Ripon Magazine Summer 2019

MAGAZINE SUMMER 2019

The evolving world of work Commencement 2019: Graduates step into their future

Preparing graduates for the world yet to come

First Catalyst Day showcases students’ innovation skills S U M M E R 2019

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Summer 2019 VOLUME 52, ISSUE No. 2

RIPON COLLEGE SOCIAL NETWORKS facebook.com/ripon.college instagram.com/riponcollege linkedin.com/company/ripon-college twitter.com/riponcollege vimeo.com/riponcollege youtube.com/riponcollegevideo

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Ripon Magazine (ISSN 1058-1855) is published twice annually by Ripon College.

Postage paid at Ripon, Wisconsin. Copyright © 2019 Ripon College POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Ripon Magazine, 300 W. Seward St., Ripon, WI 54971

Ripon College prepares students

Editor: Jaye Alderson, aldersonj@ripon.edu Editorial Assistants: Melissa Anderson ’02, Loren Boone, Ric Damm and Mike Westemeier Student Assistants: Dakota Marlega ’21, Erik Osmonson ’20 Design: Ali Klunick Photography: Ric Damm, Jim Koepnick Office of Constituent Engagement: alumni@ripon.edu

citizenship. Our liberal arts

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of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible and sciences curriculum and residential campus create an intimate learning community in which students experience a richly personalized education.

Inside 5 CATALYST DAY Ripon College’s first Catalyst Day was an incredible celebration of our students and the innovative Catalyst curriculum.

8 EVOLVING WORLD OF WORK For workers and for employers, the world of work is changing rapidly. Read how Ripon College’s broad liberal arts education is impacting graduates throughout their working lives.

22 COMMENCEMENT 2019 Using adaptability and innovation skills they gained at Ripon College, our most recent graduates make plans to contribute to the world of the future.

32 INTERNSHIPS IN A FLASH Ripon College’s new program of micro-internships allows students to collaborate with Milwaukee-based businesses and employer partners.

34 REMEMBERING A FALLEN FRIEND Rick Scott ’71 was an engaging classmate, campus actor and friend before he was killed in Vietnam in 1970.

DEPARTMENTS:

26 Around the Clocktower 28 Sports 30 In Memoriam 37 Remarkable Ripon ON THE COVER: Alex Cluff ’20, left, and Alaura Lemieux ’20 take part in the presentation “The Positive Effects of Bringing Green Plastic Production to Ripon” at the first Catalyst Day April 24.

Photo: Ali Hamza ’21 throws the peace sign from a larger-thanlife chair at Facebook headquarters in Austin, Texas, during the Career Discovery Tour. Sixteen Ripon College students spent their spring break criss-crossing the state of Texas and learning firsthand about career paths from Ripon alumni and friends.

They also experienced the wide variety of amenities and other “creature features” employers are using to attract millennial and Gen-Z employees: snacks, electronics, sustainable corporate cultures and photo-ops galore!

PRESIDENT

Ripon College provides solutions for tomorrow’s challenges

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ow do you prepare students for a world that doesn’t yet exist?

Most colleges have no idea how to answer that question. They don’t even realize they should be asking it; instead they educate students for the world as it is today or as it was a few years ago. Universities chase the most recent vocational fad, building narrow programs without understanding that by the time students graduate, the demand for this thin expertise will have evaporated, replaced by the next something new.

Ripon College isn’t afraid to ask the right question. Preparing students for worlds that don’t yet exist has always been our mission.

We believe a liberal arts education is the foundation for success in every endeavor and any field, especially those no one has yet imagined. We know that immersion in complexity, wrestling with ambiguity and forging unexpected connections is the proving ground for creativity.

We see over and over again the way in which the passion of a professor and the curiosity of a student combine to produce inspiration. We are confident that the habits of mind nurtured by deep engagement with the liberal arts bring fulfillment and success throughout the lives of our graduates. We prepare our students for what is yet to come, and we have always done so — which is why so many of our graduates from so many eras are so successful in the evolving world of work.

Our faith in the value of the liberal arts, no matter how justified, must be buttressed by evidence. Anecdotes, even those as compelling as the stories in this magazine, cannot refute the skepticism our kind of education increasingly faces. We must prove the truth of our assertions and show that every student we educate is ready to innovate.

Ripon College is up to the task. When we adopted the Catalyst curriculum three years ago, we set ourselves a high-stakes challenge: 2

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beginning this spring, all students in the junior class would have to demonstrate, publicly, that they can produce innovative solutions for big, important, real-world problems. We committed ourselves to a genuine test of our faith: our students would either succeed and thus prove the value of a liberal arts education as preparation for life, or fail and force the College to reconsider its essential values.

Our students succeeded, spectacularly! On April 24, in rooms across campus, teams of students presented inventive approaches to mitigate global challenges. They did so with detail, clarity, realism and flair. Twelve weeks of autonomous collaboration, mentored by faculty, produced a remarkable diversity of applied innovations. Hundreds of fellow students, faculty, community members and alumni attended the presentations.

The professionalism and creativity on display were extraordinary. Some of these presentations are available on the College website; I encourage you to view them and see for yourselves at ripon.edu/Catalyst-Day. With Catalyst, Ripon College is showing the world what the liberal arts can do in the hands of dedicated faculty thinking intentionally about designing education for the world to come.

How do you prepare students for a world that doesn’t yet exist?

Send them to Ripon College.

ED WINGENBACH ACTING PRESIDENT

FROM THE RIPON ARCHIVES

Golden memories May 18, 1969 It was a rainy Sunday on May 18, 1969, as members of the Ripon College class of 1969 walked across the Commencement stage to receive their diplomas. President Bernard Schroder Adams, the ninth president of Ripon College, handed diplomas to 202 students that afternoon.

Honorary degree recipients included: Henry David Aiken, chairman of the philosophy department at Brandeis University; Mircea Eliade, professor of the history of religion at the University of Chicago; Nelson Glueck, president of Hebrew Union College, who also was the baccalaureate speaker that year; and Julius Weinberg, Vilas Research Professor of Philosophy at the Institute for Research in the Humanities, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Aiken’s Commencement address was titled “Can the American College be Depoliticized?”

He called for “elimination of much of the advisory and consultative work for the U.S. State Department and withdrawal of faculty and students from engagement with the CIA, FBI and other secret agencies.”

The Class of 1969 will celebrate its Golden Reunion of 50 years at Alumni Weekend June 27-30 on the Ripon College campus.

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GIFTS AT WORK

New scholarship fund reflects family’s gratitude for Ripon College education

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ur connections from Ripon run deep,” says Kristen Diemer Hawley ’88 of Halifax, Massachusetts. She and her husband, Jamie Hawley ’88, met as first-year students in Bear Auditorium of Farr Hall of Science. Both majored in biology.

Their eldest daughter, Rachel, graduated from Ripon in May with a degree in chemistry-biology and will begin graduate school at the University of WisconsinMadison’s School of Pharmacy in the fall.

“There are things all three of us share,” Kristen says. “We all have degrees in the sciences. We studied in Farr Hall and had some of the same professors. Rachel and I are both members of Alpha Delta Pi and TriBeta biology honor society.”

The family has established the DiemerHawley Family Scholarship for students majoring in the natural sciences. They hope future scholarship recipients will make an impact in the fields of medical research, health care or environmental sciences.

“Careers in science are critical for human health as well as for protecting our planet,” Kristen says.

The couple are grateful for the wide breadth of knowledge that Ripon’s liberal arts education gave them. Kristen has spent 30 years in the pharmaceutical industry in preclinical drug development. She earned her master’s degree in pharmacology and toxicology and now is a board-certified editor in the life sciences and a regulatory writer.

Jamie’s path was completely different.

During high school and college, he worked in a bicycle shop in his hometown and participated in bicycle racing. After graduating from Ripon, instead of pursuing a science career, he worked in the import and distribution of bicycle racing parts and clothing. After 27 years, sensing that the industry was no longer viable, Jamie took the chance to start his own company.

In 2013, he went full time into his own business, Flatlander Surfcasting LLC. He

designs and produces high-end fishing tackle bags used by saltwater surfcasting fishermen on both coasts. The power of Facebook and Instagram — as well as the force of a Ripon friendship — have grown his business.

Kraig Friedman ’90, a fraternity brother from Beta Sigma Pi at Ripon College, pressure-tested the first bag Jamie built, gave feedback and worked with Jamie at multiple trade shows.

Jamie says that with Ripon’s multidisciplinary approach, “I was exposed to many different liberal arts experiences, and, although I studied biology, I was able to take the knowledge I gained at Ripon and work it into a non-science career as well as to have the courage and fortitude to start my own company.”

Kristen and Jamie add that Rachel earned that same opportunity and they expect that their scholarship will similarly benefit other students.

“The breadth of education we received at Ripon College gave us the skills needed to follow a science-based career path and to have the courage to start a highly successful small business.”

JAMIE AND KRISTEN HAWLEY

PHOTO Jamie

Hawley ’88, left, Rachel Hawley ’19 and Kristen Diemer Hawley ’88 celebrate at Commencement 2019.

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CATALYST

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Great Hall in Harwood Memorial Union Bear Auditorium, Farr Hall of Science

Cortney Bols ’21 participates in the Applied Innovation Hackathon.

Catalyst Day highlights achievements of new curriculum Anya Korovets ’21 and Khun Maung ’19 collaborate on solutions during the Applied Innovation Hackathon.

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ipon College’s public showcase of its new Catalyst curriculum brought hundreds of people together April 24 to celebrate the success of the first cohort of students to complete the program. Faculty, staff, students, alumni, friends, admissions counselors, family and community members attended Catalyst Day or tuned in remotely to learn more about this unique approach.

Twenty-five interdisciplinary teams of juniors from the Applied Innovation seminar, Catalyst 300, worked collaboratively to integrate knowledge.

Each team addressed one of five problems derived from the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals framework: food for all, mental health systems, climate S U M M E R 2019

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change mitigation, water pollution and reducing inequalities.

Adam Wronski ’20 and Andrew Johnson ’20 collaborate during the Applied Innovation Hackathon.

ABOVE

From left, Nate Jung ’20, Eric Westberg ’20, Rachel Milner ’20, Morgan Exner ’20 and Alexis Wenzel ’20 present “School-Based Food Banks in Impoverished Northern Wisconsin” in Todd Wehr Hall.

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The student teams presented their semester-long work, proposals of an applied innovation, in conference-style format. Presentations included “The Positive Effects of Bringing Green Plastic Products to Ripon,” “Reducing Anxiety and Depression Among New College Students: Easing Transitions and Improving Student Health and Wellness Throughout College” and “Advertising Caffeine in Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals to Prevent Damage to Freshwater Aquatic Wildlife.”

The details of the course, structure of projects and faculty development

resources needed for success were developed in the fall by a team of faculty and administrators. Ongoing support for the curriculum has come from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Margaret A. Cargill Foundation.

Kayla Furlano ’20 and Casie Holdcroft ’19 look up information during the Applied Innovation Hackathon.

Teams of students also competed in an applied innovation “hackathon,” designed to quickly generate new ideas, where they were asked to develop strategies that could be implemented by Ripon College to address rural poverty in Fond du Lac County.

