JENNIFER M. SCHALLA ’10 of Glendale Heights, Illinois, teaches at Westfield Middle School in Bloomingdale, Illinois.
ELIZABETH WEIGLER ’10 of Santa Barbara, California, received a master’s degree in cultural anthropology in 2012 from the University of California-Santa Barbara. After working as a proposal and grant writer for a year, she now is in the UCSB Ph.D. program as a graduate researcher and lecturer. “Since coming here, I was given the opportunity to study language in Chandigarh, Punjab, India, by the State Department for four months, and recently visited the United Kingdom for a month after receiving funding for pilot research in London,” she says.
auditor for Redwood Logistics.
BRENDA NEMETZ ’07 of Sussex, Wisconsin, is the exhibit curator and collections manager at the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg.
ROB PERKINS ’07 and NATALIE SCHNICK ’05 of
TANYA LISKO ’09 of Corvallis, Oregon, married Doug Blaty, July 23, 2014.
CURTIS SCHMITT ’09 and SARAH KUSSMANN SCHMITT ’08 of Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, share
JODI RABAS ’07 of Algoma, Wisconsin, has opened Family First Chiropractic in Green Bay.
that Curtis writes software for New World Systems of Troy, Michigan. Sarah completed her Ph.D. in cancer biology at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, in 2014. She now is a post-doc at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
ADAM RONCHETTI ’07 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin,
The 2010s
Milton, Wisconsin, were married in August 2013.
is a research associate studying mechanisms of eye development at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
JON BAILEY ’10 of Ripon, Wisconsin, is a sports reporter for the Ripon Commonwealth Press.
ALAYNE ZABEL ’07 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin,
PAUL WILLIAMS ’10 and ERIN LUKAS WILLIAMS ’11 of Appleton, Wisconsin, report that Erin has finished her master’s degree in clinical nurse leadership at Marquette University. She has been promoted to a case manager position with Affinity Home Care. Paul is now the transformation manager at Bemis North America.
BETHANY PATTEN WRIGHT ’10 of Wausau, Wisconsin, is a certified occupational therapy assistant at Rennes Health and Rehab Center.
STEVEN BOUCHER ’11 of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is an admissions counselor at Marian University in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
is an Employee Assistance Program counselor with Agnesian Healthcare.
KEVIN CEDERHOLM ’11 of New Berlin, Wisconsin, is a supervisor at St. Charles Youth and Family Services.
ALEXANDER CHIN ’08 of West Palm Beach, Florida, is a licensed clinical psychologist in the state of Florida and regional manager of Meier Clinics.
JOANN DEIBELE ’11 of Miami, Florida, is the sales director at ColoHouse Data Center.
DAVID CZNARECKI ’08 and JORDAN ANDERSON ’08 of Waukesha, Wisconsin, report that David was promoted to business consultant at Northwestern Mutual in April 2015. Jordan is a research coordinator at the Allergy, Asthma and Sinus Center in Greenfield, Wisconsin.
DANA MOORE KIBBEL ’08 and her husband, Gerrad, of Waupun, Wisconsin, have a son, Easton James, born June 8, 2014. Dana is a rehabilitation service coordinator at Meriter Deforest Windsor Clinic. JEANNA SPERBER MATUSZAK ’08 of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is the human resources manager for Limitless Possibilities in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
JOHN R. MCGUIRE III ’08 and JORDAN LANDER MCGUIRE ’09 share that John has finished
LUCY BURGCHARDT ’10 of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, received a master’s of philosophy in archaeology degree from Cambridge University in 2011. She is enrolled in a Ph.D. program in communication studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is studying the rhetoric of archaeological tourism sites, and teaches courses in public speaking, introduction to rhetoric, and introduction to media studies to undergraduate students.
JEREMY CUSTER ’10 of Glendale Heights, Illinois, is chief of staff to Illinois State Senator Tom Cullerton.
ASHLEY MEISTER HUSS ’10 of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is a field service coordinator with Imperial Supplies.
CHASE ELSBECKER ’11 and ROBYN ZAJAC ’11 were married April 11, 2015. They live in Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Chase became a program manager of an adult family home for developmentally disabled adults in October 2014. MAX FINGER ’11 and LAUREN KOENIG ’11 of Oconto, Wisconsin, were married July 5, 2014. Max teaches English at Marinette High School, and Lauren teaches second grade at Suring Elementary School. ZACHARY HERSHOFF ’11 of Chilton, Wisconsin, is head coach of men’s soccer at Ripon College. Last season, he was an assistant coach for Ripon’s men’s and women’s soccer teams, helping the women’s team to its first Midwest Conference Tournament appearance in program history.
his assignment in Fort Benning, Georgia. They have relocated to Fort Drom, New York, where John is a JAG attorney for the 10th Mountain Division. Jordan is director of marketing for Medix, a staffing company based in Chicago.
