Richard Russo ’76 is a new member of the Ripon College Board of Trustees

Richard Russo ’76 of Grand Rapids, Michigan, is a new member of the Ripon College Board of Trustees. The board meets this week.

Russo retired as division president of Isabella Bank in 2015, after serving in that position for five years. His previous positions included serving as senior vice president and senior leader at Union Bank and senior vice president at Chemical Bank.

At Ripon College, Russo majored in biology and participated in Phi Kappa Pi fraternity. He received a master’s degree in personnel management from George Washington University. He also received a graduate degree from the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990, graduating sixth out of a class of 350.

Russo has been active in a variety of community activities throughout his career, most recently serving with the Greenville Rotary, where he became a Paul Harris Fellow; the Coalition of Greater Greenville; and as a board member of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce in Michigan.

He also has been a loyal contributor to Ripon College. He has donated to the Ripon Fund for more than 30 years and established the Richard and Kathy Russo Family Scholarship

He was a member of the Ripon College Alumni Board for six years, and his term ended last year.

“I enjoyed my time on the Alumni Board, especially working with the students,” Russo says. “I served two years as the vice president. Now I would like to continue my service to Ripon College by having the opportunity to assist the school in these unusual times and to make sure the school is able to provide a quality liberal arts education for students for years to come.”