Thank you to our donors, volunteers, and the entire Ripon community Ripon, WI — Rally Day #2 proved to be a powerful day of generosity and community spirit as the Ripon College family came together to exceed its goal of 1,075 donors in celebration of the College’s 175th anniversary. Throughout the day, alumni, families, students, […]
Ripon, WI — Rally Days 2026 is off to a strong and inspiring start as the Ripon College community came together to exceed the Day 1 goal of $175,000, raising just over $208,000. This momentum helped propel the Ripon Fund to $1.6 million in total support to date. More than 400 gifts were made, with […]
Abendroth, one of the longest-serving trustees, benefactor and part of four generations of Ripon alumni, receives annual award. Because of his extraordinary and continuous service to Ripon College, Robert V. Abendroth, Class of 1951, will receive Ripon College’s 2026 Founders’ Day Award in the College’s 175th anniversary year. The Founders’ Day Award honors an individual […]
Founder Capt. David Parshall Mapes was the driving force behind developing the new “embryo city” of Ripon as well as the school that would become Ripon College. He was born Jan. 10, 1798, in Coxsackie, Greene County, New York. He worked in various positions in the East, including one term in the New York legislature, […]
First president 1863-1876 On April 23, 1863, the Rev. Dr. William E. Merriman, a graduate of Williams College and Union Theological Seminary, was elected the first president of Brockway College, at a salary of $1,000 a year. He immediately relinquished his salary (except for living expenses) to bring the College out of debt. There were […]