The five-course Catalyst curriculum rigorously develops the 21st-century skills that employers seek while streamlining the path to graduation. The curriculum requires a total of 20 credits, and culminates with a certificate of applied innovation. This ensures that students are able to complete multiple majors and minors, experiential study and hold internships in four years. Visit ripon.edu/ catalyst-day to learn more.

Learn more about the student challenges and watch the recap here: ripon.edu/ catalyst-day.

Savannah Jane Walford ’20 and Naomi Jiter ’19 were two of the team members presenting “Youth Mental Health Education” in Great Hall.

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Alain Engelschenschilt, vice president for global engineering innovation with Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, was a celebrity judge for an Applied Innovation Hackathon held as part of Catalyst Day. LEFT

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The evolving world of work A

ccording to the World Bank’s World Development Report for 2019 on The Changing Nature of Work, the forces of automation and innovation will shape employment and fundamentally shift the nature of firms at an accelerated pace in the future.

“Physical presence is no longer a prerequisite to doing business: companies provide online services from abroad or profit from intangible assets such as software and intellectual property; digital platforms generate income from the capital of others,” the report states. “Firms in the digital economy can evolve much faster from local startups to global behemoths, often with few employees or tangible assets.”

Furthermore, the demand for less-advanced skills that can be replaced by technology also is declining while the key skills associated with adaptability that a Ripon College education provides — collaboration, communication, quantitative reasoning, integration, intercultural competence — are on the rise.

In the pages that follow, we highlight alumni and friends who are contributing to this evolving world of work, whether through advanced customer relationship management, hyper-connectivity, technology-enhanced visual art, the “work from anywhere” economy or working for the social good.

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customer relationship management

Jessica Thomas Hannes ’90

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Customer service is always plugged in: Here’s how Ever wonder how changing your Airbnb or OpenTable reservation can happen so quickly?

Or how Uber manages onboarding new agents remotely in markets they aren’t in yet?

If you’re like many end-users, you have grown accustomed to having access to self-service support for your everyday excursions. Understanding how it all works can remain a mystery.

For the past two years, Jessica Thomas Hannes ’90 has been providing that understanding, adroitly managing 24/7 global multilingual customer advocacy teams for Zendesk, a booming Madison, Wisconsinbased customer service software and support ticket system firm.

The focus of her work as senior director of global advocacy is to ensure satisfaction among Zendesk’s 125,000 users around the world, the bulk of whom are in rapidly growing companies and organizations themselves and using Zendesk’s tools to help improve their customer support. Hannes’ teams troubleshoot issues like bugs and updates and provide guidance on how to set up their configurations. Zendesk clients include technology, insurance, financial services and manufacturing firms like Riponbased Alliance Laundry Systems LLC, with locations throughout North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, India and Asian-

Pacific countries.

Hannes manages approximately 250 people in offices in Madison, Dublin, London, Manilla, Melbourne and San Francisco. “Because it is a global team, I work weird hours,” she says.

For example, she says, the time in Manilla is 12 hours ahead of Central Time. “We are constantly trying to juggle those types of schedules to make sure we have the right coverage based on how much is coming in from a volume standpoint and stay connected across different time zones,” she says.

Besides using their own Zendesk products to facilitate customer support, she says video conferencing and instant messaging have helped her teams stay connected. “I was always in a situation where I needed tools to interface with customers to make our work better. Working for a company like Zendesk that makes tools for what my team does is really cool.”

Hannes was an anthropology major and history minor and credits the integration of disciplines at Ripon for helping her become an effective leader in an environment where change is always happening and the pace of change is increasing.

“Being a leader at an organization with such explosive growth, you need to understand change management and how people react to different changes — themes we learn at

Ripon and can apply in order to succeed in the business world,” Hannes says. The size of her own team has more than doubled in the last four years.

“The communications skills you learn from being at a school like Ripon are huge. You are prepared to communicate differently to different levels of the organization and think through implementing change, whether introducing a new tool, product or a complete change of a team’s organizational structure,” she adds. “You can tell when you don’t communicate effectively. It’s very apparent. Your advocates or customer service team will say, ‘Hey, do we have a new product that launched?’”

And while software has certainly enhanced the ability of customer service teams to project manage and communicate, persisting challenges include the ability for managers to create a sense of community and belonging.

Managers also must provide opportunities for everyone to participate within a unit that is never off the clock. “Thankfully, there are so many really innovative things happening in the work environment today. Companies are really recognizing and embracing the fact that employees need to have the right culture and resources, such as the ability to be mobile and feel at home when in the office,” Hannes explains.

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social connections

Social media networking changing the way positions are filled How recruiters seek job candidates and workers seek positions is changing at lightning speed with the explosion of technology and digital communication.

Social media networking has taken on major significance, and one channel in particular has seen exponential growth as more and more people choose to connect online. LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional network, with more than 610 million members worldwide, two new members added every second and two million posts, articles and videos published daily.

Liz Grever ’14 of Chicago, Illinois, is a global customer success coordinator for LinkedIn. “Nine out of 10 company recruiters use LinkedIn to find talent. So should you,” she says. “Our generation typically stays in jobs two to three years. You have to be open to whatever there is. You can launch your career using LinkedIn, build your professional brand and help get noticed by your future boss and recruiters.”

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Grever says a referral is still the best way to get a job. Social media networking allows people to connect with people they know and alumni from Ripon College who are working in jobs, companies or cities in which they may be interested.

It allows connecting in real time at networking events, supports key word searches that can highlight or eliminate applications and offers professional development. There is also a paid upgrade option for those who want to amplify their profile and gain more access to networking tools.

The emphasis on lifelong learning and adaptability that Grever learned at Ripon College are paramount, she says. “Ripon as a culture helped round out my academic background, which made me more adaptable,” she says. “Having that ability to adapt gave me the upper hand when looking for new job opportunities.”

She sees trends in the current job market.

Where employers used to hire teams with

strong technical skills, they now more often seek strong individuals who can collaborate well and can be trained in whatever skills the employer needs.

Today’s job seekers also are seeking more of a work-life balance with the ability to occasionally work remotely and dress casually. “This is more and more of a trend because that’s what the market demands,” Grever says. “It’s a totally different shift in mindset from living to work verses working to live, but it’s one that our generation wants.

Unemployment is low, so it’s a job-seekers’ market right now. We can be picky.”

As Grever helps LinkedIn users navigate the new landscape of job fulfillment, she says, “I know I’m directly impacting lives. That’s what our program is built to do. LinkedIn is evolving as people’s desires are evolving.”

Liz Grever ’14 finds her niche at LinkedIn’s Chicago office.

Photos

Facebook: 2.27 billion ways to reach new customers Social media platforms are a powerful way for businesses to find new customers, build lasting relationships with them and promote their brand to a world-wide audience.

to-one conversations through comments and messaging. Putting a face to your business through a Facebook Page reminds your audience that it’s run by real people.”

Facebook is the largest social network, with 2.27 billion monthly active users reported as of the third quarter of 2018. This includes 68% of adults in all age ranges.

Facebook is one of the world’s most utilized platforms because of the diversity of its tools — especially in business. About 65 million businesses have created free Pages on Facebook as a marketing tool.

And businesses also connect with their customers as real people and strengthen customer loyalty. Businesses can chat with customers directly, read what customers are saying to each other and share endorsements.

“There are many reasons why creating a Facebook Page is beneficial for the success of your business,” the Facebook site says.

“Facebook Pages allow businesses to develop their brand, grow their audience and start conversations with customers and people interested in learning more.

“Creating an online presence for your business helps you build social connections with your audience and drive real business results. With a Facebook Page, you can curate the tone, style and personality of your business. You can also showcase your brand through photos and video through posts or Page Stories, or share personal epithets and engage in one-

A recent Ripon College Career Discovery Tour visited Texas where students gained firsthand knowledge of careers directly from successful Ripon alumni and friends. One stop was Facebook in Austin. Dakota Marlega ’21 of Waupaca, Wisconsin, says the visit opened her eyes to jobs in social media. Marlega is a communication and theatre double major and plans to earn a master’s degree in social work.

However, she says, “It was fascinating to learn just how much the field of social media needs students like me in order to succeed.”

The Facebook tour guides had different areas of study, yet “they stressed the importance of having diverse thinkers working for their company’s social media platforms,” Marlega says. “Traditional majors like computer science and mathematics are necessary, sure, but theatre, history students and food science

students are just as essential. The behindthe-scenes workers of a universal company should reflect exactly who they’re serving.

“Social media will only continue to grow, and knowing companies earnestly seek out diverse thinkers for employees is comforting in the changing world of work. There is a place for every one of us in the future of social media — we just have to be openminded and look for it.”

ABOVE Over

spring break, the Career Discovery Tour connected with alumni and other professionals in Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and Houston, Texas. Visiting Facebook in Austin are, from left: Acting President Ed Wingenbach, Ali Hamza ’21, Brooklyn Landgraf ’21, Robert Rosner ’19, Yupar Oo ’20, MacKenzie Warner ’21, Gisselle Tellez ’21, (kneeling) Melany Castillo ’19, Juan Baez ’19, Sol Gonzalez ’22, Sami Kiesner ’19, Andie Lemkuil ’21, (standing) Tori Braun ’21, Eric Fels ’19, Anya Korovets ’21, Khun Maung ’19, Dakota Marlega ’21 and host Samantha Stammet. The program is supported by the Alumni Association Board of Directors and other donors. To learn more, visit www.ripon.edu/ career-discovery.

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technology-enhanced visual art

Computer-generated visual effects add dimension to films “Dumbo,” the celebrated new live-action film adaptation released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in March, has a Ripon College connection. Some of the stunning visual effects in the film are the work of Jeremy Brouwer ’14.

Brouwer is a lighting artist in the Montréal location of Moving Picture Company (MPC), a major visual effects (VFX) studio with locations around the world. With VFX, imagery is created or altered outside of live-action shooting. Lighting is used to create mood, depth and realism.

As a junior lighting artist, Brouwer melds special effects lighting with real-world footage. Junior lighting artists must be well-versed in both 2D and 3D art and understand artistic principles such as color theory, perspective and design theory, Brouwer says. Brouwer also has worked on the movie “The Nutcracker and the Four Realms” with MPC.

Problem-solving is a rewarding challenge for Brouwer. “Working in effects and animation is a nice blend” between studio art and mathematics, he says. “There are more than 100 artists working on one project at a time, so there needs to be a lot of communication and working together to resolve any issues.”

VFX contributions to “Dumbo” are described by Disney Studios as “Dumbo takes flight again in Disney’s new live-action adventure … brought to life on screen by visual effects experts who pay tribute to Dumbo’s hand-drawn history while using the latest technology to evolve the character for a new generation of fans.”

Brouwer came into the project during the final six months of production and worked

lighting for between 10 and 20 shots. He was entirely responsible for four of them.

During the final three months, he rendered shots for stereo 3D, getting pixel-perfect matches between images for the left and right eyes. “When it comes to stereo 3D, many things become very particular about how they must be set up,” Brouwer says.

“Any changes, however small, between the two views will be visible when viewing in 3D in the theaters. It’s a very tedious process.”