ZACK LYON ’10 and MARIAH GRIFFIN ’09 of River Falls, Wisconsin, were married Sept. 22, 2012. Zach works with tractor dealers for TISCO (Tractor Implement Supply Company) in Oakdale, Minnesota. Mariah works for Victoria’s Secret in Woodbury, Minnesota.
TIFFANY PALM ’08 of Jefferson, Wisconsin, received in doctorate of pharmacy degree from Concordia University School of Pharmacy in May 2014. She is a pharmacist at The Drug Store, Mueller Drugs Inc.
RENAE POOLE ’10 of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, is a
Richland Center.
private lands habitat coordinator with Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Research Institute.
MISSY MEIERHOFER ’11 of Chicago, Illinois, is a
TOMISSA PORATH ’10 of Madison, Wisconsin,
research specialist in the Animal Resources Center at the University of Chicago.
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JORDAN HILL ’11 of Cross Plains, Wisconsin, completed a master of fine arts degree in creative writing at Columbia College, Chicago, in 2013. He is a lecturer of English at the University of Wisconsin-
LAURA REULING ’11 of Roseville, Minnesota, received
BRANDON TAYLOR ’12 of San Jose, California, has
SAM POULLETTE ’13 of Plymouth, Wisconsin, is an
her master’s degree in forestry from the University of Minnesota in March 2014. She is a research scientist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
been promoted to a business and systems integration senior analyst at Accenture.
admissions adviser at Lakeland College in Sheboygan.
TRACY JO WALDINGER ’11 of Rhinelander, Wisconsin, received her juris doctorate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School in May 2014. She is a court commissioner and law clerk and performs weddings for Oneida and Vilas counties.
KATRINA SCHAULAND WATKINS ’12 of Hertford, North Carolina, is an agency relations supervisor at Food Bank of the Albemarle in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
TOM ALBRECHT ’13 of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, is a commercial credit analyst for State Bank of Cross Plains.
HEATHER VANCUYK ANDERSON ’12 of Appleton,
LIZABETH BARANCZYK ’13 of Green Bay,
Wisconsin, owns a licensed family childcare business. She and her husband, Lloyd, have a second daughter, Faith Marie Anderson, born Nov. 20, 2014.
Wisconsin, teaches kindergarten/first grade at St. Francis de Sales in Spooner, Wisconsin.
ROWEN BERRY ’12 of Minneapolis, Minnesota,
Wisconsin, is a first-grade teacher at Lac du Flambeau Public School in Lac du Flambeau.
JESSICA BRUNGARDT ’12 of Saint Paul, Minnesota, graduated from the Hamline University of School of Law in May 2015.
STACEY HAMILTON ’12 of Carson City, Nevada, works at Sierra Nevada College in Incline Village, Nevada.
SPENCER LAMEKA ’12 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a
NICK WEISS ’13 of Theresa, Wisconsin, teaches Earth Day celebration programs in Jefferson City, MO. The Bald Eagle’s name is Patriot.
JOHANNA BURTON ’13 of Ballwin, Missouri, is a naturalist at the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Missouri. She cares for and works with birds of prey, and presents educational programs.
KEVIN CLUKA ’13 of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, is a special education resource teacher at Manitoba Elementary School in Milwaukee.
SCOTT EVERSON ’13 of Green Bay, Wisconsin, is an
case manager at the Milwaukee Center for Independence.
information services support analyst at TEKsystems in Appleton, Wisconsin.
MATTHEW MUZA ’12 and ASHLEY VANDEN AVOND ’13 were married June 8, 2013. They live in
BRIAN GONYA ’13 of Ripon, Wisconsin, is the front
Green Bay, Wisconsin, and Ashley works for the Oshkosh Area School District as a middle school science and social studies teacher.
EMMA ROBINSON ’12 of Madison, Wisconsin, graduated in May 2014 with a master of arts in Spanish at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is working on her Ph.D. there.
CAROLINE ROTHROCK ’12 of Reston, Virginia, graduated in May 2014 from the Bush School of Government and Public Service with a master’s degree in international affairs.
ERIN SCHAICK ’12 of Manchester, New Hampshire, is the development and marketing assistant at CATCH Neighborhood Housing in Concord, New Hampshire.
