Ripon College names new vice president for finance

Karl Ivan Solibakke has been appointed the new vice president for finance at Ripon College. Solibakke has been on campus since May in an interim capacity.

“Solibakke has hit the ground running with responsibilities that also include managing the financing of the $22 million Storzer renovation project,” said Zach Messitte, president of Ripon College. “In his first few months at Ripon, I have been very impressed with his attention to detail, care for colleagues, hard work and good humor. He understands the importance of a liberal arts education and the opportunities it offers our students. But he also appreciates why we must be mindful of rising tuition and cost.”

Solibakke joins Ripon from Holy Names University in Oakland, California, where he had been the vice president of finance and administration. He previously served for six years as the assistant dean for finance and long-range planning in the College of Arts and Sciences at Syracuse University, where he also had an appointment as the Distinguished Love Research Fellow in German Literature and Culture in the college’s Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics. He began his academic career as the assistant to the dean of the Division of Arts at Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany.

He grew up in Annapolis, Maryland, and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland. He received his master’s degree and his Ph.D. in German literature, linguistics and philosophy from Heinrich Heine University in Dusseldorf, Germany.