Kathryn R. Schultz

Class of 1989: Nonproliferation, international security

Kathryn R. Schultz, a former U.S. diplomat of Fairfax, Virginia, has said she would not be where she is professionally, personally, and financially were it not for her Ripon College education and the experiences she had here.

A native of Schofield, Wisconsin, at Ripon she majored in politics and government with a minor in music. She participated in choral ensembles, forensics, and the Pi Kappa Delta National Honorary Fraternity for Speech, Debate, and Forensics. She also was a student worker in the Office of the Registrar.

She has continued her affinity with the College throughout her life as a member of the Alumni Board; being active in alumni events in the Washington, D.C. area; making contact with Ripon students attending the American University in Washington, D.C.; sponsoring Ripon students to attend the Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference; hosting students at the State Department for two Career Discovery Tours; and giving in-person and Skype presentations to numerous classes at Ripon College.

She worked for 26 years in government service, first for the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and then for the Department of State. As an expert in confidence and security building measures, early in her career she served as a U.S. Delegate to the Four Party Peace Talks (with the two Koreas and China, aimed at transitioning the armistice to a Peace Treaty to formally end the Korean War). She rose to be senior adviser and team chief on South Asia issues in the State Department’s Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, where her work focused on issues involving the security of nuclear weapons, decreasing regional tensions, increasing strategic stability, and ensuring strong export controls.

Recognition includes the Secretary of State’s Career Achievement Award, 14 Superior Honor Awards, and 5 Meritorious Honor Awards in honor of her efforts aimed at preventing the further spread and/or use of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, and promoting best practices related to their security. She also earned her diploma from the Joint Military Intelligence College’s Post-Graduate Intelligence Program.

Before joining federal service, she worked in the think tank world. During that time, she won the Silver Award at the 1998 Houston International Film Festival (Film and Video Production Awards) and the 1993 Olive Branch Award from the Center for War, Peace, and the News Media, New York University, for programs she wrote for the series “America’s Defense Monitor” television program, produced by the Center for Defense Information and aired nationwide on PBS. She also is the author of “Accidental Nuclear War” and “Nuclear Treaties” entries for “”An Encyclopedia of War and Ethics,” Greenwood Press, 1996; and “Nuclear Proliferation,” “Nuclear Treaties,” and “Nuclear Testing” entries for “A Global Agenda,” United Nations Association of the USA, New York, 1997 and 1996.

She has served on numerous boards including the Advisory Board of the British American Security Information Council and the Board of Directors of the Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship, the Alexandria Choral Society (including as president), and the professional choral ensembles Washington Kantorei and Carmina (currently vice chair).

Her lifelong love of music is reflected in her participation in several choirs, including singing in multiple professional ensembles in the Washington, D.C. area, singing backup for Rosemary Clooney and Neil Sedaka, nearly 30 years of directing choirs, and founding and directing the State Department’s choral ensemble. She often toured internationally with her choirs, singing in some of the most revered cathedrals in the world — including from the balcony of St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. Between work and choirs, she has traveled to 39 countries and every continent except Antarctica (which is on her bucket list).

Ripon presented her with its Distinguished Alumni Citation in 2019.