LAURA SCHEMM ’12 of Appleton, Wisconsin, was recognized for professional excellence by Ripon College at the Wisconsin Association of Colleges of Teacher Education meeting in Madison in April. Schemm is a kindergarten teacher at Franklin Elementary School in Oshkosh.
KATHARINE SHADLE ’12 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a K-4 teacher at Eastbrook Academy in Milwaukee.
AMY SPRANGER ’12 of Racine, Wisconsin, teaches German at River Bluff Middle School in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
MATT ROHRBECK ’13 of Portage, Wisconsin, was appointed District 8 supervisor on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors in May 2014, the youngest supervisor in the history of Columbia County. He has been accepted into the University of Wisconsin-Madison LaFollette School of Public Affairs to pursue a master’s degree. REBECCA SHACKLETON ’13 of Minocqua,
is a patient coordinator at Park Nicollet in St. Louis Park, Minnesota.
JUSTIN GAWLIK ’12 and BRYANNE TUDOR ’12 were married Oct. 18, 2014. Justin received his master’s degree in athletic training from South Dakota State University in May 2014. Bryanne received her master’s degree in criminal justice from the American Military University, Charleston, West Virginia, in August 2014.
IRVING REYES ’13 of Chicago, Illinois, is a technology specialist for Morgan Lewis & Bockious LLP.
desk supervisor for the Heidel House Resort in Green Lake, Wisconsin.
AMANDA FENSKE JOHNSON ’13 of Ripon, Wisconsin, is a psychiatric care technician for the Department of Health Services.
EMILY KIJEK ’13 of Oak Creek, Wisconsin, teaches ninth-grade English at Atlas Preparatory Academy, a charter school in Milwaukee.
FLYNN MORONI ’13 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is an early childhood teacher for the Head Start program Acelero Learning.
MAYNA MUENCHOW ’13 of Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, is an assistant scientist at Pharmaceutical Product Development, a global contract research organization providing drug discovery, development, lifecycle management and laboratory services.
ANGEL OKSUITA ’13 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, is the enrollment and match specialist at Big Brothers Big Sisters of Washington County.
LAUREN OTT ’13 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, is an operations assistant for The Ackerberg Group in Minneapolis.
DREW PAXSON ’13 of Chicago, Illinois, works in community relations for the Chicago Bulls.
physics and physical science at Hamilton High School in Sussex, Wisconsin.
ANDREW BAKKE ’14 of Maple Grove, Minnesota, is a software development engineer for Dell. AMANDA FINN ’14 of Madison, Wisconsin, is an advertising representative with Marcus Promotions and Footlights magazine. She also is the Madison contributing editor for BroadwayWorld.com. In the fall, she was the assistant director/makeup designer for an independent film. This summer, she has received a full scholarship to attend the O’Neil Theatre’s Summer Critics Institute in Waterford, Connecticut. The institute is designed for working and experienced theatre journalists from across the country. AUSTIN OLIVER ’14 of Amherst Junction, Wisconsin, is a transportation 2LT in the U.S. Army.
SUZANNE PATT ’14 of Grafton, Wisconsin, is a software engineer at DRS Technologies in Milwaukee.
TYLER RUTKOWSKI ’14 of Wyandotte, Michigan, is a substitute teacher and competes in U.S. Masters swimming. At the Michigan Masters Swimming State Championship in April, he won six individual gold medals: 400-yard individual medley, 200-yard individual medley, 200-yard backstroke, 100-yard breast stroke, 200-yard breast stroke and 100-yard butterfly. He also earned the “high point” award for the most individual points in his age group.
MADELINE SOCKNESS HERRMANN ’14 of Grand Chute, Wisconsin, is an art teacher at Appleton North High School.
AUSTIN VAN TREECK ’14 of Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is a workforce development assistant for the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation.
RACHEL WEDEWARD ’14 of Waterloo, Wisconsin, is a digitization and metadata specialist at the Theatre Historical Society of America and a board member at Literacy Volunteers of Western Cook County.
ADRIANA ZERIU ’14 of New Berlin, Wisconsin, is a bilingual administrative assistant at Select Milwaukee Inc.
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InMemoriam For full obituaries, please visit ripon.edu/obituariesS15
JERRY W. “DUFF” PFAFFLIN ’52, of Fort Atkinson
JOHN SLEICHERT ’66 of Menomonie, Wisconsin,
JEAN BOETTCHER HOLDEN ’41 of Hot Springs
PAUL J. SPHEERIS ’52 of Milwaukee,
CAROL OCCHINO ’67 of Los Angeles, California,
Wisconsin, died May 1, 2015.
died March 26, 2015.
