Ripon Magazine Summer 2020

Rising above the challenges of a pandemic

Campus responds to COVID-19 Alumni become everyday heroes Images from isolation

Summer 2020

VOLUME 53, ISSUE No. 2

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

Postage paid at Ripon, Wisconsin. Copyright © 2020 Ripon College

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Ripon Magazine, 300 W. Seward St., Ripon, WI 54971

Editor: Jaye Alderson, aldersonj@ripon.edu 920-748-8364

Editorial Assistants: Loren Boone, Ric Damm, Michael Westemeier

Student Assistants: Zoe Hazel ’22, Jillian Heidenreich ’22, Dakota Marlega ’21

Design: Ali Klunick

Photography: Ric Damm

Office of Constituent Engagement: 920-748-8126

ripon.edu

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

4 WE’RE STILL HERE!

Although COVID-19 has forced many changes in the world of education, Ripon College’s ever-evolving adjustments assure that students will still receive the world-class, personalized experience they always have.

14 REACTIONS TO A NEW WORLD

From the front lines to the homefront, Ripon College alumni stepped up to address the challenges of a worldwide pandemic.

18 IMAGES OF A NEW ERA

Artists from the Ripon College family share in words and visual reflections the emotions evoked in them by COVID-19.

32 YEAR IN POLITICS

During this historic presidential election year, Ripon College authors share perspectives relevant to voters. Also, alumni are making their voices heard through public service.

DEPARTMENTS:

36 Sports

38 Around the Clocktower

40 In Memoriam

42 Remarkable Ripon

ON THE COVER: “Painting for Ripon,” gouache and pencil, by Charles Dane Scheips ’81. This “desk still life” of the times includes a blank legal pad, pencil, books, mask, hand sanitizer and cell phone. The quote is by Abraham Lincoln, subject of a beloved statue on the Ripon College campus by Clarence Addison Shaler, Class of 1877.

LEFT: During the transition to online classes in the middle of the spring semester, Travis Nygard, associate professor of art, taught classes using the Zoom interface, with his dog, Kiffen, often taking interest in the action. “This is a pretty authentic-looking image of what the semester was like!” Nygard says. The lesson was about the history, styles, construction and function of picture frames for his “Museums, Artifacts and Cultural Heritage” class.

(Photo by Matt Koski)

We can do better

I was born June 24, 1968. Eighty-two days before my birth, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final speech in Memphis (“I’ve been to the mountain top.”). He was assassinated a day later. Chaos and unrest ensued across American cities. All throughout the spring of 1968, demonstrators in Prague demanded “socialism with a human face” and were crushed by Soviet tanks in August. In May 1968, the barricades went up in Paris as students called for a more just society.

In June, a hopeful Robert Kennedy won the Democratic primary in California and was murdered minutes after his victory speech. By August, police and protestors battled in Chicago’s Grant Park while “the whole world was watching.” In November, Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew (with the “Now More than Ever” campaign slogan) eked out an electoral victory. By year’s end, according to the CDC, more than 1 million people worldwide (and 100,000 in the U.S.) had died of a pandemic, the H3N2 virus.

And now here we are in 2020. History is in the making. The images are no less powerful and the pain is no less real than it was 52 years ago. COVID-19. Economic crisis. Political turmoil in the U.S. and around the world. Black Lives Matter.

We are now confronted with a big, difficult question in the midst of confusion that cries out for an answer: “How can we do better?” And that means a better college, a better society, a better country and a better world.

At Ripon, we are getting ready for the fall semester by proactively examining every facet of academic and residential life to comply with the new public health reality. A team of administrators, faculty and staff are thinking about how to implement and take action on the watch words: mitigation, reasonable risk, thoughtful, careful and

responsive. Ripon-logo face masks. Social distancing. Assigned seating. New rules in the Commons for meals. A revised academic calendar. No added tuition for returning students. Using all of our resources to make sure Ripon is affordable. And building a stronger and closer partnership with Ripon Medical Center. Ripon plans to open in August. But it won’t be business as usual for another reason as well.

The Black Lives Matter movement, the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the international cry for equality also has prompted us to take an overdue look in the mirror. Institutions (and the people who lead them) have a responsibility to make sure deeds match words. A team of faculty, staff, administrators and students will be working this summer to examine our hiring practices, admission and retention rates, how we award financial aid and use Student Support Services to provide recommendations about how we can do better. It is time to listen, understand and respond. We need to move beyond the statements of support and solidarity and become a more fair and inclusive college and nation.

The work ahead is not going to be easy. The solutions likely will take many of us out of our comfort zones. But isn’t that what Ripon College is all about? Isn’t that what being educated and learned are all about? Study. Listen. Debate. Collaborate. Analyze. Find solutions and experiment until we get it right. We can do better.

ZACH MESSITTE PRESIDENT

A flu-related government ad from early 1919 in The Ripon Weekly Press, a precursor to the Ripon Commonwealth Press of today.

When another pandemic hit Ripon

In the final weeks of 1918, the deadly Spanish flu pandemic hit Wisconsin and the world. The disease supposedly was called that because the Spanish press was not censored and first alerted the world to the crisis.

The influenza reached Wisconsin in September, just six weeks before World War I ended on Nov. 11. In the last five days of the month, the number of new cases reported by health officials in Wisconsin rose from 6 to 97. One week later, officials reported 256 new cases. The peak came on Oct. 22 with 588 new cases.

An estimated 50 million people around the world died, more than four times the number of those who died fighting on the western front and more than those killed in World War I, the Korean War and the Vietnam War combined.

The influenza spread and struck down victims extremely rapidly. Some collapsed with no warning, and many died within hours. About 20% developed a devastating form of pneumonia. Particularly hard-hit were seemingly healthy younger adults between the ages of 25 and 40.

Wisconsin’s State Board of Health ordered communities “to immediately close all schools, theaters, other places of amusement and public gathering for an indefinite period of time.” Individuals were asked to socially isolate, creating a sense of “forced retirement into oneself.” Political campaigns were severely curtailed with public rallies, stump speeches and parades banned. They were replaced with mail campaigns and newspaper coverage.

This order was followed in Ripon for several weeks, schools were closed and the football season was cut short.

Because of these measures, Wisconsin fared relatively lightly compared to other states. About 103,000 Wisconsin residents were sickened and 8,459 died. In Fond du Lac County, where Ripon College is located, the death toll was 115.

Sad news came of Ripon College alumni. On Oct. 10, a front-page story in the Ripon Weekly Press noted the death of Dr. Ward DeBoth of Green Bay after he had contracted the disease caring for patients. He did college preparatory work at Ripon in 1905 and was a football star. His sister,

The death of Frances Emily Stuart, a graduate of the music department at Ripon in 1912, was noted Oct. 24. She had been head of the music departments at Colby College in Maine and Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington. She had died Oct. 1 of pneumonia following influenza at the family home in Maine.

“The Stuart family have been sorely afflicted the past month,” the newspaper reported, “Miss Stuart, her father and a sister, all passing away within 24 hours of one another. A few days later, the sister’s small son also succumbed to the disease. It was only a short time previous that they had had official notification of the death of the lad’s father in France.”

The epidemic finally trailed off in December, and the State Board of Health declared it would “forever be remembered as the most disastrous calamity that has ever been visited upon the people of Wisconsin or any of the other states.”

Jessie DeBoth, graduated from Ripon College in 1915.

The campus looking west, 1918-1919

The campus adjusts to a COVID-19 world

Ripon College’s annual Commencement ceremony had been held in late May or early June for 153 consecutive years, sending young people out into the world as new graduates. Until the coronavirus of 2020.

Neither the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic nor World Wars I or II stopped Ripon’s Commencement. It took 154 years for the College to encounter something so monumental that Commencement was not held.

Commencement, of course, was not the only tradition to be cancelled or dramatically altered when the College and much of the rest of the country suddenly went black in mid-March. Ripon initially

announced March 16 that it was extending spring break a week to provide time for the faculty to prepare for online teaching and learning. Classes resumed online March 30 so students could finish the semester.

Now, the College is preparing to re-open for in-person classes Aug. 17. With an adjusted calendar, the fall term will end before Thanksgiving, assuring that students don’t go home for a long weekend, encounter the virus and bring it back to campus. Even the opening could change if the health situation around the country dramatically changes.

The College leadership team announced June 1 that Ripon would re-open, primarily,

President Zach Messitte says, “because our students told us overwhelmingly that they want to be back at Ripon. It’s their home, they like it here and they want to see their friends and be back in in-person classes. They want to interact with their professors and be involved in student activities.”

A task force of administrators, faculty and staff has mapped out a safe and phased-in return to campus this summer.

The goal of the re-opening, Messitte says, “is to retain Ripon’s residential experience that we treasure and, at the same time, make sure our students, faculty and staff are healthy and safe.” It has been challenging, Messitte admits, “to balance

Evans Admission Center waited quietly on campus while continuous activity went on remotely. Individual in-person visits resumed in June.

that line between a personalized education known to be high touch while maintaining health and safety guidelines. There’s no bigger challenge than that.”

Of the baptism by fire into online learning, Messitte says, “Ripon faculty and staff are resilient, thoughtful and creative. We are prepared to be flexible and deliver the highest quality education no matter whether it is online, in-person or in some combination.”

Literally everything on campus has been impacted by the coronavirus — nearly every employee was disrupted and asked to work from home, and this required technological assistance that was extended

through the summer; the residence halls were closed but for a few international and other students who were unable to travel home. Likewise, food service was shut down, all campus-sponsored events were later canceled through May 15 and then through August.

Ripon lost an estimated $200,000 from summer conferences when, for only the second time in its history, Badger Boys State was cancelled, Alumni Weekend went on hiatus and the Experimental Aircraft Association’s annual fly-in in nearby Oshkosh, which brought paying guests to Ripon’s residence halls, was not held.

Students were given options in March about returning to campus to clean out their rooms while trying to keep physical distance and other Centers for Disease Control guidelines in place. Some waited until mid-May to complete their departure.

Zoom, little-known by many among the faculty and staff before March 2020, became a workplace and household necessity with in-person meetings replaced by this online video conferencing technology.

“The faculty did a completely heroic job with our Information Technology in moving online so quickly and with teaching virtually,” Messitte says. They did so in 10 days.

So what will students and faculty return to in August? First, Messitte says, there will be a mix of in-person, online classes and some courses that blend both methods. There will be limited extracurricular activities and sports “within safe and healthy guidelines.” He adds, “We will take every precaution that’s being recommended by national, state, county and local officials. We are sharing and learning from the best practices of similar schools in Wisconsin and across the country.” Prevention education will be mandatory.

Most likely, most students will live in two-person rooms (CDC says this is appropriate) and will be encouraged to follow CDC guidelines for everything from where they sit in class to where they eat their meals in the Commons. Masks

Incoming Class:

256 Paid deposits

Registered for Virtual Orientation:

256 Incoming students

States Represented in Class: 24

Retention of Current Students: 80%

Student-Athletes:

167 incoming students involved in one or more sports.

will be required in all campus buildings and outdoors when appropriate physical distancing cannot be maintained. Physical distancing of 6 feet from others will be required in classrooms, dining facilities and public spaces and encouraged everywhere. Cleaning between classes and meals will be carried out by College personnel. Individuals will be asked to play a role in cleaning their personal spaces.

Ripon has spent the summer getting prepared, Messitte says, envisioning possible scenarios for the fall that include how to deal with the virus, including quarantine and isolation areas and working with local health care providers on testing and emergency care.

One of the most difficult topics has been maintaining physical distances in the large number of small classrooms that Ripon uses. Unconventional spaces like Great Hall and Demmer Recital Hall are being considered as possible classrooms to accommodate larger classes. Other large classes may be offered fully online.

Class schedules have been altered on the start and end times to keep numbers of students in hallways fewer and to assure that the food service can accommodate them with physical distancing requirements.

Considerations in athletics are complex as the NCAA will leave many of the decisions around competitions to the athletic conferences and colleges and universities themselves, Messitte says. Messitte, who is the chair of the Midwest Conference this year, says fall sports (as of July 21) will be conference only, but that the situation remains fluid.

Also impacted are athletic practice schedules, locker room occupancy, body contact among players and renewing training routines so athletes are in gameday shape after a three-month timeout.

FINANCES

One of the biggest question marks that has impacted a score of decisions is not knowing the number of students Ripon will have on campus in the fall. “No one knows,” says Andrea Young, vice president of finance and director of strategic initiatives.

Those who do attend Ripon in the fall will find a campus ready to engage them and further their education in the personal way for which Ripon is known, she and others add.

Young says that Ripon is in a better financial position now than when the pandemic first hit because of the Payroll

Protection Program, much of which will not have to be paid back, the CARES Act funds and the $2.1 million raised for the Emergency Assistance Fund from alumni, Trustees and friends.

Within one week, Ripon distributed $454,000 of the CARES Act funding to 445 students at an average of $1,300 each. Many students, Young says, “told us in their application that their experiences at home after spring break were challenging.” She says students talked about parents being out of work, others had to tend to siblings and others had to find work to help with family expenses.

ACADEMICS

Academic decisions being made are based on learning last spring, says Rebecca Matzke, interim dean of faculty and a history professor. “She says that faculty noticed ‘how much we lost when we (faculty and students) weren’t in the same space together’ in the spring. In response, faculty are eager to see students in person again but also are working to enrich online classes so that they still provide the personalized Ripon experience.”

Ripon has invested in a new Learning Management System called Canvas which will “give us a uniform system for students

to be able to find resources for their classes, communicate with their professors and better prepare us for a student who needs to self-quarantine” but still make progress in their courses, Matzke says.

In academics, everything went virtual including the Catalyst Curriculum Day and Awards Convocation. On Commencement day, May 17, all graduates were recognized in a 13-minute video on Facebook. Faculty meetings were hosted on Zoom, which may continue in the fall.

STUDENT LIFE

Vice President and Dean of Students Chris Ogle says flexibility and substantial change are reflected in much of what has happened since March and will happen this fall. “We had to change the Ripon tradition of being high-touch when we were forced online,” says Ogle.

Student life activities got complicated in the online world.

• Counseling continued via Zoom but only for Wisconsin students as the counselors are only licensed in this state. Other students were referred. It was difficult to diagnose health issues virtually.

Catalyst Day became a virtual event April 22. Student presentations can be viewed at ripon.edu/ catalyst-day/presenters. Catalyst Day — held each fall and spring — showcases the Catalyst curriculum and celebrates the achievements of the students completing the capstone seminar in Applied Innovation. Students are tasked with developing solutions to prominent real-world issues outlined by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

• Some student organizations met during the hiatus via Zoom.

• Ripon is transitioning its food service provider this summer and, in the process, will address all physical distancing and safety issues. SAGE Dining Services is the new provider, which specializes in smaller colleges.

• Residence life will be substantially altered in the fall. Move-in was scheduled to be staggered with a limited number of family members allowed.

• Campus life, Ogle says, in the fall will be different. “Young adults feel immune to a lot of things and say it won’t happen to them. Students will take a chance.” He says lounge social gatherings and student get-togethers will need particular guidelines.

ADMISSION

While moving classes online in March and the shift to working from home pretty much closed down the admission operation for a short time, a solid class has been recruited. Despite predictions of smaller first-year classes around the state and country, Ripon will have more new students than a year ago, says Jennifer Machacek, vice president of enrollment.

Everything admissions could put online went online during the hiatus, Machacek says — campus tours, Accepted Student Day and virtual meetings with admission and financial aid counselors, faculty and coaches. They also had virtual sessions that included a panel for residence life and a session with faculty about the Catalyst curriculum. The admissions web page is peppered with virtual offerings.

“We have to run in a virtual world,” Machacek says, “and we’ll need to be in that world going forward.”

