William S. Brockway
Founder of Ripon
Founders of Ripon
These are the people who are the bedrock of what would become Ripon College. To learn more about the history of Ripon College, visit our Historical Timeline
Alvan E. Bovay
Founder of Ripon College
Capt. David P. Mapes
Founder of Ripon College
Jehdeiah Bowen
Founder of Ripon
John Scott Horner
Founder of Ripon
Asa Kinney
Founder of Ripon
Ezra Lathrop “E.L.” Northrup
Founder of Ripon
Almon Osborn
Founder of Ripon
Warren Chase
Founder of Ripon
Edwin Lockwood
Founder of Ripon
First Ripon Graduates
These are the first graduates from Ripon College. Their success paved the way for future graduates. What will your Ripon Legacy be?
Luthera Harriet Adams
Class of 1867: First graduating class
Harriet Hemans Brown
Class of 1867: First graduating class
Mary Frances Spencer Thayer
Class of 1867: First graduating class
Susan Ann Wright Salisbury
Class of 1867: First graduating class
Ripon College Presidents
There have been 14 presidents who have led Ripon College. Many of the names here have been memorialized in the buildings, halls, and spaces around campus.
William E. Merriman
First President of Ripon College
Edward H. Merrell
Second President of Ripon College
Rufus Cushman Flagg
Third President of Ripon College
Richard Cecil Hughes
Fourth President of Ripon College
Silas Evans
Fifth President of Ripon College
Henry Coe Culbertson
Sixth President of Ripon College
Clark G. Kuebler
Seventh President of Ripon College
Fred O. Pinkham
Eighth President of Ripon College
Bernard S. Adams
Ninth President of Ripon College
William R. Stott Jr.
Tenth President of Ripon College
Paul B. Ranslow
Eleventh president of Ripon College
David C. Joyce
Twelfth president of Ripon College
Zach P. Messitte
Thirteenth president of Ripon College
Victoria N. Folse
Fourteenth president of Ripon College
Arts and Entertainment
These Ripon members broadened the cultural footprint of our college around the world. Where will your passion take you?
Tom Bellfort
Academy Award-winning sound editor
Harold Engel
Broadcasting pioneer
Harrison Ford
Film superstar
Arnold Glasow
A ‘happychrondriac’
Al Jarreau
Jazz legend, seven-time Grammy winner
Jan Jorden
From “M*A*S*H*” to therapy
Charlie Scheips
Artist, writer, curator, cultural historian
Lester O. Schwartz
Faculty Artist
John Stephenson
Voice of Mr. Slate
James Blair Thompson
Artist
Spencer Tracy
Star of Hollywood’s Golden Age
Frances Lee McCain
Everybody’s movie mom
David Mirisch
The Man behind the Golden Stars
Justin Niebank
Grammy-winning mix engineer
Robert E. McPherson
Opera singing and boat repair
Doug Morris
With a song in his heart
Ally Wilber
Artist
Gail Dobish
Class of 1976: Opera singer
Alicia Rhyner Rytlewski
Class of 2010: Classical pianist and vocalist
Community and Engagement
Ripon celebrates the bond between Ripon and Ripon College — a partnership built on shared purpose and hometown pride. It’s about students, residents, and neighbors coming together to learn, serve, and grow. Here in Ripon, connection isn’t just part of life — it’s the heart of who we are.
Doreen Conforti Chemerow
Class of 1973: Paying it forward
Robert V. Abendroth
Class of 1951: Extraordinary commitment
Natasha Torry
Class of 1998: Circuit Court Judge
Paul Rodewald
Class of 1921: Lawyer
Jon P. Wilcox
Class of 1958: Wisconsin Supreme Court justice
Earl William Wyman
Class of 1917: OshKosh B’Gosh
Rick Kammen
Class of 1968: National criminal defense lawyer
George Herbert Conant
Class of 1920: Botanical products
Faculty
Ripon faculty are the reason students stay at Ripon College. In May, as we kick off Commencement month, we look back to many of the Ripon Faculty that have improved the Ripon experience over the years.
Elaine Coll
Founder of Ripon College’s women’s athletics program
Col. Edward D. Daniels
Civil War Abolitionist
Kurt R. Dietrich
Music
Seale Doss
Philosophy
Ron Ernst
Football coach
Gordie Gillespie
Baseball Coach
Bob Gillespie
Winningest basketball coach
David Graham
Poet
Robert V. “Spud” Hannaford
Philosophy
Alfred Edward “Fred” Kahn
Economics
Julie Heinz Johnson
Ground-breaking Athletic Director
Waclaw Jedrzejewicz
Slavic Studies
Chuck Larson
Class of 1965 and coach
George H. Miller
Scholar, historian, teacher
Douglas A. Northrop
English
Leone (Laura) Oyster
Class of 1919: Chemistry Professor
Thomas J. Oyster
Class of 1962: Chemistry
William Schang
English
John M. Storzer
Winning coach and administrator
Clarissa Tucker Tracy
‘Mother of Ripon College’
William Tyree
Philosophy
Robert “Dr. Bob” Wallace
Rotifer expert
Kermit ‘Doc’ Weiske
Class of 1950: Mr. Basketball
Mary Williams-Norton
Making physics fun
George “Skip” H. Wittler
Biology
William J. Woolley
History
Politics, Government and Diverse Fields
Ripon College has a long tradition of preparing students for meaningful careers in politics, government, and diverse fields through a rigorous liberal arts education. Find out more about that helped shape the world in unique ways.
