Search committee named for 14th Ripon College president

Ripon College has announced the search for its 14th president, who will succeed President Zach Messitte. In September, Messitte announced his plan to leave the College at the end of the 2021 fall semester following nine years of impressive leadership.

The Board of Trustees has approved the formation of the Presidential Search Committee. Members of the committee will work closely with executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates, which was selected to manage the search process based on their depth and breadth of specialized expertise and high touch client approach.

The search committee will actively engage the immediate and extended Ripon College community in the search, review the credentials of interested candidates, select a group of finalists to interview, and present to the Board a candidate they believe is best-prepared to lead the College into the future. Members were selected from among nominated faculty, staff, students, administration and the greater Ripon community.

Members include:

• Chair: Mark Franzen ’83, Trustee
• Administrative Liaison: Kara Kinas Jankowski, chief of staff to the president and dean of faculty
• Committee Members: Tom Abendroth ’81, chair of the Board of Trustees; Nick Eastman, assistant professor of educational studies; Jackie Hanson ’23, current student; Dante Houston ’01, Trustee; Shawn Karsten ’09, vice president for Advancement, and Marketing and Communications; Memuna Khan, professor of biology, chair of the Department of Biology;
  Linda Kinziger, director of financial aid; Rebecca Matzke, associate dean for faculty development and Ralph Hale Ruppert Distinguished Professor of History; Tom Moniz, attorney with Von Briesen & Roper, S.C., community representative; Connie Moser ’84, Trustee; Travis Nygard, associate professor of art history, co-director of the Caestecker Gallery; Carrie Roca-Dawson ’94, member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors; Lisa Wollan ’78, Trustee; and Kimberly Woolley ’94, Trustee.