COVID-19-related funds received

$910,000 CARES Act

$2.76 Million Payroll Protection Program Loan

Funds raised

$2.1 Million Emergency Assistance Fund

Funds saved

$964,000 Saved in campus-wide spending freeze

Additional COVID-19 related costs

$1.4 million Refunds/credits to students

$50,000 Cost to move courses online

Lost revenue

$200,000 Summer conferences

Substantial YTD impact on the endowment principle

ADVANCEMENT

One of the most successful elements to come out of CORVID-19 was the $2.1 million raised for the Ripon Emergency Fund. In addition, Ripon’s #OneDayRally brought in more than $1.9 million, more than doubling the previous year’s contributions. Much of that, 52%, was designed for the Emergency Fund while 44% went to the Ripon Fund, says Shawn Karsten ’09, vice president of advancement.

The fund will be used to help students with emergency needs and also help offset college expense incurred during the pandemic.

Messitte reminds everyone that all the planning that has taken place could — just like it did in March, April and May — be changed should the health status of the country change.

LOREN BOONE FORMER DIRECTOR OF COLLEGE RELATIONS

Contact tracers work to educate the public

As the number of COVID-19 cases rose in Wisconsin, work by contact tracers helped slow the spread of the disease across the state.

During the summer, Mark Kainz, the Patricia and Philip McCullough Class of 1969 Professor in Biology, worked for the Winnebago County Department of Health.

Naomi Jiter ’19 worked on overflow cases for various public health departments through the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. She is a graduate student in public health and epidemiology, the study of disease distribution and risk, at the University of Minnesota.

Kainz explains that when someone tests positive for COVID-19, they are contacted by public health departments and interviewed about anyone they had come into contact with since two days prior to showing symptoms or testing positive for the virus.

“Those lists of names are given to contract tracers who then contact each one of those people, informing them that they have been exposed to someone infected, educate them about ways to stay safe and keep the community safe, inquire about their health, direct them to resources, help them understand what quarantine is, how long it is and what they can and can’t do,” he says.

Jiter adds, “Contact tracing is a basic public health intervention used for disease surveillance. We’re gathering information and making recommendations so people can make better-informed decisions. We have everyone’s best interest in mind and don’t want any unnecessary loss of life.”

Over the course of a 14-day quarantine, contact tracers get in touch several times with those quarantining to track how they are doing. “If you can identify the contacts and keep them in quarantine, you can avoid people potentially infected from spreading the virus without even knowing it,” Kainz said.

Reactions to contact tracers’ notifications were mixed. Both say many people were willing to talk with them and follow the recommended restrictions. Others, Kainz says, fell into three main categories. Some were hostile, didn’t want to be quarantined and didn’t always believe coronavirus was real. Others took it seriously but were unable to quarantine because they would lose paychecks or their entire job. Others viewed tracers as “law enforcement” and tried to minimize their possible exposure, Kainz says.

“Once you are assigned a particular person you are tracing, you are their case manager until the end of their quarantine,” Kainz says. “I’ve had people call me up at the end of

quarantine to tell me they got a negative test result and we have a virtual high-five. They make a difference in the community.”

For those who couldn’t or wouldn’t selfisolate, Kainz says it sometimes makes tracers feel powerless. Other than referring them to available resources for help, “there’s not much you can do to help them,” he says. “We can strongly recommend, we can educate them about the consequences. But they can decide not to follow the advice.”

The experience has been an exciting step forward in her career for Jiter. During high school, “I became interested in this intersection of science, biology, medicine and statistics,” she says. “(Tracing) is something I was already wanting to get into with infectious disease epidemiology, and now I get to try to combat the pandemic in my own community. I have been able to work on something I’m really interested in and wouldn’t always get to do at such a young age.”

Kainz adds, “I am applying my expertise in virology to a real-world public health problem. We are trying to control the spread of the virus in the community by informing people who are at risk and educating them in ways that could change their behavior. They should understand the contact tracers are on their side. We’re not there to make life difficult.”

Mark Kainz

Naomi Jiter ’19

Disasters class offers insight into crisis emotions

In an instructive example of experiential learning, students in the History of Natural Disasters (HIS 385/ENV 385) class found themselves in the midst of a current and evolving case study with the coronavirus pandemic.

“Instead of just reading about history, we felt the need to study how our community is dealing with disaster right now,” says Sarah Frohardt-Lane, assistant professor of history and director of environmental studies. “What have we learned that helps them understand what is happening?”

To collect snapshots of what it’s like for members of the Ripon College community to live through the current crisis, the students conducted an online survey, Life in a Time of Coronavirus. The students read the 240 anonymous entries and looked for themes. They then discussed, reflected upon and analyzed these experiences in light of the historical case studies of natural disasters they had examined in the first half of the semester.

“Traditionally when I offer this course, some of the major themes are the extent to which humans affect what we think of as ‘natural’ disasters. Themes also include the ways that disasters exacerbate inequalities already existing in a society, and the importance of preparation before disaster strikes, rather than only devoting resources afterwards, which is the time that gets all the attention,” Frohardt-Lance says. “Living through this pandemic and reading about others’ experiences provided first-hand accounts that demonstrate the relevance of these themes for understanding the current moment.

“Many students commented upon the fact that after reading the journal entries they felt more of a sense of connection to others who were experiencing similar emotions during a time of isolation.”

Valerie Doornbos ’21 of Allendale, Michigan, adds, “I think the main theme I took away from the entries was that no one is alone in their struggles. People all over the United

States and the world are struggling to cope with this virus. I think the most important thing we can do is to be kind and patient with one another.”

Other students in the course were, from Wisconsin: Will Cooley ’21 of New London, Ivy Hoffman ’22 of Wild Rose, Chloe Jandrt ’23 of New London, Miranda Kraus ’23 of Montello, Marcus Lowthian ’23 of Ripon, Broderick Marks ’20 of Hartford, Hannah Roehl ’20 of Princeton, Theron Schindler ’22 of Lancaster, Allison Slowiak ’22 of Kiel, Kasey Weingart ’22 of Kimberly, Shay Weingart ’21 of Kimberly and Zelina Zimmerman ’20 of Deerfield.

From other locations: Francis Ayson ’22 of Clovis, California; Omari Chenault ’21 of Long Barn, California; Tayah Hiser ’20 of Douglas, Wyoming; Andrew Selfe ’22 of Heath, Ohio; Laryssa Vaclavik ’20 of Portage, Indiana; and Adam White ’20 of Lombard, Illinois.

(Above) Picking up a warm meal were Mohammad Navid Nafisi Bahabadi ’22 of Iran in the foreground; Daniel Garcia ’21 of Venezuela in the middle; and Hanan Majid ’21 of Kashmir in the back.

(Top right) Goodie baskets assembled by ARK await distribution.

(Right) Stephanie Boahen ’21 of Accra, Ghana, receives an ARK goodie basket.

When college closed up, a few students stayed

When COVID-19 first began, students at Ripon College wanted to go back home to be with their families.

However, not all students were able to return home. Travel bans prevented some from traveling to their home country; extenuating circumstances forced a few other U.S. students to remain and seek shelter on the campus.

Sixteen students were offered extended housing until the end of the term, and then 11 students through the end of the summer. Their meal plan funds have been refunded by the College for preferred meal purchasing. The student activities office is offering the students a once-aweek courtesy shuttle service for grocery shopping,” says Director of Multicultural Affairs Maria Mendoza-Bautista.

She explained she has been working closely with the international students, noting “they want to go home just like the rest of their peers have gone home, to be with their families. And so that is really where our work comes in and where we begin to assess the immediate needs.”

When the travel bans initially were put into place in early March because of COVID-19, Ripon College stepped up to the plate to help its students who were forced to remain on campus. MendozaBautista noted the Center for Diversity and Inclusion received food donations in a short amount of time including a collaborative effort with Traded Treasures and Community Food Pantry of Ripon.

“We put out a call to our wonderful Ripon campus community for food and goods donations, and my area started a mini food pantry. Then it just grew into sort of a real food pantry because we were overwhelmed with so many donations

from everywhere, from faculty (and) staff dropping off goods,” she said. “The president’s office also supported us with funds for purchasing anything else that was needed in addition to the donations, and those funds went to purchasing hygiene products for the students.”

She added a local church, First Congregational, also donated to the College to support the students.

After a few weeks of providing the food pantry, the College received an offer from the community to provide warm meals for the students.

“In that spirit, we were able to accept about five warm meals that were provided to students for lunch, and it was sort of a grab-and-go (style because) they were safely packaged and ready to go,” MendozaBautista said. “It was a really nice effort from the overall Ripon community to be able to provide the students with a homecooked meal, being that our cafeteria had closed.”

She explained that she has lived in Ripon since January, after moving from California, and noticed right away the support the community has for the College and its students.

“I am from an earthquake state; you’re always doing basic needs assessment and preparing for the worst and the unfortunate destruction that earthquakes sometimes bring,” Mendoza-Bautista said. “... This was such a nice transition to come to Ripon and see the immediate response from a smaller community.”

The community support has helped the College to be there for its students and reassure them. Mendoza-Bautista noted that the shelter-in-place was challenging for

students emotionally and her area is always assessing needs and new ways to uplift the morale of the students.

She pointed to one student who was able to purchase an airplane ticket to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to stay with the student’s brother who lives there.

“This particular student was happy because he had purchased his ticket. And then the next day this brother said, ‘You cannot come to Philadelphia because there is an outbreak here and we are all under quarantine,’” Mendoza-Bautista said. “It was important to be able to then assess that student in their emotional wellness and reassure them that they can still stay here, and stay safe in the Campus Apartments.”

The A.R.K. (Acts of Random Kindness) monthly initiative for summer break focused on gathering fun themed baskets for the students living on campus with donations from the campus community. The first themed basket in May focused on celebrating the end of term with baked goods. The themed basket in June focused on summer with activity books, supplies, Frisbees, pillow pals, snacks and ice cream treats. The basket in July focused on a collection of school supplies for the students as they gear up for the fall term.

HANNAH TETZLAFF ’18 RIPON, WISCONSIN

JAYE ALDERSON RIPON COLLEGE EDITOR (REPRINTED COURTESY OF RIPON COMMONWEALTH PRESS)

Student educators gain experience in virtual instruction

The social shutdown because of COVID-19 provided unique opportunities for Ripon College students planning to become educators. They became involved in virtual tutoring programs that provided assistance to younger students who were missing oneon-one instruction because of the switch to online learning.

Jean Rigden, director of teacher education at Ripon, reached out to find ways that her pre-service teachers could help. Ripon College students assisted Ripon K-8 students participating in the Building Resilience and Values in Everyone (BRAVE) program sponsored by the local school district.

Ripon College students also were involved in a partnership between several Midwestern colleges and universities. More than 100 student educators tutored more than 500 students across the country who reached out to receive assistance. Ripon students were enthusiastic about the experience.

Cortney Bols ‘21 of Sandwich, Illinois: “It was very nice to have a program that allowed these younger students to still get extra practice and learning in while allowing us as college students to get extra practice in as teachers before we have a classroom of our own. Doing all virtually also allowed us to work on a platform that may become the new normal for classrooms.”

Kailee Betler ‘20 of Berlin, Wisconsin: “I knew that this could potentially be a new normal for the immediate future in public schools. I wanted to gain as much information and learn as much as I could about helping and educating virtually (and) to help where I could with the knowledge that I have. At the end of the program, I feel as if this experience has taught me so much about virtual education as well as advanced my flexibility with lesson planning and oneon-one connections with students.”

Aubry Herbon ‘21 of Antioch, Illinois, got involved “so I could help families as much as I could during the pandemic. We are living in very difficult times, and I wanted to help wherever necessary and possible to ensure that students and their families are receiving proper information and resources to continue their education and to help their primary teachers, educators and even speech therapists.”

Molly Waggoner ‘21 of Pulaski, Wisconsin, tutored three students instead of her clinical experience that was canceled because of the shutdown.

Lindsey Karras ‘20 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was pleasantly surprised by how well those she tutored did at transitioning to virtual learning and that they maintained focus well. She was glad that the tutors and their students maintained an enthusiasm for learning which helped the program to be a success — so much so that Karras continued to tutor two of her students over the summer.

Timbre Shilts ‘20 of Kenosha, Wisconsin, had a technological challenge in that, when helping younger students with pronunciations, the sound could cut out and cause a disruption to the session. Despite this, Shilts says, “This program was such an amazing experience and opened many doors for me. I was able to work on my teaching skills while in quarantine, and one of the families has asked me to continue tutoring throughout the summer. I now will be tutoring six students this summer which will help me build many skills before student teaching.”

The tutoring experiences will have a long-term impact. Herbon says, “We have been living in very difficult times and going through difficult situations, yet it has truly opened new doors for education.

Though technology can be a somewhat controversial component to education about how much is too much or too little, it can help students in unimaginable ways. Working in this program and in special education, I have seen technology give students new ways of learning, communication and critical-thinking skills. I am excited about the windows of opportunity that have opened in my current learning as a student and future opportunities as an educator.”

JILLIAN HEIDENREICH ’22 MONROE, WISCONSIN

Aubry Herbon ’21 leads a tutoring session from her home work station.

Kirsten Funk ’21 on the front line during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how Kirsten Funk ’21 of Menasha, Wisconsin, does her job. She is majoring in chemistrybiology with a minor in health and works as an emergency medical technician (EMT) basic for Ripon Guardian Ambulance.

She provides emergency care to patients, moves them to a cot and assesses their vital signs, along with any interventions that may be needed. After a call, she cleans and sanitizes equipment and completes a report about the call.

“Since COVID-19, we have to take more precautions when entering houses,” Funk says. Emergency personnel have to wear more personal protective equipment (PPE), such as goggles, gowns and N95 masks. Then, if the patient had symptoms of COVID-19, additional information must be recorded and more cleaning measures taken.

“Working on the front lines during this historic and troubling time is not only rewarding but also scary,” Funk says. “As a front-line worker, you are potentially harming yourself and your family. Walking into residences and helping patients who may or may not have current symptoms is my job, but (it is) also frightening when you are unaware of where a patient has been or what they have been exposed to. Our dispatch does its best to screen the patients over the phone before we arrive, but we only gain as much information as the patient is able to give or is willing to give.”

She finds it difficult having to put on all the PPE necessary to protect herself and her coworkers from contracting COVID-19 before she can assist the patient. “I am used to only applying gloves most of my calls, and I perform this as I am approaching my patient,” she says. “Now, I have to apply

gloves, masks, goggles and gowns for some of my calls. These additional steps require more time in which I would have been evaluating my patient.”

Assisting and helping people in need is what she loves most about her job. “This work is exhilarating and rewarding,” she says. “Patients are calling the ambulance because they are unable to get themselves to the hospital. Being able to be the one who is there to reduce their pain or to assure them that everything is going to be OK or even bring them back to life is a job that I will always be grateful for. The hands-on experience and the emotional strength that I have gained from this job is nothing that a person could be taught.”

Supporting the World Community

Dr. Candice North ’04 on the front lines of COVID-19

The Sacramento, California community where Candice

North MD ’04 serves as a hospitalist was one of the first in the United States to be impacted by COVID-19. The nearby Travis Air Force Base was being used to provide care to passengers exposed to COVID-19 on a trip with Princess Cruises.

At that time, there were no clear guidelines on what people should be doing and what was safe, North says, and quarantine measures failed. Therefore, communities from the Bay Area to Sacramento were on high alert right from the beginning of the pandemic even before most people in the country were worried about it.

North’s community also was the first in the United States to socially distance, so residents there have been socially isolated longer than anyone else. “When you add that to the unique experience of being a frontline worker from the start, it has been quite a mentally confining time,” she says.

North is a hospitalist at Sutter Sacramento Medical Center. A hospitalist is an internal medicine or family medicine physician and performs rounds on patients and coordinates inpatient care. During the pandemic, hospitalists have treated COVID-19 patients when they are admitted

to the hospital as well as people in the intensive care unit who are in need of critical care.

