John Sisko to Become Ripon College’s New VP and Dean of Faculty

The Ripon College community is pleased to welcome Dr. John Sisko as the new vice president and dean of faculty. He currently serves as 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 is a professor of philosophy. His first day at Ripon will be Aug. 10, 2020.

“John is an accomplished teacher, scholar and administrator with a passion for the liberal arts,” says Ripon College President Zach Messitte. “I look forward to working closely with him in the months and years ahead as Ripon continues to build on our innovative Catalyst curriculum.”

Sisko also will serve on the president’s administrative council and be a professor of philosophy.

“Ripon College is an outstanding school which is informed by tradition and yet also open to innovation,” Sisko says. “I am excited about the opportunity to work with such a talented group of faculty, staff and academic leaders.”

At Queens University, Sisko served as the chief academic officer of the Arts and Sciences and Education divisions, providing leadership for 75 full-time faculty members, 60 part-time instructors and 10 staff members, constituting Queens’ largest academic unit. He served on the university-wide planning committee and co-chaired a subcommittee on creativity and innovation for the institution’s 2017-2020 strategic plan. Sisko worked closely with faculty and administration to promote entrepreneurship, advance the university’s standing and footprint in the Charlotte arts community, and enhance opportunities for undergraduate research, creative activity and experiential learning.

Sisko has given 50 scholarly presentations and published 17 book chapters or journal articles, most of which have been published in the top journals of philosophy. He also has published an edited volume, Philosophy of Mind in Antiquity (Routledge, 2019). He has more than 20 years of teaching experience, including posts at The College of New Jersey, California State University, Temple University and the College of William and Mary, where he won the Junior Research Sabbatical Award.

Sisko earned his bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, and his Ph.D. in philosophy from Rutgers University.

He was appointed vice president and dean of faculty by Ripon following a national search that began in the fall of 2019 and was conducted by a search committee chaired by Dr. Colleen Byron, the L. Leone Oyster, Class of 1919, Chair in Chemistry.

“I would like to thank Professor of History Becky Matzke for her service to the College as the interim dean of faculty over the past year,” Messitte added. “Her hard work, thoughtfulness and collegiality have made us, and will continue to make us, a better institution.”

Sisko replaces the previous dean of faculty, Ed Wingenbach, who left Ripon in July 2019 to be the president of Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Posted June 25, 2020 in Administration, Faculty, Office of the President.

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