Village, Arkansas, died April 7, 2015.
and Whitewater, Wisconsin, died May 1, 2015.
died May 20, 2015.
GERMAINE “GERRY” DOBRATZ SPOONER ’52
WENDY WEIMER ’68 of St. Paul, Minnesota,
died Jan. 23, 2015.
of Mequon, Wisconsin, died May 1, 2015.
died Feb. 17, 2015.
RUTH KONOW BIRGE ’43 of Ripon, Wisconsin,
CARL T. SYBURG ’52 of Genesee Depot,
Wisconsin, died Jan. 6, 2015.
RICHARD T. PIVARCYK ’69 of Westminster, California, died Oct. 1, 2014.
FRED JESS ’42 of Rockford, Illinois,
died Jan. 21, 2015.
JOSEPH A. TECSON ’52 of Riverside, Illinois,
GERALD V. SEIDL ’70 of Schaumburg, Illinois,
Wisconsin, died Jan. 19, 2015.
died Jan. 11, 2015.
died Jan. 4, 2013.
WILLIAM STANLEY HUGGETT ’45 of
MARY ROUSE-SYBURG ’53 of Pewaukee,
CARY ZNEIMER FAIRCHILD ’72 of Portland,
Hazel Crest, Illinois, died Dec. 9, 2014.
Wisconsin, died Dec. 28, 2014.
Oregon, died Oct. 4, 2014.
NANCYE WILSON LAKE ’46 of Walhonding,
JOYCE KIEFER ’54 of Plano, Texas,
PAMELA FREMON ’75 of Waltham,
Ohio, died March 12, 2015.
died Feb. 13, 2015.
Massachusetts, died Nov. 7, 2012.
WALTER L. WALKER ’47 of Kingston,
NANCY OYSTER ’58 of Markesan, Wisconsin,
PETER SPARROW ’80 of Glenview, Illinois,
Wisconsin, died Jan. 19, 2015.
died Jan. 9, 2015.
died May 28, 2015.
DONALD W. POLZIN ’43 of New London,
ROGER MCLEAN ’48 of Dublin, Ohio,
WILLIAM EUGENE SHELTON JR. ’58 of
BRUCE W. DAVIS ’82 of Lynn, Massachusetts,
died Jan. 21, 2015.
Madison, Wisconsin, died Dec. 31, 2014.
died May 18, 2015.
WILLIAM W. STENZ ’49 of Wilmington, Illinois,
died April 5, 2015.
FRANCINE GROSS GRENLIE ’60 of Chicago, Illinois, died March 21, 2015.
died Jan. 14, 2015.
LAWRENCE H. TESELLE ’49 of Sheboygan Falls,
JULAINE R. “JULIE” HESCHKE ’61 of
GAIL SEEFELDT ’98 of Sturtevant, Wisconsin,
Wisconsin, died Nov. 16, 2014.
Sheboygan, Wisconsin, died March 13, 2015.
JOHN H. WYLLIE ’49 of Pontiac, Illinois,
NORMAN JESSE ’61 of Downers Grove,
died April 30, 2015.
Illinois, died Nov. 10, 2014.
RICHARD R. MCCOURT ’51 of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, died June 29, 2014.
DAVID W. LEHMANN ’62 of Green Valley,
JACK D. POINTER ’51 of Naples, Florida,
JO-ANNE FIELDS ’64 of Kerrville, Texas,
died April 15, 2015.
died Jan. 16, 2015.
SHIRLEY LABISKY WILLIAMS ’51 of Ripon,
JOAN ARCHAMBAULT ZEI ’64 of
CYNTHIA STONE MACINTOSH ’52 of Hayward,
SHEILA STANGEL CHRISTIANSEN ’65 of
KENNETH D. MILIUS ’52 of Cedarburg,
CARLISLE “FRED” RUEGER JR. ’65 of Sun City
Wisconsin, died Feb. 21, 2015.
Wisconsin, died Dec. 25, 2014.
Wisconsin, died Aug. 26, 2014.
Arizona, died April 8, 2015.
Ripon, Wisconsin, died Jan. 31, 2015. Elm Grove, Wisconsin, died March 4, 2015. Center, Florida, died April 6, 2015.