“I am fortunate to be in a major tertiary hospital with an infectious disease physician who was guiding us during this chaotic time vs. my fellow hospital medicine doctors who work in small or rural hospitals who are on their own,” North says. “As little was known for treatment plans and complications at that early time, we were all having significant daily anxiety and insomnia, knowing we had to treat a disease without any guidance.”

She spent every available moment reading articles and reports to learn more about discoveries being made in relation to COVID-19 as it was coming out of Italy. This led to her feeling as though she was never “off work” because of the constantly changing information and the need to be as informed as possible.

Because of early intervention, COVID-19 didn’t spread widely within the community, she says. “But the effects of the anxiety and insomnia of those early days are longlasting. I can’t even imagine the mental effects on healthcare workers in hard-hit areas. Just the prospects of potentially getting to maximum capacity and chaos and rationing care was stressful enough, let alone working through it.”

North says that among healthcare workers, “when you combine the emotional trauma

of continually experiencing death, the emotional roller coaster of each day processing both successes and poor outcomes, with sleep deprivation and high student debt burden, it’s an inevitable combination leading to PTSD and suicide.”

She fears the accelerated effects the pandemic may have on her colleagues in harder-hit areas.

JILLIAN HEIDENREICH ’22 MONROE, WISCONSIN

Kylie Ainslie ’11: Researching effects of COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the focus of research work for Kylie Ainslie ’11.

Ainslie is a research associate in influenza dynamics at Imperial College London. Imperial and her department, the MRC Centre for Global Infectious Disease Analysis, are internationally recognized for epidemiological analysis and infectious disease modeling, Ainslie says.

In early March, her focus switched from studying influenza to being a part of the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team. She has been working from home since then and that likely will continue through the end of 2020. But she says this has not negatively affected her productivity since all of her work can be done as long as she has an internet connection.

Ainslie graduated from Ripon College with a double major in biology and mathematics and a minor in chemistry. She received her Ph.D. in biostatistics from Emory University. While at Ripon, she studied abroad for a semester in Budapest, Hungary, and this inspired her to move abroad after graduating.

Her interest in modeling influenza led her to apply for the position at Imperial College London and she started there in 2018. “Normally, I work on modeling the dynamics of influenza and the impact

of influenza vaccines,” Ainslie says. “My work involves a combination of biology (understanding the natural history of the diseases I model), mathematics (determining the probability of events occurring that influence disease spread), and computer programming (I model disease spread using computer simulations).”

Shortly after the COVID-19 epidemic began in China, Ainslie’s department created the Imperial College COVID-19 Response Team to monitor and model the epidemic. The projects she works on now have included “modeling the spread of COVID-19, which led to a widely-read report that helped shape U.S. and U.K. policy toward the coronavirus pandemic,” she says. Her work also focusess on “characterizing how human mobility patterns impact transmission, and determining the prevalence (a measure of the frequency of a disease in a population at a particular point in time) of COVID-19 in the U.K. population,” Ainslie says.

This pandemic also has had a significant impact on Ainslie’s life outside of work because restrictions have prevented her from being able to leave London. She does not have a car and travel by public transportation is recommended only for essential travel. The hardest part for her is that she has been unable to return home to Atlanta to see her parents because of the pandemic. Her father is Bill Ainslie ’79.

She says she still would be able to do her work if she returned to the U.S., but she

then would be without health insurance during a global pandemic because of the lack of socialized medicine in the States.

She has used her extra time at home to experiment with different kinds of foods, do more exploring with her cooking and make foods completely from scratch, like a pizza with homemade dough and sauce. This culinary experience has been documented on her Instagram (@goinginforthekale). She shares her recipes with friends and family whom she has not been able to see in person, and she has reconnected with friends she lost touch with since everyone is stuck at home.

Information about Ainslie’s work and work similar to hers can be found on her Twitter @DrKAinslie.

JILLIAN HEIDENREICH ’22 MONROE, WISCONSIN

COVID-19 needs take company in a new direction

Scott Bicknell ’03 is the executive vice president of Defender Repellent, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of repellant products. These products are used to treat footwear and garments to make them water and stain-resistant.

When COVID-19 forced a societal shutdown, “it pretty much shut down sales,” Bicknell says.

However, one of the main ingredients used in the repellant products is the same as an ingredient in the FDA-approved formula to make hand sanitizer. The company received approval and a government allocation to transition to producing hand sanitizer. Not only were the employees of the company allowed to keep working, but it also fulfilled Bicknell’s desire to help during the pandemic.

“We want to help people, and we had the ability to help,” Bicknell says. “We also did this to keep people busy during times that were slow.”

Bicknell says the company is continuing to grow the sanitizer line by offering both spray and gel sanitizers. They are able to fill into 55-gallon drums as well as 8-ounce, personal-use bottles. Businesses and organizations have the option of purchasing spray bottles with their own personal logos on them.

“We airfreighted thousands of bottles in,” Bicknell says. “We have made drums and drums of sanitizer. The formula is a good, cost-effective formula. It’s safe and it works.”

“We have also made the decision to become a long-term, trusted supplier of sanitizer by receiving FDA approval to produce and

sell sanitizer beyond the World Health Organization temporary approval end date of July 2020,” Bicknell says. “All of our formulas are approved, and the company is cleared to produce sanitizer for the long term. When the company returns to production of repellant sprays, sanitizer will remain in production. Eventually, this will add to growth in the business.”`

Bicknell majored in speech communications at Ripon and is using the current situation to take another look at where his company could head. “COVID-19 made us all reassess our businesses,” Bicknell says. “We have to adjust to the time we live in, and this fits our business model. We’re in this for the long haul.”

’05 tackles urgent needs one by one

There have been many urgent needs during recent months — educational, pandemic, social justice and poverty. Even though she has physical limitations that require her to stay quietly at home much of the time, Juanita Baatz Gutbrod ’05 of Sussex, Wisconsin, still finds solutions.

She continued to teach her Pre-K classes from St. Bruno Parish School in Dousman, Wisconsin, online. This summer, she is experimenting with mask designs to make for her students that the 3- and 4-year-olds MIGHT want to keep on their heads when school opens up again.

While her husband, Shane, was unexpectedly quarantined for several weeks at an Army National Guard camp at Fort Leonard Wood, Gutbrod used the time to turn their house into a “mask factory” and produced hundreds of masks for primarily healthcare providers, essential workers and even members of her husband’s unit so that they could safely travel home.

She mailed hundreds to her good friend, Cady Sinnwell Gerlach ’05, in Iowa City, Iowa, for staff at a homeless shelter and permanent supportive housing units.

She sews dresses for the Waukesha County chapter of Dress a Girl Around the World, which supplies dresses to girls living in poverty.

“It’s important to be a good person and use your time to improve the quality of life for others,” Gutbrod says. “I wanted to do some kind of charity work from home, especially on those days that I don’t feel well. I use my talents to help other people within the limitations I have. I do it to stay busy, stay positive and use my time, energy and resources to give to others. Ripon College made me very peaceful, wanting peaceful solutions and talking things out.”

Teaching kindergartners online — in German!

When the COVID-19 pandemic forced schools to close and students to isolate at home, teachers at all levels of instruction faced sudden and significant challenges in how to adapt.

But consider teaching kindergartners entirely in German to those too young to answer back in German very much and whose parents don’t speak the language and can’t help with home schooling?

This is the dilemma in which Emily Heck ’05 found herself. She is a K4 teacher at the Milwaukee German Immersion School, the only public, German immersion program in the country.

When Milwaukee Public Schools were closed and all classes went to online learning, her instruction changed to twiceweekly Zoom meetings for the 4-year-olds to greet each other, sing songs and do some show and tell with as much German as they could muster.

Other strategies included creating online folders with unit information sent to parents each week and videos in German for the students to learn new vocabulary and do vocabulary review. “I have sung songs, done read-alouds, and put books into PowerPoint to read over them and create videos so kids can watch the videos at home over and over again if they wish.”

On top of this, she managed the school’s social media page (facebook.com/mpsmgis), collected and posted information for parents, came up with virtual spirit days and created videos for the greater school-wide community.

This was Heck’s 14th year of teaching. “Teaching kindergarten is generally fun, but teaching in the time of COVID-19 has made it stressful and fun at the same time!” she says.

Juanita Baatz Gutbrod

IMAGES

OF A PANDEMIC:

Artists share their views

“PRIME AND PREJUDICE,” series 2020, cardboard, charcoal

“When Colorado’s stay-at-home orders came into effect, I homed in on the Amazon boxes that started to show up every couple of days. My ‘home’ during quarantine has been in flux and everything has shifted to a temporary state. Currently, in a household with five roommates, our purchases grew as our social lives shrunk. I enjoy the temporary nature of using recycling materials. In my “Prime and Prejudice” series, I’ve been returning boxes to Amazon. Like a one-sided pen pal, I imagine the box returning and upon seeing no tangible return, it’s crushed and the cardboard is recycled.”

CJ O’Reilly ’07 Golden, Colorado

Montana spray paint, Posca paint markers, acrylic paint, clear coat gloss varnish on wood

“I fused a combination of my two joys in life which are creating art and cooking. This cutting board was on its way to the ‘chopping block,’ as in it was about to be thrown out, until I saved it from its ultimate fate. I gave it a different destiny by painting it in bright colors that match my inner energy. Both sides are painted and the model pictured is my muse and collaborator Greta (no affiliation to the climate activist).

“We’re all going through a tough time right now. We all might feel like we’re next on the chopping block, whether it’s losing work, health or a loved one. There’s still hope. We can take that chopping block and make it our own. We can make the world a special place with our vibrant colors and the warmth of home cooking. This kitchen item brings people together to the dinner table and sometimes it can be taken for granted.” Visit thecreativefinder.com/habit_701

Abdel Morched ’10

Chicago, Illinois

Made during quarantine in Barcelona, Spain

WOVEN WORKS

Jill Williams Bishop ’68 Annandale, Minnesota

The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent societal lockdowns have evoked many emotions — fear, isolation, loneliness, acceptance and hope.

And as artist Chris DeRubeis has said, “All art should inspire and evoke emotion. Art should be something you can actually feel.”

Here we share images of how members of the Ripon College family have reacted to this time period artistically.

MASK • non-woven fabric

“The mask has become a major symbol of the COVID-19 era. In recent months, I reacted to the lack of PPE (personal protective equipment) across the nation, like thousands of other people, by joining a mask-making initiative. Staff members at the Eisenhower Hospital in California near where I was living developed a design that volunteers could fabricate quickly with glue guns.

“Once a week at collection sites, supplies were dropped off and completed masks picked up. My local group, the Coachella Valley Mask Makers, generated 6,000 masks from mid-March to mid-May. They were distributed to workers at hospitals and nursing homes, and to the homeless. I never came in contact with any other mask-makers, since we were all under the California stay-at-home order, still I felt a strong sense of solidarity.

“This mask is a blow-up of the Eisenhower design made from leftover scraps. It’s pretty homely compared to the stylish, colorful masks that we otherwise sew and wear. Perhaps for that reason, it is a sober symbol of the pandemic.”

Evelyn Kain Professor of art emerita, Ripon College Madison, Wisconsin

CERAMIC PUZZLE

“This is a prototype for a ceramic puzzle that I am working on. I started working on these repeating pattern designs after a trip to Spain and Portugal in 2011. At the beginning of the outbreak, I bought a 5,000-piece puzzle that took me three weeks to finish. When that was done, I started making my own.

“During this time when so much is out of my control, I found it soothing to be making something that was meant to be solved. The piece is made out of clay, underglaze and glaze.”

Liz Duarte ’99 Seattle, Washington

“ST. NICHOLAS: PRAY FOR US,” needlepoint

“During COVID-19, faith and prayer are critical. I saw a picture of St. Nicholas and decided to create this needlepoint.”

Stephanie Greene ’72 New York, New York

“THE LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL” • quilt square

“This is a 12-inch square that I created for the Wisconsin Museum of Quilts and Fiber Arts in Cedarburg. They asked for COVID-related squares and will be putting them together for a fall show. I believe they received hundreds!”

Linn Clark Woodard ’68

Port Washington, Wisconsin

“BARREN: COVID-19” • digital print

“With this specific work, I have found myself highly influenced by Depression-era photographers and documentary photography, notably artists who document organic emotion from distinct moments of the world’s history. The entire world was struck with an instantaneous rush of fear, uncertainty and uncovered emotion that evolved overnight. By documenting details of the world during this historical event, as other photojournalists have, I’ve been able to collect evidence of a crisis that will communicate the same organic emotion to generations that will follow.”

Kailee Betler ’20 Berlin, Wisconsin

“JUST LOOK AHEAD”

Vince Padilla ’95

Livingston, Texas

“2020 VISION” • photograph

Slow-shutter speed image from an essay on being alone in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.

Scott Strazzante ’86

Mill Valley, California

“THE EDUCATION OF THE PETS” • self-portrait photograph

“I decided to focus on one of the things that I found uplifting this semester, when the teaching, advising, office hours, meetings and more were done at home via video chat. Those video interactions can feel personal, and pets tended to come to class. Sometimes they came for an entire class meeting and other times they just passed through. My piece … includes my dog, Kiffen, whom the students all got to meet in online classes as well as at the virtual Paws and Relax event that Counseling Services organized.

“I am also wearing my mask, which my partner tailored to fit my face. It is made from fabric with an abstract art pattern. Thus far, only a few students have seen me in the mask, as I do not wear it when teaching online. I anticipate that in the fall, however, we will see a range of ways that people in the College community use these pieces of cloth to express their personal style.”

Travis Nygard

Associate professor of art, Ripon College

Ode to My Public Library

—for Tricia Knoll, after her “Ode to the Library”

I miss my public library, where Whitman’s ragged multitudes saunter, loafe, blurt, and yawp, where a self-published self-help guru and bestselling novelist can rub spine and jacket in common cause. I miss book dust and cover warp, the gray histories no one has opened in twenty years. And how the boy who doesn’t read roams the stacks saying Hello and Hello, then telling everyone his name. Just as I miss the checkout grandma on her phone with a different grandkid every time you visit, till finally you realize you are her grandchild, everyone is, and she’s smiling at you all the while just as though she’d been expecting you.

I don’t want my due dates extended or my fines forgiven, I want to lean my blunt American shoulder against the big glass door and enter like a deer emerging from dark woods, standing there a blessed minute just looking around and sniffing the air.

Most of all I miss the New Arrivals shelf where my life will begin anew, and where it’s an awkward and perpetual cocktail party — field guides making stiff small talk with slim-hipped chapbooks and sturdy car repair manuals. Where first novels sneer at ghostwritten celebrity bios and poetry by cats, and every cover, without fail, still glistens like April wildflowers arising from the luscious mud.

David Graham Professor of English Emeritus Glens Falls, New York

Visit davidgrahampoet.com

“ICARUS II” (above) • black ink etching

“CHILDREN’S PUPPET THEATER” (below) • mixed intaglio etching

Human/bird form swirling around central axis. In Greek mythology, Icarus attempts to escape from Crete using wings constructed from feathers and wax.