He says visual effects have been used since the first films were made in order to extend backgrounds, add new characters, change costumes and hide sets, among other things.

Now, he says, “The use of computer-generated VFX has shifted the landscape of the field and made many things more accessible.”

At Ripon College, Brouwer majored in studio art and minored in mathematics.

“Ripon was fantastic for developing my critical eye and an eye for composition, as well as teaching me how to learn,” Brouwer says. His senior seminar, “Cheating with Light,” demonstrated how less traditional VFX techniques can create a more successful composition and control.

He received a degree in VFX production from the DAVE School in Orlando, Florida. After a presentation, he asked a recruiter about a specific position that was mentioned. “A month later, I was in Montréal working on ‘The Nutcracker,’” he says. Most of the sets in that film were computer-generated.

His job involves lighting grey polygons — two-dimensional shapes formed with straight lines — in such a way that they blend in seamlessly with live-action footage. “I facilitate the process of turning something that is 3D into a 2D image that can be used for the final film,” he says.

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While in school in Florida, Jeremy Brouwer ’14 worked on a video project for NASA’s Venture Class Launch Service program.

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A VFX image from “Dumbo.”

Photographer Amiee Pierstorff Hansen ’03 preserves the element of life in a digital age For 5½ years, Hansen and her husband, Brad, have watched their family business grow from the ground up. “We now have a studio, as well as photographing on location, and have watched our client base grow through hard work and tenacity,” she says.

Many of her clients are fellow alumni of Ripon College. She focuses on artistic classic portraiture and candid lifestyle shots of newborns, children, families and high school seniors.

Amiee Pierstorff Hansen ’03

After a decade of teaching, Amiee Pierstorff Hansen ’03 of Eldorado, Wisconsin, reinvented her professional life. She applied her love for continuous learning and growth to the establishment of her own photography business, Glass Menagerie Photography.

“My skill and techniques have improved over time, but most people describe my photos as artistic,” she says. “It’s a real compliment when people come up to you and say, ‘I knew the photo was yours even before I saw the business tag.’ Setting myself apart style-wise is very important in a saturated industry.”

At Ripon, Hansen majored in history and minored in educational studies. “I envisioned myself retiring after many years of working in the public school system,” she says. “When the opportunity to create my own business presented itself, I found that

many of the business and economic classes — which at the time I wasn’t thrilled about taking — came into play in creating my business plan.”

She says the use of digital images, social media and the notion of preserving one’s past means that the field of photography is constantly evolving. “Because of this, photographers and those interested in photography are constantly educating themselves on how to encourage people not to just document themselves in the digital world but in the physical world, as well, through prints,” she says.

“Though career paths may change from time to time and the degree I once sought is no longer being used directly, the classes I took at Ripon to supplement that degree now are being used every day in my new career,” she says.

Evelina Karsten, top left, and Adler Karsten, bottom left, children of Carissa Zuercher Karsten ’10 and Shawn Karsten ’09; and right, Sandra DeVries Ernst ’03 and her family.

PHOTOS

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work from anywhere

Freelance economy soars with tech advances and demand for more worker flexibility The U.S. freelance workforce over the past five years has grown at three times the rate of the traditional labor force, a trend driven largely by technological innovation, enabling new ways of working, as well as an increased desire for freedom and flexibility among workers.

In 2018, 56.7 million workers took part in the freelance economy, an increase of 3.7 million workers from 2014. Younger generations, millennials and Generation Z, make up the largest cohort of freelancers. As a result of this growth, businesses of all sizes are realizing the value in engaging a freelance workforce to drive growth, productivity and innovation.

Alex Wente ’07, a business administration major, currently serves as enterprise account manager for Upwork, the world’s largest global freelancing website. Upwork is focused on helping businesses gain direct, real-time access to a global pool of freelance talent matched to their specific skills and needs, which is both flexible and scalable.

“We’ve seen the adoption of freelance talent accelerate over the past few years, with 53 percent of companies utilizing more flexible workers today than they had in the prior three years,” Wente says. “In fact, in the next 10 years, hiring managers anticipate that the work performed by flexible talent will increase by 168 percent.”

Upwork’s two-sided marketplace of freelancers and clients provides businesses of all sizes access to more than 5,000 in-demand skills spanning across 180 countries. Wente estimates that, on average, clients on Upwork can find qualified talent within three days, and in some instances within 24 hours, as compared to the six to eight weeks it takes using traditional staffing sources.

“The new workspace is the internet,” Wente says. “Technology continues to evolve and often requires skills that many companies don’t have in-house. If you limit work to a specific building, you limit yourself to the talent within

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your local area. But if you allow work to take place from anywhere in the world, then the globe becomes your talent pool.”

Wente says Ripon College granted him the opportunity to learn at a pace that worked best for him and to learn how to apply liberal arts skills to the emerging workplace. “The variety of courses unlocked and strengthened my critical thinking and communication skills, and were tailored to my interests, like leadership studies, public speaking, marketing and entrepreneurship,” he says.

Such flexibility is a big draw for Upwork’s clients. Upwork’s fifth annual Freelancing in America study shows that 63% of freelancers say they started more out of choice than necessity. As freelancing becomes more mainstream, new services such as tax support and financial services are being rolled out to ease the stress and anxiety some feel during the transition to freelance work.

see freelancers from around the world build agencies on our marketplace to support their growing client requests,” Wente says. “At the same time, traditional brick-and-mortar agencies are joining Upwork to gain access to enterprise clients as well as a larger pool of high-skilled experts to help drive better results for their clients.”

Wente says he stays motivated in his work by challenging traditional hiring practices while advocating a new and flexible way to work together regardless of location.

“I’m fortunate to work alongside extremely bright and forward-thinking executives who put their people first. Through thoughtleadership, education and guidance, we earn the trust that allows customers a positive and rewarding experience as they familiarize themselves with a distributed work model.”

With this growth, Upwork also is seeing the evolution of the traditional agency. “We

Alex Wente ’07

Although she was editor of a national publication in the Madison, Wisconsin, area for seven years, Shelby Deering ’05 of Verona, Wisconsin, always knew she wanted to own her own business one day. Her family has three generations of small-business owners before her, so after she gained some experience she felt she was ready to make the switch to running her own freelance writing business.

Captured Moments Photography

Writer Shelby Deering ’05 succeeds at bringing craft to freelance market Shelby Deering ’05

She is not alone. A survey conducted by the Freelancers Union and the freelance platform Upwork found that in 2017, 36% of the U.S. workforce freelanced. Growth projections found that the majority of U.S. workers — 50.9% — will be freelancing by 2027.

Freedom and flexibility were reported as the primary motivations for freelancers.

This resonates with Deering. She now works from home as a lifestyle writer, and her daily work encompasses writing fun, informative articles on topics she enjoys, interviewing, researching and image sourcing. Since 2017, she has been a member of the American Society of Journalists and Authors.

At Ripon, Deering majored in English, with a minor in history. She served as the photo editor at College Days and was a member of Alpha Delta Pi. She went on to earn a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Deering’s work has appeared in national publications such as Good Housekeeping, Better Homes & Gardens, Architectural Digest, Domino, Prevention and Country Living.

“To be an independent worker, it certainly takes dedication, patience and the ability to be really organized,” Deering says. “Instead of having a team of people keep my books, organize my schedule or take care of my business licensing, it’s all me, so organization and being on top of things is incredibly important.”

She says the education she received at Ripon shaped her current career in journalism. Her English studies help her to think critically,

work with research comfortably and draw expertise and inspiration from writers she studied in the department. She finds her history degree adds to her success in journalism, aiding in her research pursuits.

“My writing allows me to connect with people from all walks of life, and that is such a privilege,” Deering says. “It feels rewarding to know that my articles can inspire and help people in the same way that so many things I’ve read over the years have helped me.”

“I’m very content and happy as a freelance writer, and in the years to come, I see myself continuing to freelance and write about the same topics I’m covering currently, but perhaps in new and fresh ways.”

DAKOTA MARLEGA ’21 WAUPACA, WISCONSIN

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social good

Safeguarding Milwaukee’s water resources one interactive project at a time Michael Timm ’04 of Cudahy, Wisconsin, uses a combination of science, communication, creativity and fun to impact the future of water resources in the Milwaukee area.

At Ripon College, he studied anthropology and English, and he received a master’s degree in freshwater science from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He now manages the Milwaukee Water Stories program for the nonprofit Reflo-Sustainable Water Solutions.

student, employee and agent of change,” he says. “Science and the humanities don’t need to be at odds. There’s no fundamental dissonance between them. When they are complementary, they are more powerful.

“I work with engineers, teachers, artists, scientists, community organizers, executives, volunteers, students and many more people,” Timm says. “My study of anthropology and English at Ripon shed insight into the power

of narratives to shape reality. Storytelling has the power to normalize patterns of behavior.

Storytelling provides a sense of meaning about why things are the way they are and how we can change them. Stories are positive feedback mechanisms that can reverberate through culture. We are consciously changing the world by rewriting our city’s water story.”

More about Milwaukee Water Stories can be found at refloh2o.com.

“We’re changing the world by creating urban green infrastructure projects that transform Milwaukee into a more resilient city, both in terms of stormwater management and rainwater reuse, but also in terms of community integration with nature-based spaces,” Timm says.

He oversees three innovative and interrelated digital communication projects, including the Milwaukee Community Map, a free community-based resource using Google Earth to share water data and digital stories. He also is responsible for the public engagement app Water Story MKE, like Pokemon GO, to explore sites around the city related to water history and green infrastructure; and MKE Waterscape Game, an Augmented Reality role-playing experience he designed for use by students ages 13 and older.

He previously designed the game Three Degrees, which won second place in the nationwide Climate Game Jam competition sponsored by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy in 2015.

Three Degrees was honored among climate education games showcased at the Smithsonian Institution in early 2016.

His game Mussel Madness is an interactive, cooperative board game about protecting phytoplankton from an oncoming mussel invasion. Mussels are an invasive species in the Great Lakes and have transformed the ecosystem in dramatic ways.

Timm continues to find new ways to engage the public. “Be well-rounded as a person,

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Michael Timm ’04 collaborates with an artist and landscape architect to design the MKE Waterscape Game.

ABOVE

Young people experience a sense of wonder with digital tools that stimulate the imagination.

BELOW

Paul Hausch ’13 visualizes the future in order to help others Paul Hausch ’13

Paul Hausch ’13 always enjoyed creating art and building things, and he has a passion for helping others. All of these came together when he discovered the field of industrial design.

The Industrial Designers Society of America says industrial designers focus on the appearance of a product, how it functions and is manufactured and the value and experience it provides for users. “Every product you have in your home and interact with is the result of a design process and thousands of decisions aimed at improving your life through design,” the society states.

Hausch holds a bachelor’s degree in studio art from Ripon College and says that his Ripon education taught him the fundamentals of design visualization. He also has conducted research in rapid prototyping processes at the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He is pursuing a master’s degree in industrial design at Arizona State University, with interests in aerospace and transportation product development, design strategy and user experience.

Recently, he was one of five students nationwide to be selected to have design work included in the exhibition “The Road Ahead: Reimagining Mobility” at the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum in New York, which ended in late March. It featured 40 projects that explore the future of mobility and the urban environment, selection of design responses that reimagine livable streets and the way people, goods and services will move in a new age of connected and transformational mobility.