Brittany “McKey” Sullivan Alvey
Class of 2013
Roderick Esquivel
Class of 1949: Vice president of Panama
Jessie Marie DeBoth Dreutzer
Class of 1915: Celebrity chef
José Miguel Alemán
Class of 1978: Leading his country to change
Gail N. Gitcho
Class of 2001: Communication strategies
Oliver E. Williamson
Class of 1954: Nobel Prize laureate
Mark Allen Greene
Class of 1980: Archivist
Charles Eric “Rick” Estberg
Class of 1975: Intelligence officer
David Davies
Class of 1877: Alumnus, Trustee, minister
Robert Needham
Class of 1986: Retired U.S. Diplomat
Elmer Addison Morse
Class of 1893: U.S. Representative
Charles Marder
Class of 1973: Landscaping with the eye of an artist
Todd Keil
Class of 1984: Keeping the world secure
(Kossuth) Kent Kennan
Class of 1875: State tax commissioner
Arthur Gunderson Hayden
Class of 1902: Bridge engineer
Carl P. Russell
Class of 1916: National Park Service
James Eldin Reed
Class of 1967: Promoted international understanding
Stanley Nowinski
Class of 1937: Righteous Among the Nations
Rollin B. Lane
Class of 1872: Founder of Hollywood
Roger A. Sutherland
Class of 1919
Richard Duane Bartel
Class of 1958: International economist
Dennis J. Conta
Class of 1962: Politics and public service
Authors and Wordsmiths
Ripon College has long fostered a love of language and storytelling, producing writers, journalists, and scholars who have gone on to make their mark in a variety of fields. With a tradition rooted in thoughtful inquiry and strong humanities education, Ripon has served as an unlikely but fitting backdrop for the written word.
Merline Thoma Lovelace
Class of 1968: Air Force colonel, best-selling novelist
Mark Porubcansky
Class of 1977: Witness to the world
Ann E. Ewing
Class of 1941: Coined the space term ‘black hole’
Francis “Frank” Wilbert Ryhlick
Class of 1936: Hugo Award
Richard Threlkeld
Class of 1959: News correspondent, anchor
Mary Elvira Weeks
Class of 1913: ‘Discovery of the Elements’
(John) William “Bill” Roberts
Class of 1941: Presidential press staff
Helen Holter
Class of 1978: Recalculating and Resilience
Gary G. Yerkey
Class of 1966: Documenting history
Helen Eggleston Haskell
Class of 1891: Children’s Book Author
Allan A. Michie
Class of 1936: War correspondent
Jean Hammond Otto
Class of 1948: First Amendment advocate
Curtis MacDougall
Class of 1923: Freedom of the Press
Anne Negri Lewinthal
Class of 2003: Educator and playwright
Scott Strazzante
Class of 1986: Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer
Emma Helen Blair
Class of 1874: Editor, translator, historian
Susan Bundock
Class of 1982: American History TV
Thought Leaders
Ripon alumni and faculty carry a habit of deep thought beyond graduation — for some, that reflection has grown into faith; for others, into service or scholarship. Either way, it traces back to the same thing: Ripon taught them not to settle for easy answers.
Ulysses S. Doss
Class of 1957, advocated for love, peace, equity
Erika Doss
Class of 1978: Art and Culture
Theodore Brameld
Class of 1926: Educational philosopher
Ornella Umubyeyi
Class of 2013: Motivational Speaker, Preacher, Lecturer
William Davies
Class of 1915: President at Eau Claire
Marian Anders Presler
Class of 1932 – A life of service
Bruno E. Jacob
Class of 1922: National Forensic League
William Chester Jordan
Class of 1969: Medievalist
James A. Peterson
Class of 1934: Family counseling
Richard Austin Kraft
Class of 1958: Bishop of Pretoria
Peter T. Bock
Class of 1962: NASA, Artificial intelligence
H. Jerome Thompson
Athletics and faith
Brian Smith
Religion
Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Leaders
Ripon College’s commitment to STEM has always centered on people: faculty who mentor students one-on-one through hands-on research long before it’s expected at the undergraduate level. These Ripon Alumni paved the way for scientific discovery.
Jennifer White
Class of 2003: Space industry
Jeffrey Bantle
Class of 1980: NASA flight director
Raymond Allen
Class of 2015: Indigenous knowledge in science
Cheryl Rofer
Class of 1963, Expert on nuclear issues
Larry Huebner
Class of 1983: Aerospace engineer
Elda Emma Anderson
Class of 1922: Developing atomic weapons, health physics
Wells Woodbridge Cooke
Class of 1879: Bird migration
Harrison E. Farnsworth
Class of 1918: Low-energy defraction
Arthur A. Myrberg Jr.
Class of 1954: Animal behavior and the environment
John G. Frayne
Class of 1917: Hollywood sound engineer
Otto Julius Zobel
Class of 1909: Telephone technology
Michael Tinkham
Class of 1950: Superconductivity physicist
Daniel O. Trainer
Class of 1950: Conservationist
Raymond Lester Wegel
Class of 1910: Audiogram
Robert R. Riesz
1924: Artificial larynx
Thomas Reinecke
Class of 1968: Quantum Physicist
Floyd Melville Soule
Class of 1923: Oceanographer
William F. Meggers
Class of 1910: Over the moon
Alexander H. Levis
Class of 1963: Educator, Chief Scientist of the U.S. Air Force
Brian Frey
Class of 1991: Advancing medical knowledge
George F. Vesley
Class of 1962: Corporate chemist
Join in the Celebration
Ripon College is celebrating it’s 175th Anniversary. Stay up to date on news and events for our historic celebration.