Jon Fasanelli-Cawelti ’75

Muscatine, Iowa

“INHALE/EXHALE 2020” (above) • fumage

“REPETITION” (below) • fumage

“I am interested in dichotomy and relationships between the beautiful and the unsettling; evocative imagery which both disturbs and intrigues. I like pushing the viewer to respond to the discomfort they might experience when interacting with my work, as well as interrogate the roots of their associations with symbols. I am drawn to organic media, such as fumage (also known as fire painting). There is something invigorating and teaching about working with a medium that cannot be controlled; a process that is both destructive and creative.” Visit allywilber.com

Ally Wilber ’17

Bonduel, Wisconsin

UNTITLED (“ENCLOSURE”) • oil on canvas, 40x 32 inches, 2020

UNTITLED INTERIOR (“HORSES”) • oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches, 2020

UNTITLED LANDSCAPE 1 • oil on canvas, 11 x 14 inches, 2020

For an online exhibit at Portrait Society Gallery, Milwaukee, gallery owner Debra Brehamer said: “No other artist creates an atmosphere of contemplation as well as Salas. His drawings and paintings embrace deep histories while staying rooted in a specific present, both conceptually and physically. This new body of corona-era drawings even more lavishly refers to Daumier, Dürer, Goya and German photographer August Sander. Salas applies the underpinnings of classical art — its formal finesse, drama, emotion — as an overlay to the severely An online exhibit at Portrait Society Gallery, Milwaukee, declared: “No other artist creates an atmosphere of contemplation as well as Salas. His drawings and paintings embrace deep histories while staying rooted in a specific present, both conceptually and physically. This new body of corona-era drawings even more lavishly refers to Daumier, Dürer, Goya and German photographer August Sander. Salas applies the underpinnings of classical art — its formal finesse, drama, emotion — as an overlay to the severely underrepresented monumentality of rural Wisconsin.” Salas adds: “My artwork reflects on American tradition and identity. It speaks to an indignant desire for a dream continually just beyond reach. It is a strange, rural poetry of aspiration and poignant reality, a striver’s endeavor of high and low culture, situated between the elevated and the abject. Country music is the appropriate soundtrack.” Visit rafaelsalas.com.

Rafael Francisco Salas Associate Professor of Art Ripon, Wisconsin

2020 SENIOR ARTISTS RESPOND TO ISOLATION

Images of self-expression and isolation were shared online in a Senior Art Exhibit during the societal lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The work can be viewed at ripon.edu/senior-art-show.

“THE FRENCH CHAIR” • gouache on Arches paper “FACE MASKS IN A ZIPLOC” • gouache on Arches paper “VANITAS (CORONA)” • gouache on Arches paper

While New York City was on lockdown, artist Charles Dare Scheips ’81 created dozens of new paintings in his Manhattan home. He shows at the Richard Taittinger Gallery in New York and has had several recent works featured on Airmail, an online magazine. Visit charlie-scheips.com.

Charles Dave Scheips ’81

New York, New York

“SIMPLE SMILE” • digital art

“While scrolling through social media, you see all these people smiling and being happy in photos. I thought of the times I had to go through Walmart and the number of times I had to remind myself that people cannot see me smiling at them (while wearing a mask). I saw the people who kept saying how much they miss company and miss seeing people smile. For this piece, I decided to go with the person who has a contagious laugh and a beautiful smile. We need more smiles in our life.”

Becky Bajt ’19

Mazon, Illinois

This painting, Michels says, represents that we cannot have death without birth, and COVID-19 reminds us that death is lurking and waiting. “Being invisible, this enemy brings us closer to our humanity and an appreciation for the birth we received — which is life itself.” visit lonmichelsart.com.

Lon

Lodi, Wisconsin

“Living in a COVID-19 world has been a tumultuous experience and people are feeling deep ranges of emotion. This piece was created to highlight six major emotions that I felt and saw expressed during the first couple of months of the pandemic. The use of exaggerated eye sizes and bright, vivid colors are meant to help the viewer understand the emotional intensity during such a surreal time.”

Top Row from left: Fear, Frustration, Stress.

Bottom Row from left: Anger, Sadness, Exhaustion.

Maddie Hantzsch ’19

Wauwatosa, Wisconsin

(above) “BIRTH & DEATH” • painting.

Michels ’84

(left) “EYES OF THE PANDEMIC” • colored pencil on paper

What is your personal COVID-19 story?

The COVID-19 pandemic and the experience of sheltering at home have affected everyone around the world in many ways — from being on the front lines to coping with new family dynamics. Ripon alumni share some of their experiences.

“I live on the upper east side of Manhattan. I have basically been in my apartment for two months (as of mid-May). During that time, I have made a lot of paintings and some of them have been featured on Airmail, the online magazine. Since March 10, I have made more than 40 paintings while we were on lockdown. My gallery is Richard Taittinger Gallery in New York. I had a show there in January — you can see it at www.richardtaittinger.com.”

Charlie Scheips ’81 New York, New York

“I work at a Madison biotech company, Promega Corp. We’ve been an essential business supplying the key materials for Pharma companies who are developing and producing COVID-19 tests. Our operations team has been working nonstop since March, and I’ve never been more proud of them. My family is doing well, including our daughter and her husband in New York City. I hope this finds everyone safe and healthy.”

Mary Froh Doers ’81 McFarland, Wisconsin

“I am employed by a mental health clinic that provides services to the schools in the community for mental health therapy for schoolaged children. Throughout the school day, I would see a variety of elementary-aged school children (ages 5-6 to about 12) and counsel them with their concerns. When COVID-19 hit, our schools were closed, but the kids still needed to be seen. Many, if not all, of the children were from socioeconomically disadvantaged homes, minority children (African American/ Hispanic) and low-income. The children were now home in chaotic home lives trying to do their schoolwork online. We became frontline workers, doing ‘telehealth’ counseling through video apps on their iPhones to be able to continue to work on their therapy sessions. What it did provide was a look into their world, their homes, their rooms, their lives, to see just how incredibly blessed and privileged we are, as many of the kids I work with have barely enough food to eat, clothes on their backs, and homes in ill repair. By being in video sessions for counseling, all of that hardship was right in front of our eyes. It is life-changing.”

Erin Maguire ’08 Hot Springs, Arkansas

“Both my husband and I are essential workers. He works security at Kohl’s distribution, and I work in the trust department at Hometown National Bank in LaSalle, Illinois. Luckily, neither of us has much contact with the public. The bank closed our lobbies, and any time we are within 6 feet of other employees or customers who come in by appointment, we’re wearing masks. We also had been rotating working at home in our departments, so about half the staff is in the bank at any time. That was quite an experience and adjustment.

“Another big adjustment was that I was pregnant and just had my baby boy, Bruce, on May 16. Our birth classes transitioned to online halfway through the four-week course, which was a bumpy adjustment for the teachers, but it worked out. Because of the novelty of the virus, we didn’t know if being pregnant makes you a higher risk. We had two miscarriages before this; as you can imagine, I had even more anxiety than normal for an expectant parent and am glad I was able to see a therapist to help with that stress.

“Since we’ve been home, we have been strict with visitors. We let our family see the baby through our front door or if it’s nice out, from about 10 feet away outside. We have allowed the grandparents, who have been isolated, to hold the baby if they wear masks and a blanket over their clothes, after washing hands and slathering on sanitizer. But when my mother-in-law goes back to work, she will not be able to

hold him, as hard as it is. It’s been very hard on her as a first-time grandma to not be able to soak in that new baby smell or kiss him. As first-time parents, it’s been very hard not having the assistance we were expecting, and it’s hard on the first-time aunt and uncle to not be able to hold him. We’re very thankful that we have all stayed healthy so far and remain vigilant so that we stay that way.”

has made sure that we are taken care of, but that hasn’t stopped countless flight attendants across the U.S. from contracting COVID-19. In the past month (since midMay), I have heard of at least 10 younger (around 30 years old) flight attendants who have died from the disease. Not only are flight attendants nervous about contracting COVID-19, but we are also nervous about our jobs being taken away from us because of the decrease in airline travel.”

Coral Eakins ’19 Margate, Florida

PROVIDING PROTECTIVE GEAR

“For the last two years, I have been battling end-stage kidney disease and was on track to have a living donor transplant (and the biggest gift was my living donor is my wife — married well!) But the COVID-19 hit and UCLA shut down all elective surgeries, and that included ours. April 1 was our date, then April Fools’: no transplant could be scheduled. Days later, the doctors and surgeons decided that they might be able to sneak in a few folks into the schedule but only if several precautionary steps could be overcome. All fell into place and on April 22 they rolled my wife in, harvested a great kidney and then by the end of the day, I had a new functioning kidney. COVID reared its head in the heart of Los Angeles, but we are so grateful to the hard-working and sacrificial healthcare workers at UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center. They risked their own health and safety to save a life. There are some silver linings.”

Christopher Leland ’86 Upland, California

“My COVID-19 experience is controversial and different to share. I am a working flight attendant for a major U.S. airline, and while I’m not on the frontlines as a healthcare worker, I am considered a first responder for any health or safety issue in the sky. Since the whole COVID-19 epidemic has come to America, my specific airline

“Unfortunately, I have not been able to become a hero in the outbreak because of my health and eyesight problems. I must shelter in place and just make masked once-a-week trips to the grocery store. I never imagined that the U.S. would look like masked China that we see on the nightly news!

“When this outbreak of COVID-19 started in January in China, I was reminded of my father’s mother’s death in 1918 at the age of 50 (during the Spanish flu pandemic), so I prepared for an outbreak as I’m one of the vulnerable. I had no doubt that it would encompass the world as it did. I just hope that the deaths in the U.S. do not reach the 675,000 that it did back then when the population was far less than now.

“My father, John W. Liska ’28, and his brother, Joseph Liska ’29, lost their mother in 1918. I regret never asking them if they had gotten the flu and their mother caught it from them. They were teenage boys living in Chicago in tenements and probably thought that they were invincible as most youngsters do.”

Dorothy Liska Hunter ’65

Lawrence, Pennsylvania

Chad Cleveland ’00 of Potosi, Wisconsin, used 3D printers to create personal protective equipment. Cleveland was a studio art major at Ripon and now teaches middle and high school art in Fennimore, Wisconsin. He has printed more than 1,100 ear savers and more than 760 face shields. His hometown is Menasha, Wisconsin.

Jamie Hawley ’88 of Halifax, Massachusetts, shifted production of his one-man business from creating fishing tackle bags to creating mask kits. Hawley had recently purchased a new fabriccutting machine remotely for Flatlander Surfcasting. He was assisted in setting up the machinery by himself.

He created kits of 25-50 masks for volunteer sewers to complete at home and distribute to individuals and non-healthcare workers on the front lines — such as firefighters, grocery store workers and postal carriers. He continues to ship out kits and plans to do so at least through the fall.

Brandi Gaspard Mans ’10 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, used stitching skills she learned as a theatre major at Ripon to create masks. She and her colleagues at the Minnesota Opera turned to creating masks when the opera was forced to shut down their last two shows of the season. Her team produced more than 10,000 masks.

Chrissy Skodachek Korn ’09 Ottawa, Illinois

ONE OF OUR LOSSES TO COVID-19

A special member of the Ripon College family, Barbara Anne Lloyd Nickels ’54, died of COVID-19 at the ageof 87, April 21, 2020. Her husband was the late Raymond Nickels ’54.

She studied art and elementary education at Ripon and had a long career in education in Evanston, Illinois. She was a forceful advocate for civil rights and the “team-teaching” approach.

“She loved Ripon College and always went to her reunions whenever she could,” says her son, Douglas Lloyd Nickels. Although he attended a different school, “having brought my mom to all of the alumni events at Ripon, I feel at times that I attended the campus, too.

“Ray was a veteran and Barb was a girl from Chicago whose mom grew up in Wild Rose (Wisconsin). They loved the school so much they retired to Green Lake. They always told us they met while working at Norton’s (in Green Lake).”

Before his retirement, Douglas Lloyd Nickels was an adjunct instructor at Lake Forest College in Illinois and says he attended many Ripon College/Lake Forest basketball games there.

“I am sure, like most people, we are taking on new and unexpected roles. I have taken on the role of teacher to two children and personal shopper for my dad and motherin-law. Both are elderly and we are trying to help them be able to stay home. I am also making masks for friends and family members in my spare time. An unusual thing for me was starting a new job amid COVID-19. I had been with my previous employer for 11 years. A new opportunity presented itself in January. As I went through the interview and hiring process, there was no way to know my first day on the job would be at such a critical time. I gave my notice with a planned start date of 3/16. As that date got closer and closer, things just got worse. It was a little nerve-wracking, especially as my last day was a Friday, my first a Monday. On those two days of unemployment and no medical insurance and more things shutting down, I just hoped that onboarding wouldn’t change. Fortunately, I went in on Monday and things went smoothly. However, as the day wore on, more changed. I knew by the end of the day the office would close indefinitely. I was left to learn a new company and all their programs remotely. I am about two months in and things are going well. But I will forever remember starting a new job amid a global pandemic!”

Erika Houlberg Guyer ’99 Enfield, Connecticut

“There have been a lot of ups and downs since COVID-19 escalated. I was working as a stage manager in Door County, Wisconsin, and had our show cancelled in the middle of our rehearsal process. After I prepped the show to be restaged whenever it’s safe to gather again, I was laid off from the company. I took this opportunity to move out to Minneapolis and move in with my wonderful fianceé, Sophie Widman ’18. While we unfortunately had to cancel a trip to see our wedding venue and see Sophie’s family in California, we’ve really loved getting to spend time together and make the best of the situation.”

James Balistreri ’19 Plymouth, Wisconsin

“My wife and I were fortunate to remain safe and sound in Concord, California, during these challenging times. As a rather late-in-life avocation, I have become an acoustic guitar singer/songwriter, even co-writing some songs with another Ripon alumnus, Jeffery Charles McAndrew ’81, who is still based in Wisconsin. As shelter in place was invoked in the Bay area, music venues have closed for live performers. I was invited to participate in a virtual concert series debut called Concord Couch Concerts. The first episode aired May 1 on Facebook. The event was a smashing success with thousands of viewers. The event has the support of the city mayor, and the debut raised funds for local support of the most vulnerable in the area. I have continued my role on the event planning committee. The recording for Episode #1 is available on the Concord Couch Concert Community page.”

Fred Hersom ’82 Concord, California

“I work at SSM health. Our mission is to reveal the healing presence of God through exceptional healthcare services. I love working for an organization with a Godfocused mission. I am an RN and work as a quality and safety specialist. My job duties have changed to be very infection preventionfocused. I am not on the front lines of patient care, but I am behind the scenes taking care of those on the front lines: communicating changing guidelines and policies-operationalizing processes and answering questions.”

Jeri Belongia Loewe ’96 Fond du Lac, Wisconsin

Barbara Lloyd Nickels ’54, left, attends the Service of Remembrance during Alumni Weekend 2009.

“I am working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as I have since 2009. There is a country-wide curfew from 5 p.m. to 9 a.m. I am working from my apartment in a secure compound. I go to the office about once per week to take care of paperwork and critical issues. There are no scheduled flights in, out or within the country at this time (mid-May). There have been irregularly scheduled repatriation flights to multiple countries. There is no projection on when regular air travel will resume.

“I have been diagnosed with a neuromuscular autoimmune disease called myasthenia gravis. It is currently under control and I am not interested in pushing my luck by taking one of the flights back to the U.S. where compliance with safe travel procedures seems to be spotty at best with travelers not taking appropriate precautions and airlines overloading flights.

“I am very busy with my job and plan to retire at the end of this year. Caution is key right now, and I am doing my best to minimize/ avoid risky situations. Rule enforcement here is more strict than the U.S. and the fines are massive for breaking them. Otherwise, I am safe and maintain daily contact with family via FaceTime and Facebook. It is far from ideal, but it works for now.”

Joe Sandrin ’73 Bayside, Wisconsin

“It has been tough. Being divorced and by myself is hard. I go to work every day, and am grateful for that. But I feel so isolated. I hear from my girls, who are only a few miles away.

“I really miss Ripon. As an Alumni Board member, it broke my heart to cancel our spring activities. Ripon College is my other family. It hurts to hear what we are all going through. Very emotional and heartfelt response.”

Kevin Dykstra ’83 Glendale, Wisconsin

McKenna Meza is a medical scribe in an emergency department. She starts charts and documents a patient’s emergency room stay for the doctor, physician assistant or nurse practitioner. She then accompanies the provider into patient rooms to document histories, physical exams, reevaluations or procedures. “Since COVID-19, the time medical scribes spend accompanying providers in patient rooms has decreased. Since I work in a hospital, I have been very careful about social distancing with the understanding that I could be a carrier of the virus. As a result, I haven’t seen some of my family in several weeks which has been difficult, but I want to protect them.