Hausch’s contribution was a concept for an AirChair, to aid people with limited mobility in navigating airports. After interviewing travelers and airport employees about what might be needed, he added firsthand research by putting a cast on his foot, purchasing an airline ticket and experiencing for himself what issues are involved. That led to specific improvements to his design.

“People at the exhibit liked the process of how I came to the design, the research and personal experience involved,” he says.

He also has volunteered extensively to bring technology access to underprivileged populations around the world. “Access to modern technology and computer-literacy training is an essential tool globally for people to succeed in a rapidly changing and high-tech world,” he says.

AirChair, a user-operated motorized transportation solution for commercial air travelers with ambulatory needs

He has taught art to children at community centers and hopes his designs will make people’s lives more enjoyable and comfortable. “Design work is functional art,” he says. Design is the beginning stage of where a concept could go.

“With art, I’m able to express myself. I had interest in engineering, aerospace, transportation and cycling. I feel like I always was building stuff. I didn’t really know industrial design existed. I’m lucky I found it because it is exactly what I wanted.”

Glide, a security solution for public transport in hotter urban climates

To view more of Hausch’s designs, visit www.paulhausch.com

Globe Bottled Water, a compostable, sustainable single-use water bottle

Vinum, a wine-opening experience with comfort and minimal effort

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ALUMNI PERSPECTIVES

How does your current job differ from the first professional job you held?

The world of work is changing rapidly, even for those who remain in the same job throughout their careers. With automation, advancing technology, globalization and daily exposure to entirely new fields, many workers today are making professional transformations by learning new skill sets for their job, reinventing themselves or changing jobs and even entire industries up to seven times in their careers, according to recent surveys. Here, Ripon College alumni share their transformational journeys.

My first “professional” job after finishing Ripon in 1976 was as a part-time newspaper reporter in the Milwaukee suburbs in 1976 to 1977. I went to city council meetings, school board meetings, etc., and wrote stories on what went on in them. My current position couldn’t be more different — I am president of an investment management firm that manages investments for people across the country. The key difference is that I use a lot of math in my current role, not especially difficult math, but a lot of it. The commonality of the two positions is that I spend a lot of time asking people questions and writing. Liberal arts is a great background for both.

Peter W. Tuz ’76 Charlottesville, Virginia

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I could not be farther from what my first professional job was out of college. Directly out of school, I started a job at American Intercontinental University as an admissions adviser. Now I am a buyer and in production sourcing (acquiring materials) at Briggs and Stratton. I have found that learning new skills and trades have brought me from largely a service industry to a specialized skill. I like to say that I fell into this job by luck or chance, but the reality is that I had to stretch my skill sets to learn a new role.

Moving from a customer-based focus to sourcing was a challenge. It was a whole new skill set. I had to learn communication needs and skills for overseas communications. I also had to adapt to a new and changing process.

I went from a largely static job and clear-cut process to a fluid process and problemsolving. I had to find a way to work not knowing what is needed next in the process.

Each part/project is different for me. The ability to adapt is the biggest change I have had to make.

Although I am far from where I started, I am glad to have made the change. I would not have it any other way. I am truly meant to be in sourcing and love my job.

Tracy Bicknell Krueger ’05 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

I have changed industries once since I held my first full-time professional job. In many ways what I do remains similar, in others it is radically different. My entire career has been focused on social science work using a long list of knowledge and skills I’ve acquired since middle school, starting with computer science and a strong command of written and spoken English. However, my career started out in international education and now I do global applied research. The biggest change has been the advent of digital data.

I have always worked with information, and the rise of the digital has dramatically changed the speed, accuracy and range of my work. For example, I remember spending hours printing and analyzing reams of statistical analysis on the dot matrix printers in the Ripon computer lab for a politics and government methods class. Today, I run the same analyses but in seconds on my desktop without a sheet of paper in sight.

Similarly, in one of my first positions overseas, I spent hours writing emails on the earliest government internet system on a personal computer with a green screen.

Emails had to be bundled into packets before they could be sent over telephone lines. Phone calls were minimized because of cost. Today, I bounce emails and calls off a satellite using a handheld device instantly from almost anywhere in the world. Cultural and geographic distances have also shrunk.

I have always specialized in intercultural communication working with teams of people from or in other countries. In my first job, this required deep knowledge of languages and cultural context and infrequent, prolonged travel.

Today, almost everyone I work with speaks English, we communicate instantly worldwide via audio and video over the internet, I can roughly translate documents in a flash with online tools, there is a (mostly) shared global culture of the workplace, and I get on planes to other countries like they are buses. There is a constant need to change skills and knowledge in the workplace, and the trick to success is to keep up.

I’m on my third career since my graduation in 1962. My degree in philosophy prepared me for a career as a worker priest: ordained in 1965, parish ministry 1965 to 1966, Associate Episcopal chaplain at Northwestern University, 1966 to 1968, Sears management training program 1969 while taking a Sunday ministry position. I advanced in Sears to regional personnel director covering five states of human resource management, including Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), policy and labor contract administration while working as an interim ministry specialist in three parishes in Minnesota. I returned to full-time ministry in Minnesota as an interim specialist. I was called from my interim assignment to a parish in LaGrange, Illinois, where I served as the rector for 20 years. In my final six years, I completed a doctor of ministry degree in pastoral theology followed by a master’s degree in counseling and human services.

I passed my required exams in 2004 and was hired as a therapist by Psych Associates of Hinsdale, Illinois. I worked under the supervision of a psychiatrist for six years and eventually began my own business in 2010, where I continue to practice as a counselor during the week and take on frequent invitations to preach and preside in many Chicago and suburban parishes.

David Weaver ’62 Western Springs, Illinois

Karl Feld ’91 Clayton, North Carolina

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COMMENCEMENT 2019

Marc Edwards

COMMENCEMENT SPEAKER MARC EDWARDS:

Have courage to lead a ‘life well lived’ “Living up to that model (of a life worth living) has never been more important. The fate of humankind depends on it.”

MARC EDWARDS

On a cold and rainy Sunday, the spirit and pride of the 153rd graduating class of Ripon College remained high; 152 students participated in the Commencement ceremony and became new graduates in the field house of Willmore Center.

With the theme “Caring for Our Environment,” the ceremony honored two men with special interest in aspects of the environment. Receiving an honorary degree and delivering the Commencement address was Marc Edwards, University Distinguised Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, who helped lead investigations into high-profile drinking water crises in Washington, D.C., and Flint, Michigan.

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Also receiving an honorary degree was John Nelson, an adjunct professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Nelson also is chairman of MEP Associates LLC, an engineering consulting firm; chief technical officer of Fitzgerald Asset Management, an infrastructure asset manager; past chair and a financial supporter of the UW Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies Board; and a former board member of the Green Lake Association.

The 2019 Founders’ Day Award recognized regional partners the Green Lake Association, Green Lake Conservancy and Green Lake Sanitary District.

Edwards, Nelson and Acting President Ed

JUST THE STATS

John Nelson

Top majors: Business Management Biology History Economics Psychology Communication Politics and Government Double majors: Triple majors: Phi Beta Kappa:

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Summa Cum Laude 13 (highest distinction)

Acting President Ed Wingenbach

Magna Cum Laude

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(great distinction)

Cum Laude

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(distinction):

Wingenbach all spoke at the Senior Brunch and Forum Sunday morning and at the Commencement ceremony in the afternoon.

Nelson spoke of the need to find humanity in the people involved in every environmental conflict. “Regardless of politics, almost always there is a human being with whom I can have a conversation.

Try to listen to everyone,” he said. “Respect everybody involved. We need empathy for each other and to make sure we each have a place to stand in the community.”

Edwards, who faced personal and professional backlash by addressing illegalities at the local, state and federal levels, played off Ripon’s philosophy of

a “life well lived” to encourage the new graduates to always strive for truth and honor no matter the consequences.

“Living up to that model (of a life worth living) has never been more important,” he said. “The fate of humankind depends on it.” He encouraged honor before selfinterest and truth before tribalism.

Edwards acknowledged that these ideals can be difficult, and people need to be prepared to leave behind those who stand in the way of that. “A life well lived is more about bridges you should burn than the bridges you don’t,” he said. “It’s always darkest before you burn that bridge behind you. It’s in the light of that burning bridge that you will make new friends, true

Senior class gift: (70% participation)

$3,177.40

friends. That will be your highest reward.

“You must dare and you must have moral courage to live such a life, sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself. Ripon graduates, go live that life.”

A video of the Commencement ceremony and speeches can be viewed at ripon.edu/ springcommencement19.

A video of the Sunday morning Senior Brunch and Forum with the honored guests can be viewed at ripon.edu/ springbrunch19.

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COMMENCEMENT 2019

2019 graduates stepping out into their futures Students at Ripon College have opportunities to develop skills and knowledge in their chosen areas of study, while also expanding their horizons to new areas of interest, service to the wider world around them and engaging possibilities they never could have imagined. On average, 98 percent of Ripon College graduates are employed, in graduate school or student teaching within six months of graduating. Here is what is on the horizon for some of our recent graduates.

Savannah White

Stacie Klika

Ethan Freiermuth

“I am moving to Michigan to intern with an organization called Shakespeare Behind Bars; in the fall I will be attending Lesley University to pursue a master’s in clinical mental health counseling with a specialization in drama therapy.”

“I am currently student teaching at Oshkosh West High School with Ripon College alumna Niki Gorske Sutter ’01.

I have accepted a position at Berlin (Wisconsin) High School where I will be teaching physical education and coaching volleyball.”

“I’ll be headed down to Texas A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service to pursue a master’s degree in international affairs with the aim of entering one of our nation’s security or intelligence agencies.”

Tyler Sturzl

Eric Fels

Robert Rosner

“I will be working as an associate software analyst for Insperity Inc. in Madison, Wisconsin. I’m excited to start a career path in technology for the enhancement of businesses.”

“I will be working in hospitality for Xanterra Parks and Resorts at Yellowstone National Park for five months. After that, I will be pursuing a career with either the National Parks Services or with a sports organization in community outreach.”

“I will be enrolling in the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s water resources management program at the Nelson Institute to earn a master’s degree and prepare for a career in water resources.”

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Haylee Conradt

EmmaJane Hall

Anthony Malisch

She will be a paid intern for the fall semester with the Kimberly (Wisconsin) School District.

“I plan on working for a year before I return to school to get my master’s degree in nursing!”

“Immediately after graduation, I am starting to pack for Switzerland.” Over the summer, he will work at the International Scout Center in Kandersteg.

Elizabeth Rigden

Diana Meredith

Jairo Javier

“I will be moving to Milwaukee to attend Marquette University and complete a master’s of education, specializing in student affairs and higher education administration. At Marquette, I also will be working to gain experience in their Sorority and Fraternity Life Office.”

“My long-term goal is to go to graduate school for therapy studies, but I have decided to take a year off before doing that. I will be working part time in a new lab at Marquette University doing research on how to improve interventions for children with autism. I also will be working as a line therapist for children with autism.”