ALUMNI WEEKEND More than 650 alumni and guests attended Alumni Weekend, June 25-28. Alumni from a variety of Greek organizations and the following classes held reunions throughout the weekend: War Years and Golden “R” classes from 1950 and 1955, 1960, 1965, 1970, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1990, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2010. This year’s reunion classes gave a combined total of $684,349 to Ripon College. The Class of 1965, celebrating their golden reunion, came out on top for the highest attendance at 40 percent and the highest gift participation at 72 percent. The Class of 1970 came out on top with the largest reunion class gift of $220,816 and the largest five-year class gift total (since the last reunion) of $767,427. A record 160 golfers participated in the annual Red Hawks Golf Scramble and more than $20,000 was raised for athletics -- the highest total in seven years of hosting the event. Mark your calendars for Alumni Weekend 2016, June 23-26, 2016. 36
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ANDREW D. HALE ’98 of St. Louis, Missouri,
died Jan. 8, 2015.
ANDREW KALDUNSKI ’12 of Edgar, Wisconsin,
died April 3, 2015.
Coaching great GORDON A. “GORDIE” GILLESPIE of Joliet, Illinois, died Feb. 28, 2015. JOHN T. TESKA of Neenah, Wisconsin, associate
professor of mathematics from 1967-1981, died April 8, 2015. CURTIS THOMPSON of Loudon, Tennessee,
development officer from 1968-1979, died March 21, 2015.
Alumni leaders honor legacy of great teaching with newly established scholarships English professors Douglas Northrop (left), who served Ripon College from 1960 to wellbeyond his retirement in 1999, and William Schang (right), who served from 1969 to 2011, had a profound impact on the lives of countless students. They guided their charges to reach new heights and prepared them for the journey that would lead to where they would go in life. Two newly endowed scholarships established as part of the Imagine Tomorrow campaign honor these special relationships. Trustee Susan Meier ’79 of Gaithersburg, Maryland, is principal of the consulting firm Meier and Associates. Susan consults with nonprofit executives and board leadership to identify governance challenges and opportunities. She established the William Schang Liberal Arts Scholarship. “We all had one or two favorite professors, and he was certainly mine,” she says. “Each time I saw him, sitting there in his office in West Hall, he would look me in the eye and ask his favorite question: ‘How did your liberal arts degree help you get to where you are now?’ That’s Professor Schang for you — 30 years after graduation, and he’s still asking the questions that make me think.” She says the Ripon experience “prepared us well for the journey, even when we weren’t certain where it was leading. Professor Schang is never far from my mind. He who dared to rip apart 94 percent of the first papers his freshman class wrote, he who pushed us to think beyond the obvious, he who extended office hours to help us talk through one problem or another, he who believed we could be more than we ever dreamed, he who helped us to believe in ourselves. I feel such
Professor Emeritus Douglas “Doug” Northrop.
gratitude that he was my adviser, my teacher, my mentor.” Northrop served a similar role for Col. (retired) Gregg Petersen ’78 of Columbia, Maryland, who established the Douglas Northrop Liberal Arts Scholarship. A biology major, Petersen has had a distinguished military career and currently works for a defense consulting firm. For Ripon College, he recently served on the Alumni Association Board and was chair of the Governance Committee. “For more than 50 years, Professor Douglas Northrop has been intimately involved with Ripon College, first as an English instructor and adviser, then as professor, dean, vice president of faculty and students, director, scholar and, most recently, as professor emeritus,” Petersen says.
Professor Emeritus William “Bill” Schang.
his engagement with Ripon and its students. In recognition of Doug’s never-ending devotion and dedication to Ripon College, this scholarship fund is dedicated in his honor to enable deserving applicants to be educated in the liberal arts.” Others can contribute to these scholarship funds to honor Professors Northrop and Schang by visiting ripon.edu/give/.
Continue the Legacy at Ripon College Help develop the next class of Ripon College students by referring a promising student to Ripon College, assisting with college fairs, or hosting or attending a reception in your area. For more ideas, contact Eliza Stephenson at 920-748-8396; or stephensone@ripon.edu.
“ ‘The Nature of True Love,’ the title of one of Doug’s Senior Studies courses, best describes S U M M E R 2015
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NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE
PAID RIPON COLLEGE 300 West Seward Street Ripon, WI 54971 ripon.edu Change Service Requested
F l a s h B A C K 1 93 7 Cadet Major and Battalion Commander Kurt Radtke ’37 enters with Lois Taylor (later Radtke) ’37 during the grand march under an arch of sabers for the 17th annual Military Ball in 1937. The Crimson noted that, to the strains of “Whispering” for the last dance, “Army uniforms with glittering accessories, form-fitting evening gowns, latest creations, blend and merge as dancers unconsciously weave colored patterns on the ballroom floor. ... It’s good-night time, and another Alpha Sigma Tau highlight social event is almost over. ... It’s just one more thing that etches a record on a page of the book of history of the College.”