“It can be frightening to think about the unknown, but I keep reminding myself that I work in healthcare because I have a passion for helping others. I’m in my last few semesters of nursing school, and working during the pandemic has only solidified that I want to care for people and be part of a healthcare team. During these uncertain times, it is important to remember that perspective can be everything.”

McKenna Meza ’19 Appleton, Wisconsin

“I work at Epic in Verona. We make electronic medical records for health systems. Our jobs have been very different lately. We’ve had to figure out how to install software in field hospitals that didn’t exist a week ago (as of mid-May). We’ve had to scale telehealth programs from a dozen visits to hundreds of visits in a single day. We’ve had to learn how to keep the world’s largest health systems updated with ever-shifting policies, guidelines and best practices. But, our jobs have largely remained the same. Each day, we have to figure out how to deliver the right information to doctors and nurses at the right time to give the best care for patients.

We need to discern how a vast array of technologies can come together to save someone’s life. We have to solve evolving problems whose solutions make our world a better place.”

Matthew Switzler ’12

Madison, Wisconsin

“I recently graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with my master’s in leadership education. Being forced to become creative and innovative with my students was something I felt I was overwhelmingly unprepared for. I served as a graduate teaching assistant, and my department did everything they could to best prepare us. But quite a few of my students still struggled.

“I hardly took the time to process what had happened in relation to my role and experience until graduation day. I didn’t realize what I was going to miss out on. But my friends and family made the weekend special for me. I have so much to look forward to moving forward and have so much support. While I felt that I missed out on a lot, I did gain a lot. My relationships with friends and sorority sisters have grown deeper via online gaming (something I would have never done preCOVID-19), I have written letters to friends and family, I have invested more intentional time and devotion to my relationship (and isolating together for some time). Ripon has given me a lot of skills and connections that not even an international pandemic can take away!”

Megan Ringo ’18 Lincoln, Nebraska

“Being retired for nearly two decades, finances are stable and the need for staying at home has not been a challenge. But I was so busy that the first couple of weeks of COVID-19 restrictions flew by before I even noticed. For a number of years I have been helping a friend who lives in the Netherlands. Jacques and I, along with a worldwide group of friends, are connected by our interest in mechanical puzzles. Jacques runs an online auction of collector

puzzles. As I have done for a number of years, I spent nearly two weeks with detailed reviewing, fact-checking and proofreading the pages of puzzle descriptions.

“It is ironic that I do proofreading. Our physics professor at Ripon, Dr. Dino Zei, had sayings that he would quote to us. Fundamental Metaphysical Presupposition #25 was “If a word can be misspelled, Mr. Snyder will do so!” My world is so much better with spellcheckers! (And puzzles.)”

Mike Snyder ’74 Rochester, Minnesota

“I started not just a new job, but a new career on March 9. I worked for eight days before my new leader switched to full-time work-from-home. I’m learning the job from home. Now nine weeks in, I’m in charge of a handful of tasks, and a few people have come to me with questions. A lot of pieces contributed to my success, and among those are my balanced critical-thinking, problem-solving and communication skills I developed at Ripon.”

Paul Larson ’05 Green Bay, Wisconsin

“I am profoundly saddened and deeply sorrowed because of the many fellow Americans who have been killed by the virus and the many other Americans who have been infected and are struggling to survive. We must pray for them daily. As for me, before the virus I have been crippled and cannot walk due to the negligent surgery wherein the surgeon cut nerves to my legs. And I have COPD, requiring me to use oxygen 24/7. At age 85, with those medical conditions I am a very susceptible target for the virus.

“However, for several years, I have been living alone in my home in San Antonio and only go out of my home for doctor’s appointments. Therefore, I was already doing what is now advised that we do — stay at home. In summary, I have not been adversely affected by the virus, for which I am very grateful. All of us must be patient

and focus our priority on finding ways to combat the virus, especially by intensive medical research for a vaccine.”

Ray Besing ’57 San Antonio, Texas

“I work in the construction industry and so we are still working every day! Going to the office every day, keeping our social distance from our co-workers as much as possible, cleaning surfaces multiple times a day, washing hands, wearing masks, etc. ....

“My hubby and I are restricting going to stores unless absolutely necessary for groceries and such. We haven’t seen our parents in months, and we are getting LOTS done around the house on the weekends!

“I was asked to make a few masks for my mother-in-law who works in a nursing/ assisted living home up north in Wisconsin. So I did that for her and then realized that I could be making these for many other nurses, frontline workers, family members, elderly church parishioners, etc. So that is just what I have been doing!

“I have made 250+ masks so far (as of mid-May) and will continue to make them as I can. I even have made nurses’ caps (wraps for their hair). I am self-taught at sewing (well, YouTube videos have helped a lot), but I felt I could do some good for our community by helping out where I saw need. I have donated everything I have made. I am not selling these items.”

Rebecca L. Nowak Enders ’06 Omro, Wisconsin

“I am currently serving with the Resource Assistance for Rural Environments AmeriCorps Program with the city of Florence, Oregon, on the beautiful Oregon coast. My whole job has totally changed in the last three months (as of midMay). Now, I am primarily working to support businesses, especially because our community primarily is supported by the tourist economy.

“One of the main things that I’ve continued to think about throughout this time is

something that was said to me in my American Politics 101 class in 2011: ‘Think Globally but Act Locally.’ This coronavirus is literally a global pandemic, but my work is making a difference at such a local level. It’s so important to think about what changes we can all make at the local level, and I know that I am making a difference in my community.”

Sarah Moehrke ’13 Florence, Oregon

“When I studied sociology at Ripon College and learned about the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic, I never imagined I’d be living through something with so many parallels. Since mid-March, my husband, 2-yearold daughter and I have been sheltering in place at our home in Michigan (as of midMay). We are both fortunate to be working remotely. My husband works in marketing for an electrical engineering firm, and I work as the manager of analytics for the central market of Henry Ford Health System.

“I am not a frontline worker, but I feel like this experience has been unique for me for two reasons. First, my team and I have been providing a ton of data — very quickly — directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic for the last several weeks.

“Second, I am 33 weeks pregnant with our second child. It is interesting to watch data come in on COVID-19 cases, while also watching my belly grow. I have to admit I am a little fearful because so much around the virus is unknown. It is recommended I take extra caution to keep myself and my baby safe, so I have only left my house for prenatal care. (Baby Georgia was born June 23).

“When I think back on how what I learned at Ripon shaped this experience, I am not lost for impact. I know the Spanish flu impacted every part of society, as COVID-19 has. However, I also know there will be an end to this. This pandemic will shape our lives, and we will learn and grow so much from it.”

Stephanie Klomsten Belcher ’07 Spring Arbor, Michigan

“As the chief supply chain officer for the northern Arizona VA healthcare system, the COVID-19 emergency has been a trying time, but also rewarding knowing that keeping our medical facilities supplied and equipped enables our clinicians to save veteran lives.”

Steven Woods ’82 Prescott, Arizona

“I’m afraid it’s still too early to see how we WERE affected. Being retired and living on some acreage (OK, hobby farm), it’s easy to keep busy and outdoors and do careful grocery gathering with all the desanitizing as anything comes into the house.

“So far, none of our extended family have been ill or tested positive. All have been hyper-alert even though I do have some essential workers in the mix. One is a nurse practitioner at Mayo with two children in their daycare. Her husband procures for the Rochester prison system.

“My personal contribution, besides financial support wherever possible, is delivering meals for housebound seniors through Meals on Wheels. I have also lent my sewing skills and my quilting stash to making cloth masks and filters for the volunteers in that program and to all the members of our family.”

Sue Thomson Knueppel ’70 Beloit, Wisconsin

“Fortunately, my family has remained unscathed despite my physician husband working every day at the Phoenix VA Medical Center and leading their Incident Command Team, and my daughter working as a nurse practitioner at UCLA Medical Center. However, as I am Class of 1975 and fit neatly into the high-risk group, as do most of my neighbors, I have formed an email help list of everyone in our neighborhood (roughly four square miles). I walked my neighborhood depositing letters inviting people to participate, and of the 60 homes I visited, more than 30 families responded favorably. Now everyone who responded has a spreadsheet of their neighbors’ addresses, phone numbers and email addresses so they can reach out for help if needed. They also have a list of grocery stores offering special hours for shoppers over age 65 (like me) and a really great article describing best ways to avoid contracting and spreading COVID-19.

“I have to admit, I enjoy having my groceries (and everything else) delivered. My cooking skills have dramatically improved, and my cat is thrilled to have me around all the time! This is also a great time to reach out to our Ripon friends to whom we haven’t recently spoken.”

Susan Schreyer Stander ’75 Paradise Valley, Arizona

“Retirement became even more distant as my heart felt the burden of families coping with a mentally ill family member who was suddenly turned out of residential care or who was not able to access needed mental health care, even when hospital support was needed. I collaborated with a New York Times reporter on this article: see ripon.edu/care.

“Also, just yesterday, we pushed forward and published a Guide which takes COVID-19 into consideration: A Family Guide to Mental Health Recovery: What You Need to Know from Day One: see ripon.edu/recovery.

“New hobbies? During the shutdown, I am trying to find more time to play my Native American flutes and my saxophone.”

Virgil Stucker ’74

Tryon, North Carolina

UPLIFTING MESSAGES FOR THE WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD

Dave made 28 drives between Appleton and Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee for radiation treatments for prostate cancer.

Sue kept up spirits around the neighborhood with creative porch displays and humorous/ uplifting messaging. “Sue’s rule was to draw upon things from our house for the porch displays,” Dave says.

An interview with the couple aired on WFRV-TV.

A full gallery of her displays can be viewed at ripon.edu/Sue2.

During the COVID-19 safer-at-home time period, Dave Lee ’69 and Sue Steger Lee ’69 of Appleton, Wisconsin, had their hands full.

LET OUR VOICES BE HEARD

A key component of Ripon College’s mission is to prepare students of diverse interests for lives of productive, socially responsible citizenship. Through exposure to a rich diversity of political thought in classes, organizations and speakers with The Center for Politics and the People, students begin the lifelong process of participating in constructive political debate, analyzing public policy and engaging with government.

In this election year, members of Ripon’s faculty, staff and alumni are demonstrating their expertise in the political arena.

LAMONT COLUCCI • Lamont Colucci, associate professor of politics and government, has been named a fellow of the Institute for Corean-American Studies Inc., whose mission is “advancing humanity, liberty, peace and security among all nations and all people.”

The institute cites Colucci’s experience as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State and expertise in United States national security and United States foreign policy. He has written two books and contributed to two others; is a senior advisor in national security for Contingent Security, senior fellow in national security affairs at the American Foreign Policy Council and advisor on national security and foreign affairs to the NATO-oriented Conference of Defence Associations Institute; teaches in the graduate program in intelligence and security at American Military University; and in 2018 was appointed to the National Task Force on National and Homeland Security.

Colucci frequently publishes opinion pieces in national publications. Recent ones include “How Coronavirus felled ‘Woke’ — for now,” April 2 on Newsmax.com; and “Socialist Dream Failed in Ripon,” May 18 on RightWisconsin.com. Visit Ripon.edu/Lamont.

ZACH MESSITTE • The book Republican Populist: Spiro Agnew and the Origins of Donald Trump’s America was released in October by The University of Virginia Press and is available on amazon.com. Ripon College President Zach Messitte is one of the co-authors. The book examines former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew’s significant impact on the modern Republican Party. The Wall Street Journal reviewed the book and praised it: “Skillfully drawing on Agnew’s archival papers, the authors show that his serrated rhetorical style dated to his earliest political forays.”

The book and its authors had widespread media coverage, including several airings of a segment on C-SPAN3’s “American History TV” program. Visit Ripon.edu/Zach.

And an interview on the Yahoo News Podcast Skullduggery.

The authors also published an opinion piece in The Washington Post on May 4, 2020. “Harsh rhetoric tears us apart — and can make violence seem acceptable: The lessons of the 1970 Kent State shootings” appeared on the 50th anniversary of the killings of student Vietnam War protestors on the Kent State University campus in Ohio.

JOLENE RUEDEN SCHATZINGER ’07 • Jolene Rueden Schatzinger ’07, associate director of engagement and donor relations, was elected to the Ripon City Council, representing District 4, on April 7, 2020. She also serves on the Ripon Area Fire District and the Cable TV Advisory Board.

As a student at Ripon College, she says her voice was valued in classes as well as in student life. After graduation, she wanted to help lift up voices, provide thoughtful questions, continue to strengthen the relationship between the College and the community, and be a more informed citizen who can help build connections. She joined the Emerge Wisconsin Class of 2020, which trains women interested in political office, and then ran for office.

“I believe it’s important to be involved in the political process, especially at the local level, because decisions that are made at the local level really do have an impact on not only everyday life for individuals but also the future of a community as a whole,” Schatzinger says.

HENRIK SCHATZINGER, STEVEN E. MARTIN • The book Game Changers: How Dark Money and Super PACs Are Transforming U.S. Campaigns was released March 1, 2020, and is available on amazon.com and the publisher at rowman.com. The authors are Henrik Schatzinger, associate professor of politics and government and codirector of the Center for Politics and the People; and Steven E. Martin ’96, professor of communication.

Schatzinger also co-wrote “The Influence of Corporate Lobbying on Federal Contracting,” a peer-reviewed study published by Social Science Quarterly in both online and print versions. Visit Ripon.edu/Henrik.

LUKE DRETSKE ’20 • Luke Dretske ’21, who is slated to graduate in December from Ripon, is running for the 41st State Assembly District in Wisconsin. “Citizens want new and bright ideas in the state legislature and someone energized to fight for issues,” Dretske says. “Even though I am running as a Republican with common-sense conservative values, I will have allegiance to only the people of the district and how we can improve the lives of families.

“The political process continues to be the bedrock of American citizenship. People tend to focus only on presidential elections when the elections closer to home — whether they are for the state legislature, city council, county board or school board — have a greater impact on our lives and the future of our communities. For us to get good, hard-working people in those positions, we need to treat each other with respect no matter the political disagreements.”

On KFIZ Radio (1450 AM) in April, Schatzinger discussed topics including effects of the coronavirus on the election in Wisconsin; the Center for Politics and the People; and Game Changers. A recording can be heard at Ripon.edu/Henrik2.

Martin’s Political Campaign Communication course introduces the range of communicative characteristics of political campaigns. Students act as part of a campaign team for a candidate running for “student body president” or a part of the media covering the campaign speeches, debates, appearances, advertising, and so on.

SCHATZINGER

MARTIN

‘Good-natured louts,’ ‘cosmopolitan’ women

George Frost Kennan was an American diplomat, ambassador to the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia, political scientist and writer. He advocated a policy of containment of Soviet expansion during the Cold War. He lectured widely, wrote about foreign policy and analyzed international affairs as a faculty member of the Institute for Advanced Study for nearly half a century.

In February 1965, when I was a student at Ripon College, the distinguished American diplomat and historian George F. Kennan, whose father (Kossuth Kent Kennan, Class of 1875) had attended the school, visited the campus to deliver a lecture and speak with students.

His views of the student body, I later learned, were mixed. Our faces were

“open, pleasant ones,” he wrote. But to my chagrin, he rendered a particularly harsh judgement on me and my fellow male students, calling us “good-natured louts” who were decidedly inferior to the more “cosmopolitan” women on campus.

Kennan — perhaps best known as the author of the “Long Telegram,” written in 1946, which outlined a new “containment” policy for dealing with the Soviet Union — was met at the train station in Columbus, Wisconsin, by members of the Ripon College history department. From there, he was driven to Ripon, he wrote, “over wide straight roads, past frozen, snow-covered fields and prosperous dairy farms with beautiful red barns and less beautiful houses done in the dirty yellow brick of the region …” He was a week shy of his 61st birthday.