“I am exploring career options as my experience at Ripon has made me want to go in a different direction than I had originally planned. I initially wanted to be an entrepreneur to open a vegan Mexican restaurant, but now I plan on entering a higher education field. I will be working with Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Talented Youth summer program as an event programmer. In the near future, I also plan on going to grad school for higher education in student activities — director of student activities is the goal.”

Morgan Makar

Khun Maung

“Next fall I will either be attending Marquette University Law School or Vermont Law School.”

“I will be exploring jobs in both marketing and creative enterprises. I look forward to traveling!”

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AROUND THE CLOCKTOWER 1

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1. Court renaming honors coaches Johnson, Gillespie

2. Ripon, 100 other campuses target new ATI enrollments

4. Ripon team wins international business ethics competition

The court in Willmore Center’s Weiske Gymnasium has been renamed to honor both Bob Gillespie and Julie Johnson.

In February, Acting President and Dean of Faculty Ed Wingenbach and Trustees Penelope Pate Greene and Peter Tuz ’76 attended the American Talent Initiative (ATI) Presidential Summit at Bloomberg Tower in New York. Ripon and about 100 other top colleges and universities are working collectively to enroll 50,000 additional talented, low- and moderate-income students at colleges and universities with strong graduation rates by 2025. of the University of Illinois; Acting President Ed Wingenbach; and Peter Tuz ’76.

A Ripon College team placed first in the undergraduate division of the International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition in April at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. The team included Tyler Sturzl ’19, Crandon, Wisconsin; Wyatt McGillen ’19, Kalispell, Montana; and Haley Stowell ’20, Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The team’s topic was “A Continent That Counts: Solving Statistical Inequalities with Clean Data Collaboratives.” It focused on businesses investing in clean data collection in sub-Saharan Africa, with strong emphasis placed on improving agricultural, economic and humanitarian infrastructure.

3. Trophy cases highlight winning sports teams

PHOTO Tyler Sturzl ’19, left, Haley Stowell ’20 and Wyatt McGillen ’19

New trophy cases were installed in Willmore Center during the Spring 2019 semester. Located on the upper floor just outside the Abendroth Athletic Suite, the installation spans more than 100 feet and features three cases housing trophies and awards from all 21 sports teams. The installation also features a graphic wall highlighting major moments and achievements from all teams.

President Zach Messitte co-author of forthcoming book

Johnson is on leave as athletic director at Ripon College, a role she’s held since 2010. She is the first female to hold the position at Ripon. The renamed Johnson/Gillespie Court was unveiled March 21 in a private ceremony with more than 50 former players and assistant coaches from more than 20 years of Johnson’s coaching and athletic director leadership.

As head coach of Ripon’s women’s basketball team from 1990-2013, Johnson became the program’s winningest coach with a career record of 303-237 (.561). She is one of just four coaches in Midwest Conference history to tally more than 300 career victories and one of four to win at least 200 conference games.

Under Johnson’s leadership, Ripon won four MWC Championships and qualified for the NCAA Tournament in all four of those years. She was named MWC Coach of the Year four times and NCAA women’s basketball Central Region Coach of the Year once.

Gillespie is retired as the head men’s basketball coach and Ripon’s all-time winningest coach in both men’s basketball and baseball. He is one of just two coaches in Midwest Conference men’s basketball history to win more than 500 games, finishing his career with 510 victories.

PHOTO Penelope Pate Greene, left; Robert Jones, chancellor

Ripon College ranks as ‘innovative,’ ‘focused’ The College Consensus website ranks Ripon College on its Top 50 list of Most Innovative Colleges. Ripon is recognized for its 20-credit applied innovation Catalyst curriculum and its dedication to bringing Career and Professional Development resources into all four years of a student’s time on campus.

Ripon is just one of three schools in Wisconsin to make the list.

Ripon College also was ranked as one of the top schools in Wisconsin focused on studies of political science and government, according to the website Collegefactual.com. “It’s difficult to beat Ripon College if you wish to study Political Science & Government,” the report states.

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Republican Populist: Spiro Agnew and the Origins of Donald Trump’s America is scheduled to be released in October by The University of Virginia Press. The authors are: Charles J. Holden, professor of history at St. Mary’s College of Maryland; Zach Messitte, president of Ripon College and professor of politics and government; and Jerald Podair, professor of history and Robert S. French Professor of American Studies at Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin. The book is available for pre-order on Amazon.com.

5. Rebecca Matzke featured in new documentary film Rebecca Matzke, professor of history and dean for faculty development, is featured in a Wisconsin National Guard documentary that premiered May 14. “Dawn of the Red Arrow” is about the beginnings of the 32nd Red Arrow Division in Wisconsin during World War I. Matzke is one of the historians interviewed in the film.

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Harwood Memorial Union, Ripon College

6. Five commissioned as part of ROTC Five new second lieutenants from Ripon College were commissioned into the U.S. Army by the Fox Valley Battalion of the Reserve Officer Training Corps, of which the Ripon Red Hawks Company is a part. The ceremony was held May 24 at Willmore Center.

Second lieutenants from Ripon College are Christian Ryan of Caledonia, Wisconsin; Nathan Faucett of Marinette, Wisconsin; Justin Filter of Janesville, Wisconsin; Aubreigh Zimmerman LeFleur of Ripon, Wisconsin; and Justin LaFleur of Belvidere, Illinois.

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the creation of the ROTC program at Ripon. A history of the unit, Faith and Courage: The History of the Ripon ROTC Unit. 1919- 1991, was published in 1992. An updated version was compiled for the 100th anniversary and can be viewed at ripon.edu/ rotc/learning-to-lead. Faucett wrote the booklet under the guidance of William Woolley, professor of history emeritus.

The Fox Valley Battalion is headquartered at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

7. Two seniors present at national conference Justin Filter ’19 of Janesville, Wisconsin, and Shelbi Buettner ’19 of Dane, Wisconsin, presented at the National Undergraduate Honors Conference in Communication at Depauw University April 4-6. Buettner presented “Redefining Gender Roles: The Defense of All Things Feminine.” Filter presented “The Messages of Content and Form Present in John F. Kennedy’s Address to the Nation on the Cuban Missile Crisis.”

PHOTO Shelbi Buettner ’19, left; DePauw Professor of

Communication and Theatre Kent Menzel, a 1981 Ripon College graduate; and Justin Filter ’19

8. Robert Wallace publishes chapter in revised book

State energy engineers discuss workplace sustainability

Robert Wallace, professor of biology emeritus and the Patricia and Philip McCullough 1969 Professor in Biology, is a co-author of a chapter in the recently published book Thorp and Covich’s Freshwater Invertebrates, Keys to Palearctic Fauna, fourth edition.

A panel of sustainability experts was featured at a meeting of the Wisconsin Association of Energy Engineers Feb. 27 at Ripon College. The panel discussed sustainability in the workplace, the sustainability job market and opportunities for students.

9. Students participate in state collegiate honors band Six student musicians represented Ripon College in the Collegiate Honors Band of the National Band Association, Wisconsin chapter, at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

This was the 17th year this honors group has been held, and Ripon College has been represented in the group for about the last 10 years.

PHOTO from left: Jessica Miles ’21, Brittny Brown ’21, Eric Westberg ’20, Kate Myszewski ’19, Wyatt Thomas ’20 and Allison Pieper ’21

10. Retired executive director honored for short stories “Wash the Crying River,” a short story by Larry Malchow ’77, former executive director of development at the College, is the winner of the John Steinbeck Award for Fiction, sponsored

by Reed Magazine of San Jose State University (reedmag. org). It will be published in Issue 152. Contest winners in the various categories have been posted with photos and very brief bios on the journal’s website, where Issue 152 also will be available in the near term for purchase.

Malchow’s first short story, “Trapped,” was a semifinalist in the Machigonne contest sponsored by the New Guard Literary Review (newguardreview.com) and was published in fall 2018 in Volume VII. Copies are on sale via the website.

His second short story, “Liberty Motel,” was a finalist for the Portal Prize in Fiction and was published in Easy Street magazine early in 2019 (easystreetmag.com).

11. It’s a small world with Ripon College connections John Rodgers ’69 of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, made a new “old” friend when he and his wife, Carol, took a river cruise along the Danube, Main and Rhine rivers from Vienna to Amsterdam. “We had an enjoyable time and unexpectedly ran into another alum from Ripon College,” he reports. “On our last day, we were walking through the Amsterdam Central Railway Station when Christopher Shaw ’65 from Santa Rosa, California, approached us and asked about the Ripon College hat I was wearing.

“Ironically, we discovered we had been on the same river cruise and had even eaten dinner together, but had not discovered our Ripon College connection until he saw me with my timeworn Ripon College hat. We got together with Chris and his wife, Pat, for lunch, reminisced about our Ripon College days and discussed our travels, past and future. What a wonderful highlight to a marvelous vacation.”

PHOTO Christopher Shaw ’65, left, and John Rodgers ’69.

12. Hand-drawn illustrations of Ripon landmarks available A hand-drawn digital illustration of Harwood Memorial Union is the first in a special collector’s series by Appleton, Wisconsin, artist Emily Reetz. Artwork by Reetz is available at Appleton’s Blue Moon Emporium and Etsy, and she also is a wife and homeschooling mother of four. The exclusive artwork from the Ripon College Collector’s Series can be purchased at Bovay’s Mercantile on campus or online at bovaysestore. com. Stay tuned for future releases!

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SPORTS

Lexi Reetz ’19 pitches her way into Ripon College history Senior Lexi Reetz is one of the most dominant pitchers in Ripon College softball history, and she has the accolades to show it.

This year, Reetz became just the third player in program history to be named to the AllConference team in all four years, while also becoming the first player to record 100 or more strikeouts in four consecutive seasons.

“Ripon’s truly a special place to me,” Reetz says. “In the last four years, I’ve seen a major shift in the softball program and how other teams in the conference view the Red Hawks. I feel lucky to have had this experience at Ripon. That will stay with me for many years after I graduate.”

Reetz finished her career ranking second in program history for career strikeouts with 476, just 22 shy of the school record. She 28

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also ranks second in complete games (61), second in innings pitched (514.2), fifth in victories (34), and sixth in earned run average (2.57).

“It’s crazy to think that I’m in the school record book because I didn’t come to Ripon with specific expectations,” she says. “I just wanted to have fun and compete. I never focused on the numbers because that’s not why I play. After a while, I found success and continued to work hard at improving the things that were working, while adding to other aspects of my game. Now that it’s over, I’m proud of what I accomplished and am leaving with no regrets.”

She has earned her share of awards, including being named Midwest Conference Pitcher of the Week three times in her last season, but none compares to the feeling the

Oshkosh, Wisconsin, native has pitching so close to home in front of family and friends for each game.

“Family means everything to me. From my first T-ball game to my last game at Ripon, my family has been nothing but supportive of me,” Reetz said. “When I’m on the field, I can see my family behind the backstop and it makes me feel at home. They have been by my side in everything I’ve done, and being able to share this journey with them is something I’ll cherish forever.”

Not only is Reetz a star on the field, but also in the classroom. The psychology major is a three-time Academic All-Conference performer and was named to the All-America Scholar Athlete team as a sophomore.