He wrote that the “girls” at Ripon, in his view, were more mature than the “men” and superior to them, too, “socially and in style: more cosmopolitan, less provincial, more part of the age, in general more like modern women in Vienna or Milan or wherever else you like than the men of similar age in those places.”

Kennan said that Ripon’s female students clearly took a larger view than the men did of the competitive sphere in which they considered their lives to evolve — the reflection of an awareness, perhaps, of the relative uniformity in women’s problems everywhere.

The Ripon men, however, were “goodnatured louts” who were “immersed in their world of records and athletics and

A DIPLOMAT’S VIEW OF RIPON COLLEGE IN 1965:

fraternities and summer jobs, mildly curious about the great wide world beyond, but less closely keyed to it than the women. It is the woman who is truly international.”

Kennan wrote that his visit to Ripon had been controversial. His invitation, he said, had come from the history department, which was chaired by John F. Glaser, and not from the College.

“I (was) too liberal, if not worse,” Kennan wrote, adding that the conservative “political atmosphere” of Ripon and the surrounding areas at the time made him unwelcome in some quarters.

Kennan, who was born in Milwaukee, was a Midwesterner at heart — although he would leave the region for good in 1921, at 17 years old, to attend Princeton University and never return. His enduring fondness for, and understanding of, the Midwest was clear in his writings throughout his life.

Recalling his visit to Ripon in 1965, for instance, he captured the uniqueness of the region in his 1989 memoir Sketches From a Life, in which he described Wisconsin’s “strange, still flatness” as being “like no other flatness, subdued and yet exciting, as though filled with deep unspoken implications. … I knew I was close to home.”

Kennan said that, in the Midwest, a bank of clouds appearing on the horizon could create the illusion of a range of low mountains. “What, one wondered, would life and people have been like had there been such a mountain range there?” he asked. “Life, presumably, would have been more varied, more violent, more interesting; but the massive inert power of the Midwestern tradition, with all its virtues and all its weaknesses, sufficient to

constitute the spiritual heart of a nation, would not have survived.”

His family had come to Wisconsin more than a century earlier by way of Scotland, Ireland, Massachusetts, Vermont and New York. So, on returning there in 1965, he felt at home.

Later, he would recall that the face of Ripon was overwhelmingly that of a small New England town, with its wide streets lined with tall trees, spacious lawns and quiet, well-worn wooden houses. But the houses, he said, were uninspiring, noting that “like so many other Victorians,” the builders had prided themselves on the quality of their workmanship and material rather than on creating a thing of beauty.

The old sandstone buildings that dominated the Ripon College campus, moreover, which were “already in existence when my father came to the place ninety-five years ago,” were “severe and without architectural ambition, presiding “stubbornly, self-assertively, without apology or compromise, over their changed and changing environment.”

On the evening of Feb. 11, 1965, as a blizzard began to blow across the Wisconsin farm fields, Kennan delivered a lecture to several hundred students and faculty in the school’s “bare-boned gymnasium, with its shiny floors, its overhanging basketball boards, and its faint smell of sweaty tennis shoes.”

Not surprisingly, given his years as a diplomat, he spoke about international affairs and, in particular, the tendency of the United States to make “moral crusades” out of its involvement in other countries.

“It is simply not in character for such a country as ours,” he told his audience, “to try … to produce great changes in the lives of other people, to bring economic development and prosperity to everyone, and to assure to everyone complete peace and security under law.”

Kennan died in Princeton, New Jersey, on March 17, 2005. He was 101 years old.

GARY G. YERKEY ’66 WASHINGTON, D.C.

Yerkey majored in philosophy at Ripon College. He spent more than a decade in Europe and the Middle East reporting for TIME-LIFE, Christian Science Monitor, ABC News, International Herald Tribune and other U.S. news organizations. He is currently a writer based in Washington, D.C., and has written numerous books.

(left) George F. Kennan

Herman Landshoff photographer. From the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey, USA.

COVID-19 setbacks solidify life lessons for Callista DeCramer ’20

A wise man once said, “We must stop regarding unexpected things as interruptions of real life. The truth is that interruptions are real life.”

That sentiment couldn’t be truer than when, in mid-March, the NCAA decided to cancel all championship events because of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, studentathletes already were on site for Division III indoor nationals for track and field in North Carolina. Ripon senior Callista DeCramer was one of those student-athletes, and she was preparing to appear in her fourth career event at nationals.

“At the moment it was devastating,” DeCramer says. “Finishing midterms early, traveling to North Carolina, and practicing for three days only for the meet to be canceled less than 24 hours before I was supposed to compete in the pentathlon was heartbreaking. It was even more painful because it was my last opportunity to compete at indoor nationals.”

The global pandemic also wiped out DeCramer’s outdoor track season, as

all NCAA spring sports were cancelled. After some thought, however, and letting everything sink in during the last few months, DeCramer, who was seeded fifth in the country during the indoor regular season, has a different perspective on things.

“Initially, I felt the decision to cancel the NCAA Indoor Championships was premature and unfair to the studentathletes,” she says. “Now, however, I realize it was more than necessary to cancel for everyone’s health and safety. It’s in no way how I imagined my indoor track career would end as I missed the opportunity to compete in my last-ever pentathlon.”

As one of the most accomplished track and field student-athletes in Ripon College history, DeCramer currently holds seven school records (five indoor, two outdoor), including running a leg on two school relay records.

“The 4x200m is by far my favorite record,” she says. “Breaking individual records is exciting, but nothing compares to breaking a relay record. Although I strive to push myself to my limits in each event, there’s something special about running

the anchor leg on a relay. The pressure of finishing the race after your teammates have already run their hearts out is incredibly motivating.”

A four-time Academic All-Conference performer, DeCramer also has earned recognition as a two-time National AllAcademic performer, All-Region honors and All-American status this year. Ironically, all those awards and accolades almost never happened.

“I didn’t plan on competing in track when I first came to Ripon, but luckily my freshman roommate, Maya Petersen, convinced me to come to athlete-led practices in the fall of that year,” DeCramer says. “After the first week, I was hooked, and the past four years have been about so much more than honors and records. The real pleasure has come from being part of such a caring and cohesive team. My teammates and coaches have made me feel like I’m where I’m supposed to be, and doing what I’m supposed to do.”

DeCramer is a physical education major from Princeton, Wisconsin, and both of her

parents — Laird DeCramer ’77 and Linda Glaubitz DeCramer ’89, both attended Ripon. Her father played on the basketball team.

Because of that history, DeCramer has always had a solid support system. But by being on campus the last four years, her support system has grown exponentially and she has been able to teach herself life lessons along the way.

“I’m an entirely different person and athlete today,” DeCramer says. “Growing up in the sheltered reality of rural Wisconsin, I was aware of racism in our society but didn’t often witness it firsthand. Fortunately, during my educational experience at Ripon, I’ve come to realize that merely acknowledging the existence of racism is not sufficient. It’s paramount that we actively advocate for those who are oppressed by the systemic racism that plagues this country.

“Through my education and my time on the track team, I’ve learned the necessity not only of equality, but also equity when it comes to human rights. The success of any team lies in the contributions of each individual athlete to the whole. When each individual athlete receives the tools and attention they need to succeed, the entire team improves. The same principle applies to our society, as peace and justice cannot be realized until we acknowledge the inequalities in our society and treat those detrimentally affected not only with equality, but also equity.”

MIKE WESTEMEIER DIRECTOR OF ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS

SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS

FALL COMPETITIONS SUSPENDED The Midwest Conference suspended league competition through Dec. 31 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ryan Kane, athletic director and head coach of men’s basketball, says, “Our athletics staff will shift its focus and energies toward building an experience that will still provide our student-athletes the physical and mental challenges they desire. We are committed to working with our student-athletes to define a ‘meaningful experience’ and working with each team to execute that experience.”

MEN’S BASKETBALL The team won the MWC Tournament with an 84-71 win at #18 St. Norbert, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last four years and the 14th time in program history. Ripon’s 2,174 points were the most in a single season in program history.

Trent Jones ’20 was named Second Team All-Region and First Team All-District, and MWC Player of the Year. He ranked 45th in Division III and second in the MWC in scoring with 20.7 points per game. He is just the 16th player in Ripon history to score at least 500 points in a season. Jones led the MWC in steals with 2.0 per game and ranked second in the MWC in field goal percentage.

The team earned 2019-20 NABC Team Academic Excellence Awards from the National Association of Basketball Coaches, one of just three MWC teams to earn the honor. Jones and Connor Kuhn ’21 were named to the NABC Honors Court, based on varsity play and grade-point averages.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL The team won the MWC Championship for the third consecutive season. The Red Hawks set a school record for 3-pointers (134) and free throws made (377) in a single season. They finished the year with a 20-7 record, a tie for the second-most victories in a single season, just two shy of the school record.

Ripon’s Lauren Busalacchi was named MWC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season, leading the Red Hawks to a 15-3 record in the MWC and 20-7 overall.

Receiving All-Conference selections were Alyassa Burgess ’20, Alison Leslie ’23 and Bonnie Jensen ’23. Leslie also was named Central Region Rookie of the Year and MWC Newcomer of the Year. Her 385 total points broke Ripon’s freshman scoring record, while ranking seventh for a single season in program history. She also set new school records for single season 3-pointers (73) and 3-point percentage, leading the MWC in both categories.

WOMEN’S SOCCER Kayla Furlano ’20 won the Ruth Peterson Award for the MWC female student-athlete who posted the highest grade-point average during her junior year. Furlano is the fifth Ripon student-athlete to win the award in its 34 years of existence. A psychology major from West Bend, Wisconsin, Furlano is a three-time Academic AllConference performer.

TRACK AND FIELD Callista DeCramer ’20 and Ben Fisher ’23 qualified for the NCAA Indoor National Championships: DeCramer in pentathlon, marking her fourth qualification for Nationals; and Fisher in high jump. The Division III indoor championships were cancelled because of COVID-19.

SWIMMING AND DIVING The College Swimming and Diving Coaches Association selected Ripon’s men’s and women’s teams for Scholar All-American honors for the spring semester, based on grade-point averages.

MIDWEST CONFERENCE Academic All-Conference honorees for the 2019-20 academic year included 172 student-athletes from Ripon, based on grade-point averages and lettering in a conference sport.

AROUND THE CLOCKTOWER

1. John Sisko Ripon’s new vice president, dean of faculty

Dr. John Sisko started as the new vice president and dean of faculty Aug. 10. He previously was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and the Wayland H. Cato Jr. School of Education at Queens University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He also will be a professor of philosophy.

Professor of History Becky Matzke had served as the interim dean of faculty for the past year.

2. Ripon College addressing response to racism crisis

A teach-in webinar, “Critical Discernment and Healing Spaces: Black Lives Matter,” was held June 3. It was in response to civil unrest after the recent deaths of black men and women by law enforcement agents and the deeper causes of racism and racialized violence.

“We were honored to facilitate a very symbolic moment with our black student scholars at Ripon College,” said Maria Mendoza-Bautista, director of multicultural affairs. Courses of action will be developed to address the issues raised.

The sponsors were the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and the Center for Politics and the People, with support of student groups Brothers Reaching Out (B.R.O.) and Black Student Union (BSU). Student participants included Quinton Roque ’21 of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Inesha Wiseman ’22 of Hazel Crest, Illinois; Ezekiel Carson ’21 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Carmone Zavala ’22 of Chicago, Illinois; Shane Reid ’23 of Kingston, Jamaica; and Stephanie Boahen ’21 of Accra, Ghana.

3. Ripon College assists community during pandemic

Ripon College helped support local assisted living facilities during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The departments of chemistry and biology, which stock protective latex gloves for use in laboratory settings, donated 4,160 gloves to the Ripon Community COVID-19 Task Force. Enough gloves were retained to start the fall semester.

The 3D printers in the Department of Physics were used to make 200 protective face shields by Brett Barwick and Christina Othon, associate professors of physics.

(Photo: Mary Ann Douglas, left, environmental health and safety officer, presents latex gloves to members of the Ripon COVID-19 Community Response Team.

4. Ripon’s FLASH Internship finalist for national honors

Ripon College’s FLASH Internship program of the Center for Career and Professional Development was one of nine nominees for Most Innovative Career Initiatives at Colleges and Universities by The Career Leadership Collective national organization.

FLASH Internships are the only project-based, short-term experiences in Wisconsin designed to get results for both employers and students and to create an innovative talent pipeline for high-performing organizations.

5. English professor Mary Unger wins award for Midwest essay

An essay by Mary Unger, associate professor of English and chair of the department, won the 2020 David D. Anderson Award for Outstanding Essay in Midwestern Literary Studies from the Society for the Study of Midwestern Literature.

“The Book Circle: Black Women Readers and Middlebrow Taste in Chicago, 1943-1953” was judged as “the most

compelling, not least because of the way it articulates the goals and legacies of Midwestern black readership,” said Dr. Andy Oler, president of the society.

Unger also is managing editor of Legacy: A Journal of American Women Writers

6. Maria Dietrich chosen for 2020 Founders’ Day Award

Maria Dietrich, formerly interim executive and artistic director of the Green Lake Festival of Music and a retired adjunct instructor of piano at Ripon College, was selected for the College’s Founders’ Day Award.

Each year the College honors an individual or organization within the greater Ripon community who exemplifies the ideals of the founders of Ripon College and who has contributed above and beyond to the mission of the school.

7. Theatre students honored at regional festival

Twelve students from the Ripon College Department of Theatre competed at the Region 3 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in January. The festival presentations represented work from The Fantasticks, the joint production of the departments of music and theatre at Ripon College.

• Heidi DeCaluwe ’20 of West Bend, Wisconsin, received a Certificate of Merit for her costume design. She will attend the University of Arkansas MFA program in costume design in the fall.

• Lindsey Wigand ’22 of West Allis, Wisconsin, received a Certificate of Merit for her stage management.

• Madeleine Craig ’20 of West Bend, Wisconsin, and Deshawn Thomas ’20 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, both were nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Competition.

• Ken Hill, professor of theatre, directed The Fantasticks

(Photos: Scenes from The Fantasticks)

8. Sigma Chi brothers celebrate history across the generations

When Mohammad Navid Nafisi Bahabadi ’22 and other active members of the Sigma Chi fraternity became interested in the history of the Ripon chapter, founding members of the chapter were glad to help out.

Bahabadi worked with Bill Pye ’61 of Excelsior, Minnesota, to arrange a filming session on Dec. 27, 2019. Also participating were Rich Schulze ’58 of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Ron Gillard ’58 of New Berlin, Wisconsin, and Rich Lewandowski ’75 of Madison, Wisconsin.

A copy of the video about the founding of the chapter in 1955 will be donated to the College archives in Lane Library.

(Photo: Mohammad Navid Nafisi Bahabadi ’22 and Rich Schulze ’58 leave a filming session in downtown Ripon.)

9.

MacKenzie Warner ’21 MacKenzie Warner ’21 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, participated in the prestigious NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) this summer. Warner worked with other undergraduate rising seniors and NASA scientists through the National Suborbital Research Center in California.

She is one of only 28 students to be selected from around the country and the only student from Wisconsin. She is majoring in biology with minors in chemistry and Spanish. Research in the program focuses on atmospheric chemistry, ocean remote sensing, air quality, forest ecology and oceanic biology. Because of travel restrictions due to COVID-19, the program was held virtually this year.

“This does provide the opportunity for Zoom enrichment lectures with NASA professionals, as they are also working remotely,” Warner says. “These enrichment lectures will include

SARP alumni sharing about their career paths, science from the Mars rovers, coding in industry, and the hunt for Planet

9. NASA is still considering an in-person component for this program at some point in the future!”

10. Emeritus professor Seale Doss publishes historical novel

Seale Doss, professor of philosophy emeritus, has published a historical novel, Blood on the Risers, available on amazon.com. Doss taught at Ripon from 1964 to 1999 and was a recipient of the May Bumby Severy, Class of 1908, Award in teaching.

Prior to teaching, Doss spent eight years in the newspaper business as a reporter, columnist, assistant editor and editor. He received the 1974 Legion of Merit award from the Secretary of the Army and worked on Department of Defense studies for a number of years.

11. Exercise science professor presents for football coaches

Rick Coles, professor of exercise science, spoke on three different topics Feb. 7 at the Glazier Clinic for football coaches in Minneapolis. It is part of a nationwide series of coaching clinics. Coles spoke about Midline Triple Option; Misdirection Off Inside Veer; and Offensive line fundamentals for Triple Option Offenses.

Coles has been offensive coordinator at Ripon College for 16 years.

12. Megan Gannon having two poems published

Assistant Professor of English Megan Gannon has two new poems included in the fall 2020 issue of The Hudson Review One, “Dispatch from a Rusty Railroad Spike,” was written on-the-spot during a Catalyst class session at Ripon College.

13. Student artists exhibit in regional gallery

“The Contemporary Portrait,” featuring work of nine Ripon College students, ran in February and March at Levee Contemporary Gallery in Princeton, Wisconsin. The exhibit revolved around portraiture and how artists use the face and metaphors of identity to expand the definitions of what a portrait can be.

Artists included Emily Allard ’21 of Appleton, Wisconsin; Samuel Audisho ’20 of Adams, Wisconsin; Hayley Lynn Corkran ’21 of Ripon, Wisconsin; Heidi DeCaluwe ’20 of West Bend, Wisconsin; Halina Decker ’21 of St. Paul, Minnesota; Lucinda Izzo ’20 of Wautoma, Wisconsin; Brooklyn Landgraf ’21 of Sheboygan, Wisconsin; Jessica Luhman ’20 of Barneveld, Wisconsin; and Allison R. Schloer ’20 of Park Falls, Wisconsin.

(Photo: “Two Beings,” by Jessica Luhman ’20) 14. Free will-making tool offered in August

August is National Make-A-Will Month. Ripon College has partnered with FreeWill to offer the Ripon family the opportunity to create a free, legally valid will online in about 20 minutes.

Everyone needs a will, whatever their age and circumstances, to protect their loved ones and to bring peace of mind during this difficult year. If you’ve experienced significant life changes recently — a new job, a big move, a change in relationship status — it’s essential that these changes are reflected in your plan for the future. FreeWill’s online tool makes the process easy, fast and free.

If you plan to finalize your will with an attorney, you can still save time and money by using FreeWill to document your wishes first.

Visit Ripon.edu/FreeWill.

MacKenzie Warner ’21 chosen for NASA research program

MARGARET “MARGI” HASELTINE BERGER ’38 of Bainbridge Island, Washington, died Jan. 12, 2020. At Ripon, she was a member of Delta Phi Sigma sorority. She earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology from Smith College and a master’s degree in nursing from Yale School of Nursing. She was a civilian nurse on or near base hospitals where her husband was stationed in the Army Air Force, and in medical administration for what would become the Bob Hope Heart Institute. She lived in South Carolina, Seattle and Peru. She was a published poet and enjoyed the outdoors, art, cooking and traveling. Survivors include one son and two daughters.

JAMES “MAGGIE” MEGELLAS ’42 of Colleyville, Texas, died April 2, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in mathematics and participated in ROTC and Alpha Omega Alpha fraternity. He later received Ripon’s Distinguished Alumni Citation. He earned a master’s degree in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University. With the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division during World War II, he served in Italy, parachuted into the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden, made the legendary crossing of the Waal River, and served in Belgium during the Battle of the Bulge. His honors include two Bronze Stars, two Silver Stars, two Purple Hearts and the Distinguished Service Cross. He is featured in his book “All the Way to Berlin: A Paratrooper at War in Europe,” the movie “Maggie’s War: A True Story of Courage, Leadership and Valor in World War II,” and a scene in the 1977 classic war film “A Bridge Too Far.” In 1960, President John F. Kennedy appointed him as director of the U.S. Agency for International Development and was posted to Yemen, Panama and Vietnam. He later taught at the Florida Institute of Technology. Survivors include his wife, Carole; and two sons.

ENID LEWIS THUERMER ’42 of Boxwood, Massachusetts, died Feb. 10, 2020. At Ripon, she majored in history and was a member of Kappa Sigma Chi sorority. She taught high school history and Latin during World War II. In Chicago, she was a librarian at the University of Chicago, worked for the State Attorney General and was a local organizer for the Democratic Party. She was a member of the League of Women Voters and supported affordable housing, education and literacy, preservation of open space and the right to vote. She also was a librarian. She enjoyed traveling, cooking, reading and her dogs. Survivors include one son and two daughters. Her former husband, JOHN F.M. THUERMER ’43, died in 2010.

JOHN F.M. THUERMER ’43 of Ohio died June 12, 2010. At Ripon, he majored in biology and was a member of Theta Sigma Tau fraternity. He was an infantry officer with the U.S. Army during World War II and received a Purple Heart. He worked in food technology at the USDA, Topeo, Mrs. Smith’s Pies and KFC, retiring from Borden Foods. He then was a reading tutor and crossing guard at an elementary school. He was an Eagle Scout and Scout master. Survivors at the time of his death included his wife, Heather; two sons and two daughters. His former wife, ENID LEWIS THUERMER ’42, died Feb. 10, 2020.

MARY ELLEN HOCKENHULL KEEDY ’45 of Hagerstown, Maryland, died April 7, 2020. At Ripon, she majored in mathematics and biology and participated in Phi Delta Theta sorority. She was a member of John Wesley United Methodist Church, its Sunday school and United Methodist Women. She volunteered at Community Action Council Meals on Wheels and the Western Maryland Hospital Center Canteen. She enjoyed birding, sewing and reading. Survivors include one son, one daughter and a sister, FRANCES RALFF ’49

HAROLD J. LISBERG ’46 of Tucson, Arizona, died Feb. 14, 2020. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal for his service as a B24 pilot during World War II. He

was a lifelong Green Bay Packers and Wisconsin Badgers fan. Survivors include two sons.

PHYLLIS FLOODY JENSEN ’49, of Racine, Wisconsin, died April 11, 2020. At Ripon, she participated in Kappa Sigma Chi. She was a teacher’s aide at an elementary school. An avid golfer for 68 years, she belonged to women’s golf leagues and served one as president for many years, as well as a league with her husband. She enjoyed knitting, gardening, jigsaw puzzles, reading and camping. Survivors include two sons and one daughter. Her husband, OSCAR “OZZIE” JENSEN ’49, died in 2004.

ARTHUR HALL JR. ’51 of Brookfield, Wisconsin, died March 30, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in economics. Survivors include his wife, Ruth Anne; and two daughters.

AHMAD ZOHAIR “JOE” KHALIL ’51 of Evans, Georgia, died Dec. 28, 2019. At Ripon, he majored in biology and was a member of Omega Sigma Chi fraternity. He worked for Lincoln Financial Corp. He enjoyed bingo and watching basketball and westerns. Survivors include three sons and three daughters.

CARL M. “BUD” PATTERSON JR. ’51 of Evanston, Illinois, died Dec. 31, 2019. At Ripon he majored in economics and participated in student government and Omega Sigma Chi fraternity. His nickname at Ripon was “Sarge,” and he served in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant during the Korean War. He received a master’s of business administration degree in marketing from the University of Chicago. Survivors include three sons.

VERNE B. CHURCHILL JR. ’54 of Northbrook, Illinois, died Jan. 30, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in economics and participated in Ver Adest, basketball and Alpha Phi Omega fraternity. He received the Distinguished Alumni Citation in 2004. He earned his master’s degree in business administration from Indiana University and worked in marketing at Parker Pen Co. in Janesville, Wisconsin. He joined Market FacWts Inc., an Arlington Heights-based marketing, research and information firm, as an analyst in 1959. He rose to be president, CEO and chairman of the board. After retiring in 1996, he enjoyed traveling, watching horse racing, the Chicago Bears and Chicago Cubs, golfing, oil painting, and yearly visits to Ripon College, where he retained many friends. Survivors include his wife, Lori; one son and one daughter. A previous wife, GLORIA PHILIPPI CHURCHILL ’53, died in 2001.

CARROLL B. DANA ’54, formerly of Stevens Point, Wisconsin, died March 24, 2020, in Roswell, Georgia. At Ripon, he majored in economics and was a member of the varsity debate team and tennis team. He served in the Navy during the Korean War, then received a degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He worked in the insurance industry for 37 years, for Hardware Mutual Insurance (later Sentry Insurance), as vice president of another agency, with his own agency, and then as a consultant. Survivors include his wife, Alice “Kay” Brown.

BARBARA LLOYD NICKELS ’54 of Evanston, Illinois, died April 21, 2020. At Ripon, she studied art and elementary education and was a member of Delta Phi Sigma sorority. She taught at elementary schools in Evanston and was an early adopter of the “team teaching” approach. She loved sports, art, architecture, history, Welsh genealogy, nature, animals and antiques. She enjoyed drawing and painting. An avid traveler, she visited more than 50 countries on all seven continents. Survivors include one son. Her husband, RAYMOND NICKELS ’54, died in 2011.

MARGARET “PEG” JESS SCHIELER ’54 of Clarksville, Maryland, formerly of Ripon, died June 26, 2020. At Ripon,

she majored in combined foreign languages and was a member of Kappa Delta/Delta Phi Sigma. She was an administrative assistant to the superintendent of Ripon Area School District until retiring and moving to Green Valley, Arizona. She and her husband enjoyed traveling around the world. Survivors include two sons and one daughter. Her husband, CALVIN SCHIELER ’54, died in 2012.

OLIVER E. WILLIAMSON ’54 of Orinda, California, died May 21, 2020. Williamson attended Ripon on a dual two-year/ three-year degree in conjunction with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, majoring in economics. He attended Ripon from 1950 to 1952 before receiving his bachelor’s degree in 1955 from MIT. He received his master’s degree from Stanford in 1960 and his Ph.D. from Carnegie Mellon University in 1963. A pioneer of organizational economics, he received the Nobel Prize in economics in 2009. He taught at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University and the University of California, Berkeley. His international awards, honorary doctorates and fellowships include being appointed a Distinguished Fellow of the American Economic Association in 2007. Several of his works have been published as books. Survivors include three sons and two daughters.

SAMUEL W. PICKARD ’55 of Cupertino, California, died Feb. 19, 2020. He had served on the Ripon College Board of Trustees from 1983 to 2006, including six years as chairman of the board. He became an Honorary Life Trustee in 2007. At Ripon, he majored in economics and was a member of Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, ROTC and the golf team. He also served as class agent for almost 50 years and was involved in numerous campus activities and campaigns. He helped establish the Pickard Endowed Scholarship, Pickard Faculty Development Endowment and S.N. Pickard Award and Dorothea Pickard Award. He received Ripon’s highest honor, the Medal of Merit, in 1994. After serving in the U.S. Army, he earned a master’s of business administration degree from Stanford University and had a 30-year banking career in the San Francisco Bay area and was involved in philanthropic endeavors. Survivors include one son and two daughters.

LYLE E. SAGER ’55 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, died Dec. 28, 2019. At Ripon, he participated in athletics and Delta Sigma Psi fraternity. He also attended the Milwaukee School of Engineering. He served in the U.S. Army and played trumpet in a band. He worked for Hamilton’s in Two Rivers and Speed Queen/Alliance Manufacturing in Ripon, from which he retired. He enjoyed church, trout fishing, woodworking, cabin time at Three Lakes and traveling to Florida. Survivors include one son and four daughters.

NINA BADE SPARKS ’55 of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, died April 13, 2020. At Ripon, she majored in Spanish and was a member of Phi Delta Omega sorority. She enjoyed her pets. Survivors include one daughter. Her husband, ALLEN SPARKS JR. ’55, died in 2009.

ROXANA GRISWOLD FOREMAN ’56 of Richmond, Virginia, died April 19, 2020, from COVID-19, just 100 minutes from her 86th birthday. She attended Ripon College from 1952 to 1954 and National Teacher’s College in Evanston, Illinois. She enjoyed tennis, reading, singing and Sunday school at Second Baptist Church in Henrico. Survivors include one son and one daughter.

JOHN M. WEMPLE ’56 of Naples, Florida, died March 15, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in economics and participated in athletics, ROTC and Lambda Delta Alpha fraternity. He also attended the University of Wisconsin and Marquette University and served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army from 1957 to 1959. He worked in advertising in Chicago and

New York before returning to his hometown of Green Bay, Wisconsin, to join his father’s industrial advertising business, Jack C. Wemple Advertising Inc. In 1984, he purchased Green Bay Packers Yearbook, which he published until 2002. He enjoyed tennis and golf and had experienced a hole-in-one and a golf twosome with Brett Favre of the Green Bay Packers. He was a Cub Scout leader and served on the board of the Boys and Girls Club in Green Bay for many years. Survivors include his wife, Joey; and two sons.

ROBERT L. AINSWORTH ’57 of Upland, California, died May 21, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in music and educational studies and participated in Ver Adest, student government, ROTC, chorus and Sigma Chi fraternity. He received Ripon College’s Distinguished Alumni Citation in 1992. He earned a master’s degree in political science and international affairs from Tulane University. He was a career Army officer for more than 20 years, including four years on the East German border, a year as an advisor in Vietnam and then as a foreign service officer in the U.S. Department of State. He retired as a lieutenant colonel. He then served more than 30 years in disaster relief and economic development in the Third World, including terms as vice president for World Vision International and director of a large medical mission in West Africa. He also wrote two books recounting his career. Survivors include his wife, ROBERTA “BOBBIE” NIESS AINSWORTH ’57; one son and two daughters.

RICHARD J. RADEMACHER ’59 of Wichita, Kansas, died June 15, 2020. At Ripon, he studied economics. He served in the U.S. Army before pursuing dual master’s degrees in economics and library science. He was director of public libraries in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Wichita, Kansas, retiring in 1999. He also taught economics at Emporia State University. He was an avid gardener. Survivors include two daughters; and nieces, including AMANDA LIETHEN GLASS ’07

DANIEL C. RAJEWSKI ’59 of Schaumburg, Illinois, died Dec. 3, 2019. At Ripon, he majored in economics, played football and participated in ROTC and Phi Kappa Pi fraternity. He served in the U.S. Army, serving mostly at Fort Dix, New Jersey, and was a first lieutenant. After working 20 years in the insurance industry, he ran his own business, Schaumburg Electronics, until retiring. He volunteered for the Schaumburg Citizen’s Police Academy. Survivors include his wife, Darlene; two sons, one daughter and two stepdaughters.

GERALD R. KIERGAARD ’60 of Madison, Wisconsin, died Feb. 19, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in English and philosophy and was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity. He also studied at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He taught for the Madison School District for more than 20 years. After retiring, he was a substitute teacher for the Monona Grove School District. He enjoyed bird watching, day trips, woodworking, puzzles, casino trips, the Green Bay Packers and his dogs. Survivors include his wife, Yvonne; one son and one daughter.

ROBB ROWE ’61 of Charlotte, North Carolina, died Jan. 15, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in physics and participated in student government, athletics and ROTC. He received his MBA from the University of Chicago in 1971. He served in the U.S. Army as a captain in Special Forces. Over a 35-year career, he built successful corporate finance and investment management businesses. After retiring, he volunteered for the Badin Lake Fire Department and St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, where he sang in the choir. He enjoyed gardening, golfing and traveling in his RV with his grandsons. Survivors include his wife, Ann; and one son.