“I have loved my time at Ripon, largely because of the psychology department

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL The team won their second consecutive Midwest Conference (MWC) Championship, advancing to the NCAA Division-III Tournament for the first time in 10 years. Their 19-9 record tied for fifth in program history. Their 16-2 MWC record reflected the most conference wins in program history. Head Coach Lauren Busalacchi earned MWC Coach of the Year honors, and senior Maggie Oimoen of Barneveld, Wisconsin, was named First Team All-Conference for the third consecutive season. The team broke the school record for single-season rebounds with 1,151.

BASEBALL The team advanced to the MWC Championship Game, finishing the season 24-18, tied for seventh for highest win total in program history. They also finished with a school record of 10 saves, ranked second in strikeouts (267) and tied for third in both hits (441) and stolen bases (51). Earning All-Conference honors were catcher Michael Barnes ’19 of Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, and pitchers Brice Swick ’19 of Kimberly, Wisconsin, and Brian Brown ’20 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Barnes also was named MWC North Division Player of the Year.

TRACK AND FIELD — Callista DeCramer ’20 of Princeton, Wisconsin, wrapped up her record season at the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships May 23-24 and finished inside the top 15 for the second consecutive national meet in the multi-events. She finished 14th in the Heptathlon. and professors, who have taught me to adjust the way I think to be more positive, empathetic and compassionate,” Reetz says.

“Being a psychology major has made me a better person and also has helped me find success on the softball field. There is a big mental component to pitching that people don’t often realize. Psychology has shown me how to be resilient and push forward no matter what.”

Reetz plans to pursue graduate studies to become a speech pathologist and work with young children in school.

MIKE WESTEMEIER DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

During the indoor season, she became the first women’s track and field student-athlete in school history to qualify for NCAA Division-III Nationals in two different events in the same season, doing so in the pentathlon and triple jump. She was named to the All-Region Team in the Heptathlon, as announced by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

The women’s javelin squad finished the season ranked 14th in the country. That is their highest ranking event ever in program history.

Andrew Fuhrmann ’21 of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin, won both the 200- and 400-meter dashes at February’s MWC Championships for his first two individual conference titles. He is the first Ripon College student-athlete to win both events at the same championship meet.

At the 2019 MWC Outdoor Championships, the teams totaled eight all-conference performances and recorded two new school records.

MEN’ BASKETBALL — Cal Schultz ’19 was named First Team All-Conference for men’s basketball. He is the 27th player in program history to score 1,000 career points.

MEN’S SWIMMING — Jack Lutter ’19 of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin, broke four individual school records at February’s MWC Championships — 100 butterfly, 100 backstroke, 200 backstroke and 200 freestyle.

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In memoriam ROBERT V. CADIEU ’44 of Menominee, Michigan, died Jan. 11, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in mathematics and physics and was a member of Omega Sigma Chi and Partners in the Legacy. He attended Lawrence College under the Navy V-12 program until serving in the U.S. Navy from 1943 to 1946. He received a business administration degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1948. He was an engineer specializing in management consulting for many years. He was an active member of his church, community organizations and the board of directors and foundation of Spies Library. Survivors include his wife, Norma.

EDWARD LEVI ’44 of Phoenix, Arizona, died Dec. 8, 2018. At Ripon College, he majored in economics and was a member of Sigma Nu and the tennis team. He served in the European Theater in the U.S. Army during World War II. He worked in the family business his whole career, starting as a soda jerk and then managing and co-owning Heinemann’s restaurants and candy in Milwaukee. He retired to Phoenix when he was 69. He enjoyed tennis. Survivors include his wife, Barbara; and three daughters.

GRACE HOAG SCOTT ’46 of Dallas, Texas, died Feb. 9, 2019.

At Ripon College, she studied biology and psychology and was a member of Delta Phi Sigma. She taught biology and chemistry to high school and junior high students. She was a devoted Lutheran. She moved to Dallas with her family in 1968. She enjoyed reading, was president of Friends of the Public Library, played in competitive bridge tournaments, and was a baseball fan of the Texas Rangers. Survivors include her husband, James; and two daughters.

BILLE HOOPER YOUNG ’46 of Downers Grove, Illinois, died May 2, 2014. At Ripon College, she majored in psychology and English and was a participant in Ver Adest and Delta Phi Sigma. She served as Class Agent from 1994 to 2006. She was a lifelong member of St. Andrew Episcopal Church, St. Andrew’s Daughters of the King and South American Missions Society.

She also was active in community volunteer organizations.

Survivors include one son and two daughters. Her husband, DONALD E. YOUNG ’44, died in 2012.

SHIRLEY BARNARD BRANDT ’47 of Peoria, Arizona, died Jan. 7, 2019. At Ripon College, she majored in economics and psychology. She played basketball, was on the rifle team and was a member of Alpha Xi Delta. She lived and worked in Green Bay, Wisconsin, Lawrence, Kansas, and Richland, Washington, before settling in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1966.

She was a member of Northminster Presbyterian Church and its women’s groups and prayer chains. She enjoyed camping and fishing with her family in Arizona’s White Mountains, gardening and the Green Bay Packers. Survivors include her husband, ROBERT L. BRANDT ’49; three sons and one daughter.

DONALD J. RECKINGER ’47 of Monroe, Wisconsin, died Feb. 17, 2019. He served in the Army Air Corps from 1942 to 1946 and studied meteorology at the University of Wisconsin and University of Chicago. He then served on a supply air ship out of Brazil to Italy. At Ripon College, he majored in mathematics, educational studies and chemistry, and participated in Delta Sigma Psi. He worked in education

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for six years and then received a master’s degree in educational studies from Drake University. He then worked as a statistician for Kemper Insurance in Chicago for 32 years. He enjoyed traveling, fishing and gardening and volunteered for AARP as a tax consultant for 20 years. Survivors include his wife, MARGUERITE PAUTSCH RECKINGER ’49; three sons and one daughter.

MOLLYANN HANSEN ’49 died Feb. 25, 2019. She had a career with Ameritech (Wisconsin Bell) as an analyst and executive until her retirement in 1986.

ANN MARGARET JONES STAJICH ’50 of Madison, Wisconsin, died Feb. 18, 2019. At Ripon College, she majored in psychology and English and participated in Ver Adest, theatre, music and Alpha Xi Delta. She received the Distinguished Alumni Citation in 2005. She was a social worker in Milwaukee and Madison. After moving to McFarland, Wisconsin, she was elected to the Village Board, was a reporter for the newspaper, was a member of the Garden Club and McFarland United Church of Christ, and helped build a new public library and start a farmers market. McFarland named her a Citizen of the Year. Survivors include one son and two daughters. Her husband, BERT STAJICH ’48, died in 1982.

RICHARD J. BAILAR ’51 of Monticello, Florida, died Jan. 14, 2019. He served in the Office of Strategic Services during World War II. At Ripon College, he majored in philosophy and psychology and participated in Ver Adest, Alpha Omega Alpha and ROTC. He was a member of Partners in the Legacy and received Ripon’s Distinguished Alumni Citation in 1981. After graduating from Union Theological Seminary, he served as senior pastor for Coral Gables Congregational Church for 28 years before retiring. He served on numerous commissions and community action forums, and he was active in the Jefferson County RJ Bailar Library. Survivors include six children.

ROGER L. PATROW ’52 of Spokane, Washington, died Nov. 27, 2018. At Ripon College, he participated in Ver Adest and Merriman/Phi Kappa Pi. He was commissioned into the U.S. Army and served in Korea. He received a master’s degree in education/counseling from the University of WisconsinMadison and a master’s in divinity from Lutheran Bible Institute. He served missions in Ethiopia, Africa, and was a teacher and director at Ethiopia Evangelical College. He served congregations in Escanaba, Michigan, Connell, Washington, La Grande, Oregon, and Fir Conway, Washington. He enjoyed watching sports. Survivors include his wife Arlette; one son and two daughters.

NICKOLAS R. LIVINGSTON ’53 of Claremont, California, died Jan. 1, 2018. At Ripon College, he majored in history, participated in Ver Adest and was a member of Lambda Delta Alpha. He served in the U.S. Army in Germany at the end of the Korean War. After receiving his architectural degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he worked in Africa, Texas and the Chicago suburbs, designing residential and commercial buildings. He was well-known as an architect, builder, exhibited artist, pianist and writer of novels, screenplays and poetry. He enjoyed traveling.

Survivors include his wife, the Rev. Ellen Livingston; two

stepsons and one stepdaughter.

THOMAS W. POULLETTE ’54 of Naples, Florida, formerly of Waupaca and Wautoma, Wisconsin, died May 7, 2019.

At Ripon College, he majored in biology and participated in Ver Adest and Sigma Nu. He served in the U.S. Army Infantry in Germany from 1954 to 1956. He then taught biology at Elkhorn (Wisconsin) High School and coached basketball.

He graduated from Marquette Dental School in 1962 and had a practice in Wautoma until retiring. He was a member of Trout Unlimited and Ducks Unlimited, the American Legion and a founding member of Wautoma Rotary Club. He was an avid fisherman. Survivors include two sons, GEORGE T. POULLETTE ’84 and CHARLES P. POULLETTE ’96; four stepchildren; and eight grandchildren, including SAMUEL G. POULLETTE ’13, MADELINE E. POULLETTE ’15 and THOMAS K. POULLETTE ’21.

GERALD J. ROSEN ’55 of Rancho Santa Fe, California, died Feb. 28, 2017. At Ripon College, he majored in economics and participated in the Crimson yearbook and Del Sig Psi and received an ROTC commission. He had served in executive positions at food service firms. Survivors include his wife, Arlene; and three daughters.

DONALD P. GIEGLER ’58 of La Jolla, California, died March 13, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in mathematics and was a member of Sigma Chi. He received a degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1959. He had been chief technical officer for the engineering consulting firm DPG/LAG Inc. in La Jolla.

Survivors include his wife, Lucille.

PETER A. MATTIACCI ’58 of Brookfield, Wisconsin, died March 21, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in physical education. He played football, basketball and baseball. As a senior playing quarterback for the undefeated Ripon Redman, “Pistol Pete” was named team MVP, All-Midwest Conference and Honorable Mention Little All-American. He was named to the Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983 and was a member of the Red Hawk Booster Club. He worked for Wausau Public Schools from 1958 until he retired as director of Health and Physical Education K-12 in 1990. Scholarships in his name are established in Wausau and at Ripon College. He also enjoyed golfing. Survivors include his wife, Judith Mattiacci; two sons and one daughter.

NATHAN F. BRAND ’59 of Madison, Wisconsin, died April 14, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in economics and participated in ROTC, athletics and Sigma Nu. He was a member of Friends of the Center for Politics and the People.

He held a variety of business and real estate interests and supported causes such as Overture’s Endowment Fund, Madison Children’s Museum, Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, UW Madison athletic scholarships and Rotary Club of Madison’s scholarship fund. He enjoyed exploring his Swiss heritage and UW-Madison sports. Survivors include his wife, Dora Schindler Brand; partner Regina Millner; one son and two daughters.