DONALD “CASEY” J. STENGEL ’61 of Jefferson, Wisconsin, died March 20, 2020. He attended Ripon College and the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. He served in the Air Force National Guard from 1959 to 1965. He was vice president of Stengel Construction and owned Stengel’s Cabinets Unlimited. He enjoyed golfing and watching the Brewers, Packers and Badgers. He was also an avid bowler. He was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church and Knights of Columbus, and he volunteered at the Jefferson Food Pantry. Survivors include his wife, Connie; and two sons.

JOSEPH W. KUSHNER ’62 of Valdosta, Georgia, died Oct. 13, 2018. At Ripon, he majored in economics. He received a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Tennessee and taught economics at Valdosta State University. Survivors include his mother.

EDWARD L. “NED” CLAPP ’63 of Cockeysville, Maryland, died Aug. 24, 2019. At Ripon, he majored in history and was a member and officer of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He taught in the northern Chicago suburbs for six years, then at his alma mater, Gilman School in Maryland, for almost 40 years, retiring in 2007. He taught ancient history, American history and world geography, and served as director of the summer school, assistant middle school head and dean of students. He enjoyed puns, gardening, reading, history, crossword puzzles, travel and listening to classical music.

CHARLES E. AMELOTTE ’67 of Kenosha, Wisconsin, died Jan. 23, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in history. He played football and was a member of the 1963 undefeated team, and also participated in ROTC and Phi Delta Theta fraternity. He served in the U.S. Army and earned three bronze stars while serving in Vietnam. He owned and operated Kenosha Leatherette & Display Co. until his retirement. He was a former member of Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club of Western Kenosha; was involved in youth sports; was a member of Kenosha Country Club and enjoyed reading, golfing and fishing in Door County. Survivors include his wife, PENNY OVER AMELOTTE ’67; two sons, including DAVID AMELOTTE ’96; and one daughter.

FREDERICK A. COPPO ’67 died Dec. 29, 2017, in Milwaukee. At Ripon, he majored in psychology. He later earned a degree from Madison Area Technical College.

LAURENCE B. HUNTING ’71 died March 11, 1979, from a brain tumor. At Ripon, he majored in Latin American Studies and was a member of Beta Sigma Pi fraternity. He travelled and had taught transcendental meditation in Mexico.

MICHAEL W. FARRELL ’72 of Morris, Illinois, died March 14, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in history. After two years of master’s degree studies in journalism at the University of South Carolina, he worked for the Morris (Illinois) Daily Herald for 36 years as a reporter and editor until retiring in 2010. He and his wife travelled widely in the United States, Russia, China, Europe, Africa and Central and South America. He was an avid student of history, visiting every presidential library. He enjoyed sports, especially the Twins, Vikings and Ripon College teams, gardening and reading history. Survivors include a brother, MARTIN FARRELL, professor of politics and government emeritus.

GLEN R. GASIOREK ’72 of Spring Hill, Tennessee, formerly of Arlington Heights, Illinois, died Jan. 15, 2020. At Ripon, he majored in politics and government and history and was a member of Beta Sigma Pi fraternity. He graduated from Loyola Academy and Drake University Law School. He was an attorney for the State of Illinois Department of Insurance. He enjoyed reading, crossword puzzles and golf. In 2010, he hiked the Grand Canyon with his brother, ALAN GASIOREK ’73, and a sister, brother-in

law and niece. Survivors include his wife, Corryette Gasiorek; one son; and a sister-in-law, LYNNE HORNE GASIOREK ’72

MARIAN WIEST SOMMERFELDT ’72 of Green Lake, Wisconsin, died May 24, 2020. She studied English at Ripon and received a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She worked on the board of directors at Community Options in Green Lake. Survivors include her husband, Glen; and one son.

EDWARD W. BUMBY ’73 of Marana, Arizona, died June 20, 2020, of COVID-19. At Ripon, he majored in psychology. He later served on the Board of Trustees and received the Distinguished Alumni Citation in 1996. He served in the military as a jet fighter mechanic. He then worked for Admanco, a manufacturer of cloth advertising specialties, in Ripon for 13 years before taking over the family business, Ripon Foods Inc. During his tenure as president, he supported the creation of the world’s largest cookie for Riponfest 1992, recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records. Survivors include one son and four daughters; two brothers, including JEFF BUMBY ’65 and one sister; and two aunts, MARY JANE BUMBY ’52 and BARBARA

CASE ZENTNER ’45

THÈRÉSE DES LAURIERS FOX ’78 of Golden Valley, Minnesota, died May 15, 2020. At Ripon, she majored in French and business management and participated in Alpha Chi Omega sorority. She worked for the Robbinsdale School District for 20 years. Survivors include her husband, Chuck; two sons and three daughters.

NANCY SCHNEIDERS KREJCI ’78 of Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, died June 5, 2020. At Ripon, she majored in economics and politics and government, and participated in Alpha Delta Pi sorority. She received a law degree from Marquette University Law School and was an administrative law judge for the State of Wisconsin for 38 years. She enjoyed attending sporting events and theatre and taking summer road trips. Survivors include her husband, GREGORY KREJCI ’78

LINDA LARSON ’81 of Rotterdam, New York, died Nov. 13, 2019. At Ripon, she majored in psychology. She received a master’s of divinity from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School. Survivors include her parents, one son and one daughter.

FACULTY AND STAFF

RALPH P. FORSBERG of Midland, Michigan, died May 9, 2020. He was a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Ripon College from 1988 to 1989. He then joined the faculty of Delta College in Michigan. His areas of interest were business and medical ethics, as well as non-Western, classical modern and political philosophy. Survivors include his wife, Sharon; and one son.

HOWARD “HOWIE” GOEDEN of Ripon, Wisconsin, died June 11, 2020. He worked in maintenance in the Physical Plant at Ripon College from 1985 until retiring in 2004. He was a member of Fond du Lac Aeromodelers Association and Immanuel United Methodist Church in Ripon. Survivors include three daughters, including LAURI GOEDEN ZOBRACK ’87

JANET P. WODRICH of Almond, Wisconsin, a former kitchen worker at Ripon, died Dec. 11, 2019. She also worked at Rippin’ Good Cookies, Shelmet, Berlin Foundry and the Waushara County Sheriff’s Department. She enjoyed drawing, oil painting and photography. She also showed horses, was a leader in the Waushara County 4-H Club and taught painting. Survivors include her husband, Carl Wodrich; one son and two daughters.

visits the room in Reims, France, where the Germans surrendered in World War II. The radio operators room where he worked was just down the hall. Credit: The Greatest Generations Foundation

Gregory Melikian, far right in the back row, joined President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump for a commemoration in Washington, D.C., May 8. The ceremony marked the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.

The Invincible Four: Attending Ripon College together before shipping out were cadets Ken Stone, left, “Al,” Gregory Melikian and “May” in front of Lane Library.

Gregory Melikian

Credit: The Greatest Generations Foundation

Ken Stone, left, and Gregory Melikian were especially close at Ripon.

the guy that ended WWII.

On May 7, 1945, former Ripon College student Gregory Melikian was selected by Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force Gen. Dwight Eisenhower to send a coded message to the world that the Germans had unconditionally surrendered to the Allied Expeditionary Force, to take effect the following day.

Melikian was chosen because, at 20, he was the youngest radio operator on duty at Supreme Headquarters in Reims, France, where the Germans signed papers of surrender in the middle of the night.

On May 8, 2020, at the age of 95, Melikian was one of eight World War II veterans to participate in the 75th anniversary celebrations of VE-Day in Washington, D.C. He says he reminded President Donald Trump that they were two guys from Queens, and that brought a smile to Trump’s face.

Melikian had started college in New York when his draft number was called up during World War II. He was trained as a high-speed radio operator. Then, while waiting to ship out, he was sent for college courses — first at the University of Illinois and then for several months at Ripon College.

“Ripon has been in my mind all these years,” he says. “I’ll never forget that

beautiful little college. It was a great part of my life.”

Melikian remembers he didn’t do very well in mathematics classes but “got straight A’s” in history, philosophy and psychology. He remembers visiting nearby communities. And he remembers when Wendell Willkie, the 1940 Republican nominee for president, visited Ripon. Years later, visiting Ripon with his children, Melikian discovered a photograph on display in the Little White Schoolhouse, historic birthplace of the Republican Party, showing himself and other students with Willkie.

He was sent to Ripon with three other cadets who attended classes in uniform. They called themselves The Invincible Four. He recently reconnected with one of those cadets, Ken Stone, who now lives in Virginia. Although they hadn’t seen each other in 65-70 years, they “talked for a long time on the phone last fall as if no time had passed,” Stone’s daughter, Hilary Martin, says.

“We remember the wonderful days at Ripon,” Melikian adds.

Melikian’s wartime honors include the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, American Campaign Medal, World War II Victory Medal and Meritorious Unit Award. He later was

inducted as Chevalier (Knight) in the French Legion of Honor and received the 2013 Ellis Island Medal of Honor from The National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations.

After the war, credits he’d earned from Ripon helped get him into law school. He worked as a real estate attorney and a night court judge in New York City. After moving to Arizona 55 years ago, he bought and sold commercial buildings and served in the Air Force Reserves for more than 60 years, retiring as a brigadier general.

He helped found the Melikian Center for Russian, Eurasian and East European Studies, housed at Arizona State University, which provides instruction in various languages. “We believe in education and in learning of languages,” Melikian says. “We believe if you speak in each other’s languages, maybe you don’t have to go to war. Maybe there’s a better way than shooting each other.

“I’m against war to this day. My heroes are the ones who landed on D-Day (and served in battle). These boys are my heroes. I’m the peacemaker. The message I sent brought peace to 15.5 million people.”

‘I’m

I’m called the Peacemaker’

ALUMNI WEEKEND

JUNE 24-27, 2021

Ripon College in the news

• In late March and early April, numerous outlets across the country featured Ripon College as part of a collaboration of private and public schools in Wisconsin offering e-tutoring services to hundreds of K-12 students in seven states.

Reunions to be celebrated in 2021

All 2020 reunion classes will be celebrated in 2021 with the corresponding 2021 reunion classes. For example, classes of 2015 and 2016 will celebrate their fifth reunions together, and classes of 1970 and 1971 will celebrate their 50ths. 2020 award winners and Hall of Fame inductees will be honored at the 1851 Awards Dinner program on Friday, June 25, 2021.

The 2020 Doc Weiske ‘50 Memorial Golf Scramble has been rescheduled for Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, at Mascoutin Golf Club in Berlin, Wisconsin. All proceeds will directly benefit Red Hawks Athletics.

Registration and sponsorship opportunities are available at Ripon.edu/Golf.

The 2021 golf outing will take place Friday, June 25, 2021, as originally scheduled. Further details as they develop will be available at ripon.edu/alumni-weekend.

2020 Alumni Association Awards

DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI CITATION

• Ruth Anne Gero Adams ’85 of Clemmons, North Carolina, career achievements, service to community

• James P. Danky ’70 of Stoughton, Wisconsin, career achievements

• Jon A. Fasanelli-Cawelti ’75 of Muscatine, Iowa, career achievements

• William C. Quistorf ’80 of Everett, Washington, career achievements, service to community

OUTSTANDING YOUNG ALUMNI AWARD

• Sarah M. Anderson ’10 of Washington, D.C., academic and career achievements

• Lucy A. Burgchardt ’10 of Bettendorf, Iowa, academic and career achievements

ATHLETIC HALL OF FAME

• Abigail Williams Budzynski ’98 of Lombard, Illinois, cross country, track and field

• Todd W. Ciesielczyk ’87, football, wrestling, track and field (presented posthumously)

• Aaron B. Johnson ’03 of Ripon, Wisconsin, baseball

• Troy M. Youngbauer ’96 of Neenah, Wisconsin, football

• Mohammad Navid Nafisi Bahabadi ’22 was featured Jan. 15, 2020, in the Ripon Commonwealth Press newspaper. He discussed recent tensions between the United States and his home country of Iran. He is studying physics and math.

• Christopher Allen ’99 of Appleton, Wisconsin, was featured Jan. 29, 2020, on WLUK-TV, Green Bay. He is the new president/CEO of Fox Communities Credit Union.

• “Al Jarreau: The Most Gifted,” a personal recollection of the life and career of the late jazz/pop vocalist Al Jarreau ’62, appeared March 10, 2020, in The Berlin Spectator in Germany. Jarreau would have turned 80 years old March 12.

• First-year Mikayla Flyte and her family were featured nationally April 5, 2020, on the “CBS This Morning” television group. The segment, “Rural America Braces for Virus,” was centered in Wautoma, Wisconsin, and featured Adam and Carolyn Flyte, farmers in Coloma. Members of the Flyte family, including Mikayla, wore Ripon apparel.

• In weekly radio interviews since mid-March, Paul Schoofs, professor of economics emeritus, has discussed a variety of economic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The interviews air on sister stations WMDC-FM and WFDL-AM based in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. The series will continue through the summer.

• An article by Daniel Mikesell ’14 appeared in the SAIS Observer June 12, 2020. “Education and Leadership during a Pandemic” looks at leadership styles and common goals of Ripon College and Johns Hopkins University-Nanjing University Center in Nanjing China, where Mikesell is a graduate student.

• Austin Wenker ’05 of El Dorado, Wisconsin, was featured in the Oshkosh Northwestern newspaper June 17, 2020. He has opened Tempo Music Studio and Art Gallery in downtown Oshkosh.

• Marty Farrell, professor of politics and government emeritus, spoke June 22, 2020, on sister stations WMDC-FM and WFDL-AM. The subject was former advisor John Bolton’s new book relating to President Donald Trump and its possible impact on the presidential election.

• U.S. Vice President Mike Pence made a private campaign appearance at Ripon College July 17, 2020. His appearance and remarks received considerable notice in social media, print and broadcast media across the country.

• Professor of Biology Mark Kainz was profiled July 22, 2020, on WLUK-TV, Fox 11 News. Kainz worked over the summer as a contact investigator for COVID-19 for Winnebago County Public Health near Ripon College.

We did it together!

#OneDayRally 2020

smashes records

The worldwide Ripon College community came together in the era of social distancing to smash all previous records for the annual #OneDayRally giving day. With more than three hours remaining on Wednesday, April 29, the online campaign reached 100 percent of its donor participation goal of 1851.

As #OneDayRally came to a close after 18 hours and 51 minutes, a record $1,918,598 was raised for the Ripon Fund and the new Emergency Assistance Fund, which is supporting the unanticipated needs of our students because of COVID-19. There were a record 2,015 donors, 108% of goal. This was an additional 569 donors over #OneDayRally 2019.

Key highlights:

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

• 63% of donors were alumni who gave to Ripon College.

• 2% of donors were current students who gave to Ripon College.

• 7% of donors were parents who donated to Ripon College.

• 7% of donors were employees (faculty and staff) who donated to Ripon College.

• 5% of donors were friends who donated to Ripon College.

• 1 6% of donors did not indicate affiliation.

Top three classes for total donors:

• 1978 , 63 donors

• 2019 , 52 donors

• 2000 , 52 donors

Top three classes for total dollars raised:

• 1983 : $499,064

• 1973 : $411,750

• 1972 : $361,361

Donors represented all 50 states and several foreign countries, including Canada, the Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Panama, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The amount raised surpassed 2019’s record-breaking total of $1,085,314 by a wide margin.

300 West Seward Street

Ripon, WI 54971

ripon.edu

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Flash Back 1954

Brothers of Alpha Phi Omega sit on the front stairs of West Hall, their fraternity house, in 1954. They include the president, Sam Pickard ’55, and vice president Robert Witt ’55. They later served on the Ripon Board of Trustees together and remained close friends throughout their lives. Pickard died Feb. 19, 2020. “Sam was one of the kindest, (most) sincere persons I have ever known,” Witt says.

Pickard’s family legacy of support began with his father, Samuel N. Pickard, a trustee from 1932 to 1973, for whom S.N. Pickard Commons is named; and his mother, Dorothea, who served as a Trustee from 1973 to 1986.

SAM PICKARD ’55

ROBERT WITT ’55