MURIEL MORGAN GEHRMAN ’59 of Spokane, Washington, died Dec. 3, 2018. She attended Ripon College for two years and graduated with honors from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was a member of the Tri-Delta sorority. She received a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts. She and her husband lived and taught around the world, including in Oregon, Germany, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Singapore and Tanzania. They settled in Klamath Falls, Oregon, where she ran a fitness business for a few years and taught at a junior high school. Survivors include her husband, Ted; and one daughter.

JACK S. “CAPT. JACK” PARKER JR. ’68 of San Diego, California, died Feb. 27, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in philosophy, speech communications and drama, was a member of Sigma Nu and was a charter member of Partners in the Legacy. He studied drama and theatre at the University of California-Berkeley and the Lee Strasbourg Theater and Film Institute in Los Angeles. He registered with the Screen Actors Guild as Jason Parker. He participated in acting, special effects engineering, ranching, volunteer firefighting, sailing, operating a business services store and photography. Survivors include one daughter and one stepdaughter.

PETER QUINN MATTESON ’63 of Maple Plain, Minnesota, died Feb. 13, 2019. At Ripon College, he was a member of Theta Chi.

JEAN SAKRISON VELARDE ’68 of Cordova, Tennessee, died May 9, 2019. At Ripon College, she was a member of Alpha Delta Pi and majored in English for two years before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She had run a remodeling company for 23 years. Survivors include her brother, DAVID SAKRISON, of Ripon, Wisconsin, who was an instructor of business management at Ripon College from 2012 to 2017.

CONSTANCE DUROCHER LINDSEY ’65 of Wake Forest, North Carolina, died May 26, 2017. At Ripon College, she majored in German and was a member of Kappa Delta. She studied library science at the University of South Carolina and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, from which she received her master’s degree. Survivors include her husband, Daniel; and a brother, KEVIN DUROCHER ’77.

SCOTT DUMFORD BARNES ’66 of Auburn, New York, died Feb. 11, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in economics, was a member of the 1963 undefeated football team and a member of Phi Delta Theta. He received a master’s degree in economics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

He was a professor of economics and business at Cayuga Community College for 30 years, serving as president of the College Faculty Association for 17 years. He enjoyed the outdoors, camping, canoeing, snowshoeing, hunting, fly-fishing and skeet shooting. He also collected rare 18th century New Jersey copper pennies, boots and antiques.

Survivors include his wife, SHERIE KIRSHNER BARNES ’65; one son and one daughter.

ROGER W. BECK ’67 of Green Bay, Wisconsin, died May 1, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in physical education, played basketball and was a member of Phi Delta Theta. He worked at Central Paper, Menasha, now IPG, for his entire career, retiring in 2007 after 35 years. He was a talented snow skier, even traveling to Europe to ski. He also enjoyed tending to his aquariums and fish, outdoors, camping and boating. He also was an avid sports fan. Survivors include his wife, Victoria; one son and one daughter.

NORMAN D. JEFFERSON ’67 of Hoover, Alabama, died April 13, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in biology and was a member of Delta Upsilon. He worked in toxicology for companies in Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Kalamazoo and Birmingham, Alabama, retiring from Southern Research Institute. He was a research associate laboratories, was promoted to management positions and then business development. He was a member of the Boy Scouts’ Order of the Arrow and enjoyed the outdoors. Survivors include his wife, Margery Wirth; three sons and two daughters; a brother, RANDALL JEFFERSON ’70, and a sister-in-law, ANNE SIVRIGHT JEFFERSON ’72. His first wife, JANE “J’ANN” LOFTE JEFFERSON ’67, died in 1985.

ROBERT S. BOGATIN JR. ’69 of Broomall, Pennsylvania, died Nov. 28, 2018. At Ripon College, he majored in psychology and participated in ROTC. He was a first lieutenant in Army Intelligence, Army Security, and served in Vietnam in 1970 and 1971. He received the Bronze Star. He then was an insurance salesman with Provident Mutual Life Insurance, a freelance photographer and a chemical manufacturers representative at Peltz-Rowley (later Easttech Chemical and Brenntag Specialties) from 1972 until retiring in 2009. He enjoyed trading in futures, golf and computers. Survivors include his wife, Pamela; and one son.

BRIAN K. SMITH ’69 of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, died Oct. 24, 2017. At Ripon College, he majored in Russian and history. He received his commission through ROTC and was a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He received his juris doctor degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

HENRY “HANK” DINGEMANS ’71 of Cottonwood, Arizona, died March 21, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in biology and participated in athletics, Lambda Delta Alpha/ Delta Upsilon and Beta Beta Beta honor society. He attended graduate school in biology at Northern Arizona University and later earned his teaching credentials. His occupations included farm hand, grocer, bar tender, convenience store manager, real estate advertiser and teacher. He enjoyed road tripping, sports, card games and outdoor activities. Survivors include two daughters.

ROBERT S. BRADBURY ’12 of Brooklyn, Wisconsin, died April 4, 2019. At Ripon College, he majored in English with minors in educational studies and studio art. A soccer player, he earned First Team, All-Conference while at Ripon where he and was part of the Midwest Conference championship soccer team in 2010. He was known for his work in music and art, coaching children’s soccer and snowboarding, guiding hiking and camping trips as a camp counselor and assisting children with special needs at Monona Grove High School. He was part of a supportive recovery community in Madison and Fitchburg where he shared his passions for guitar, writing, art and yoga. Survivors include his parents, Kenneth Bradbury and Kari Sherman.

FACULTY AND STAFF JULIE HEINZ JOHNSON of Ripon, Wisconsin, died June 13, 2019. During her 29year career at the College, she was a professor and chair of exercise science; and head coach of golf, softball and women’s basketball.

She became the basketball program’s winningest coach and one of only four coaches in Midwest Conference history to record more than 300 career victories. In 2010, she became the College’s first-ever female athletic director. She led the Red Hawks to unprecedented growth and success, attracting record numbers of studentathletes, introducing new sports and multiple new coaching positions to support the department’s 21 programs, and generating historic alumni engagement and donor support. She created a culture of inclusivity across the department, made community service a top priority among all her teams and established a model of the highest standard of sportsmanship.

Survivors include her husband, Steve; and one son.

BEVERLY J. KING of Merrill, Wisconsin, died March 30, 2019.

She worked in the alumni and admission offices at Ripon College and for the National Forensic League and Ripon Public Library. Survivors include two sons and one daughter.

SANDRA Y. KOLLER of Ripon, Wisconsin, died Feb. 8, 2019.

From 1958 until her retirement in 2005, she held many positions at Ripon College, the last as secretary/technician in the Office of College Relations.

DOROTHY ELLEN “DOTTIE” NEUENFELDT NORRIS of Minneapolis, Minnesota, died April 10, 2019. She was director of nursing at Ripon College from 1969 until retiring in 2000. She then lived in Yuma, Arizona, and Minneapolis. Surviving are two sons, including WILLIAM E. SOMMERS ’86; and one daughter, CYNTHIA S. WIDLAKE ’90.

E S T E L I TA “ E A S T ” SALDANHA of Harpswell, Maine, assistant professor of psychology from 1950 to 1954, died March 22, 2019. He also served as a researcher at the Medical Research Council, Cambridge University, U.K., and taught at Wells College in Aurora, New York, and the University of Southern Maine, Portland. Survivors include two sons and one daughter.

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FLASH internships demonstrate cutting-edge focus of career advising The Center for Career and Professional Development at Ripon College has initiated a new project to bring internship opportunities to Ripon College students as well as engage with Milwaukee-based businesses and employer partners.

The FLASH Internship Program provides project-based micro-internships. The short-term and topic-focused internships benefit both students and employers and revolutionize how students engage in such hands-on experiences. The center worked collaboratively in an innovative partnership with The Commons in Milwaukee, an initiative of The Greater Milwaukee Committee that brings academic and business communities together.

“We are re-thinking how the internship process can be more equitable and innovative — especially for skilled liberal arts students and entrepreneurial-minded businesses,” says Lindsay Blumer, assistant dean of career and professional development.

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FLASH Internships partner a Ripon College student and their problem-solving skill sets with a company or organization for short-term projects or as part of an ongoing program or project that requires a fresh perspective. FLASH Internships are the only project-based short-term experiences in Wisconsin that are designed to get results for the employer and for the student and create an innovative talent pipeline for high-performing organizations.

Students already have engaged in FLASH Internships that so far have lasted for three days each at The Water Council, Workshop Architects, Brainchild Studios and others.

Plans are underway for another round of FLASH Internships in the next academic year with the vision of expanding the program to businesses and employers throughout Wisconsin.

Students Jacob Diny ’19 and Coral Eakins ’19 at The Commons in Milwaukee with Michael Hostad, executive director and co-founder, and Joe Poeschl, program director and co-founder.

ABOVE

Daisy Aguilera ’20 is at Workshop Architects in the Third Ward neighborhood of Milwaukee.

BELOW

#OneDayRally by the numbers…

234 Game Changers, who helped us inspire participation and new gifts through unique challenges.

291 donors or 24% of “Day Of” donors came from the last 10 graduating classes (2008-2018)

128 new donor households

203 lapsed donor households

98 faculty and staff households

Donor breakdown:

64% of donors are alumni.

# OneDayRally hauls in more than $1M for Ripon Fund Ripon College’s second annual #OneDayRally giving day was a success by all accounts.

WIth more than eight hours remaining on Wednesday, May 1, the online campaign reached $940,817 and 100 percent of its initial goal for donor participation.

As #OneDayRally came to a close after 18 hours and 51 minutes, a record $1,085,314 was raised for the Ripon Fund from a total of 1,446 donors, which surpassed the total fundraising goal set for the day by 39%. An additional 506 donors contributed to the giving day over the number of donors to the previous year’s #OneDayRally.

Special #OneDayRally hours were held in Milwaukee, Madison, the Chicago area, the Twin Cities, Cincinnati and Washington, D.C., inviting alumni engagement and celebration during the big day.

5% of donors are current students.

7% of donors are parents.

7% of donors are employees (faculty and staff).

7% of donors are friends.

Top classes for total donors: 2019: 68 donors 1978: 41 donors 2003: 37 donors 2017: 35 donors 2006: 35 donors

Top three classes for total dollars raised: 1983: $129,259 1981: $101,350 1969: $77,138

Gifts received:

1,446 Percentage of goal:

139% Dollars raised:

$1,085,314 S U M M E R 2019

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Fallen soldier remembered

by Ripon College classmate In the fall of 1967, Rick Scott ’71 arrived on the Ripon College campus from his home in Indiana. Less than three years later, he had been drafted to serve in Vietnam and died during the Battle of Fire Support Base Ripcord, 101st Airborne Division, in July 1970.

His good friend, Marcus Disbrow ’71 of Cumming, Georgia, is writing about Scott for the unit’s memorial booklet to be published in 2020. Here are some of his memories of Rick: Rick and I met as freshmen and quickly became friends. Rick was actively involved in the presidential campaign for Eugene McCarthy and was trying to balance class work, campaigning and involvement with anti-Vietnam protests as well as being a part of the college theatre community. Rick was among the original members of what we originated as The Traveling Ripon College Children’s Theatre. We would take these children’s plays “on the road” to various community schools.

pastor of a local church next door to the college theater. One Sunday, the pastor invited a group of us to attend Rick’s first sermon at the church.

He thanked the pastor for giving him that opportunity and went to say something like this: “As I stand here at this pulpit, it is like steering a great ship.” Don’t know why I remember that, but as I type I clearly see him behind that dark carved wood pulpit.

He was in several of the college plays, including a major role in “Uncle Vanya.”

He liked the makeup so much that he often would wear it to class. And then try to pass it off as being his natural complexion and color. And occasionally he would come to class in full costume with frock coat and knee-length jacket.

Almost from day one at Ripon, Rick started growing a beard. He had the right genes as it was black, thick, lush and grew like crazy. He had that beard in the photo shown on this page. Several weeks after its publication, Rick laughingly told me that it was only when someone in his family recognized his high school class ring did they know it was he!

Rick had an encyclopedic knowledge of Shakespearean quotes. He would often remark something to the effect of “and this is what Shakespeare would say …” about the weather, the birds flying about, someone coughing, etc.

Rick was the type of person who made friends easily. He was jovial and enjoyed college life. He liked the socialization opportunities and was a regular at The Spot (it was a bar and restaurant close to the College) on Friday nights.

Rick wanted to study religion and philosophy. I think he would have become a minister. He became friends with the

Suddenly, he was gone. He had been drafted. Rick was a genuine conscientious objector. He refused to carry a weapon and

became a medic — saving lives. The next thing I knew, he had been killed, shot dead in Vietnam, on July 7, 1970.

Whenever I return to visit family in the Waupun area, I make a trip to Ripon and leave a rose at the College’s memorial to fallen students.

Last year, we took the grandchildren to Washington, D.C., where we honored Rick at the Vietnam Memorial, panel 9W, row 133. I had forgotten to get flowers and mumbled that to my granddaughters.

Sophia walked off and returned placing a sun-warmed yellow dandelion in my hand saying, “This is for your friend, Grandpa.”

To read an account of the day Rick Scott died and to read Marcus Disbrow’s full memory tribute, visit ripon.edu/RickScott71.

Suggestions, photos or ideas for Disbrow’s account for the commemoration booklet would be appreciated.

PHOTO

Rick Scott ’71 on the Ripon College campus.

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Ripon College in the news I nside Higher Education announced the • • “Sexual Consent and the Social Contract,” an • article written by Visiting Professor of Philosophy Steven Miller ’07, appeared in the LA Review of Books Jan. 22, 2019. It argues that development in the culture’s conception of sexual consent raises questions about political consent.

• Seven-time Grammy Award winner the late Al Jarreau ’62 was featured in the article, “Like Oscar winner Mahershala Ali, these 11 Milwaukeeconnected entertainment figures also played sports,” which ran Feb. 25, 2019, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel newspaper.

• President Zach Messitte was featured in a television interview aired Feb. 27, 2019, on Dinamo TV in Italy. Messitte was on sabbatical during the spring semester and was living in Italy to research a book about Americans playing basketball in the Italian professional league. He discussed work he completed with the Cremona basketball team, as well as his article in The New York Times that talks about what the NBA All-Star weekend can learn from Italy. That article was published Feb. 16, 2019. An opinion piece published April 29, 2019, in The Washington Post was titled: “As nationalism surges, Italy must reckon with its fascist past: Italians celebrate their resistance to fascism, but have yet to fully understand their support for it.”

Cassidy Walters ’22 of Greenfield, Illinois, a member • of the Ripon College women’s basketball team, was featured in television and website segments by KSDK TV in St. Louis, Missouri, March 1, 2019. She had been undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma at St. Louis Children’s Hospital for the prior two months. She was continuing in team practice daily through video chat from 450 miles away. Her coaches and teammates were taking turns holding the phone so that she was able to see every minute of action, even during games.

• Former Ripon College basketball coach Harold Olsen, who led Ripon teams to three conference titles after coming to Ripon in 1918, was featured in several media outlets in March in relation to his original idea in 1939 for March Madness, the NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Tournament. Olsen was later head coach of basketball for 24 years at Ohio State University, a posthumous inductee into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1959 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Commencement speakers for several education institutions on April 5, 2019. They included Marc Edwards, who spoke at Ripon College.

• In April 2019, Hank Borg ’57 of Mount Dora, Florida, was highlighted in several articles in the State Journal-Register of Springfield, Illinois. Borg, a Springfield native, was inducted into the Springfield Sports Hall of Fame April 8 as a Friends of Sports honoree. At Ripon College, he played basketball and golf, was captain of the golf team in 1956 and 1957 and was the medalist in the conference tournament in 1956. From 1970-95, he played golf in 48 countries, and from 1995-2007 he served as North American Executive PGA of Europe/RdG. Dick Bennett ’65 of Nekoosa, Wisconsin, was • featured in “Dick Bennett, Tony Bennett’s Dad: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know” April 6, 2019, on heavy.com. The article details Dick Bennett’s time as a student-athlete at Ripon College, as well as his legacy of building powerful programs at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and UW-Madison. He led the Badgers to the Final Four in 2000. Bennett’s son, Tony Bennett, head coach for the University of Virginia’s Cavaliers, and his team were in the national finals against Texas Tech, which Virginia eventually won. Fox 11 News in Green Bay, Wisconsin, also posted a video interview with Dick Bennett to its website.

Michael J. Brose ’87 of New Richmond, Wisconsin, • was appointed to Gov. Tony Evers’ Judicial Selection Advisory Committee, responsible for interviewing and recommending candidates to the governor for consideration when he fills judicial vacancies.

A story about the new membership was shared in the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin, April 15, 2019.

• “Wisconsin and the World,” a national security conference at Ripon College featuring more than 20 national security officials and experts on April 13, was covered April 18, 2019, in the Ripon Commonwealth Press newspaper.

• A feature story about Kurt Dietrich, professor of music and the Barbara Baldwin De Frees Chair in the Performing Arts, was published April 24, 2019, in the Ripon Commonwealth Press. Dietrich has retired from the College after 39 years.

Ripon College rocket team participated in The • Eighteen Ripon College students spent spring break • The Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Collegiate assisting flood victims from Hurricane Florence in Conway and Socastee, South Carolina. A story about their efforts was shared on WMBF-TV in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and its website on March 18, 2019.

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Rocket Launch competition April 28 at the Richard Bong State Recreation Area in Kenosha County.

The team was one of 11 from Wisconsin to participate. The article “Day after snowstorm, rockets take to the sky” was featured April 28, 2019, in the Kenosha News newspaper.

J ulia Meyers-Manor, assistant professor of psychology, was quoted as a dog behavior expert in a PBS NOVA story about a researcher’s study with dogs and wolves. Meyers-Manor was not involved in the study. “Wolves Boop Their Snoots to Touch Screens to Feed Their Friends. Dogs?

Not So Much” was published May 1, 2019, on the pbs.org website.

• A release on whitehouse.gov on May 3, and carried on several media outlets around the country, highlighted Doug Cole ’86 of Upper Arlington, Ohio. President Donald J. Trump announced his intention to nominate Cole to serve as judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. Cole is a partner at Organ Cole LLP in Columbus, Ohio.

Brice Swick ’19 of Kimberly, Wisconsin, a pitcher • on the Red Hawks’ baseball team, was featured in a news story and online by Fox11 WLUK-TV Tuesday, May 7. The story “Ripon College’s Brice Swick beats the odds after devastating crash in 2017” details a car crash Swick went through, its aftermath and his fight to return to his team. He capped off his final regular season start of 2019 with a school record 15 strikeouts in an 11-1 win at Lawrence, which clinched Ripon a spot in the Midwest Conference Tournament for the first time in four years.

• Bird and Bat Houses, a public art project by Mollie Oblinger, associate professor of art, was unveiled in May along a newly created section of the Kinnickinnic River Trail in Milwaaukee. She was assisted by ornithologist Memuna Khan, associate professor of biology. An article about the project was published May 15 on the Urban Milwaukee website.

• Numerous newspapers around Wisconsin announced local students who would att attend Badger Boys State, held June 8-15 at Ripon College. Ripon College has been the home of Badger Boys State since it began more than 75 years ago. Each year, approximately 870 young men from every part of Wisconsin participate in Badger Boys State to learn about government, leadership and responsible citizenship.

Keara Duffy ’22 of McFarland, Wisconsin, was featured • in an article published May 22, 2019, in the McFarland Thistle newspaper. It focused on her involvement in equestrian competitions and her participation on the Ripon College equestrian team.

REMARKABLE RIPON

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DIANE MOY QUON ’79

Academy Award-nominated documentary producer Quon majored in economics at Ripon College and earned a master’s degree in marketing from the University of Southern California. She worked in Los Angeles for more than 17 years at NBC and Paramount Pictures, where she last was the vice president of marketing.

But she loved the story-telling side of the entertainment industry. “All arts — books, film, theater, dance — they all have the power to entertain, tell stories and share with people something they might not have known about,” she says.

It took some time before Diane Moy Quon ’79 truly followed her heart, but just four years after becoming a producer of documentary films, she already has earned a nomination for an Academy Award and attended the ceremony in Los Angeles in February.

Quon, who lives in Lake Forest, Illinois, was producer of the independent documentary film “Minding the Gap,” nominated in the Feature Documentary category. It debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 and won the Special Jury Award for Breakthrough Filmmaking in U.S. Documentary Competition.

It also recently won the prestigious Peabody Award, presented to media, in the documentary category. Kartemquin Films, which produced the documentary, received a Peabody Institutional Award. It is available on Hulu.

the marketing and distribution plan. “The director is in charge of what’s caught on camera. He/she has the vision for the story and what should be captured on film,” she says. “Producing is very close to marketing. What can we do to reach a broad audience? I love that challenge. You find the best composer, best editor and work with the director to create the best film. I like that whole process of creating the best film possible and then getting it out there to the world.”

She always wanted to try producing films, but she was successful and comfortable in what she was doing. When her family moved back to her hometown of Chicago, she saw the opportunity for a change.

After viewing documentaries at the Sundance Film Festival, “I saw the power of real stories to teach and change people and policy,” she says. “I went back home renewed, thinking, ‘If I’m going to pursue producing, I’ll try documentary.’”

She took classes and made some of her own short films to learn the business. In early 2015, she reached out to Kartemquin Films, a Chicago production company that produces social justice documentary films.

She has since produced three films with them with five more films underway.

Director Bing Liu with Diane Moy Quon ’79 at the Academy Awards ceremony.

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Quon says she helps in bringing the film out to the world: helping to develop the film to get it shot, finding funding, hiring the crew to finish the film, and developing S U M M E R 2019

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Flash Back 1941 All that worldwide press about the first-ever photographic image of a “black hole” in space in April had its beginning with a Ripon College alumna. Ann E. Ewing ’41, left, is believed to be the first to use the term “black hole” in space terminology in an article in 1964.

She majored in chemistry and physics at Ripon College and worked on the College Days newspaper and Crimson yearbook, serving as editor as a senior. She was a Navy journalist overseas during World War II, a renowned science journalist for Science News from the late 1940s to the late 1960s, and later a freelance reporter for medical trade newspapers. Her writing specialties included astronomy, physics and medicine. She was one of the first female journalists admitted to the National Press Club.

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