Category: Alumni


Alumni Weekend 2021 Updates

Dear Ripon College Alumni, Following months of discussion and planning, and with strong consideration of CDC, Fond du Lac County and campus guidelines, I’m pleased to announce that Ripon College will be offering both virtual and in-person programming for Alumni Weekend 2021. Regardless of how you would like to connect, the Office of Constituent Engagement […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, COVID-19, Office of the President.


Fond du Lac County executive candidates will take part in forum Thursday

Allen J. Buechel and Rick Gedemer, candidates in the April 6 election for Fond du Lac County executive, will participate in a virtual candidates forum at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 18. The forum is hosted by the League of Women Voters of the Ripon Area, of which Ellen Sorensen ’00 is president; and Ripon College’s […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Special Event, Student.


Adam Sonntag ’08 returns to Ripon as new city administrator

Today, March 15, Adam Sonntag ’08 begins his new position as city administrator for the City of Ripon. The editorial “Welcome (back) to Ripon, Adam Sonntag!” was published March 10, 2021, in the Ripon Commonwealth Press. It welcomes Sonntag with an ode to the charms of small-town Ripon life. Sonntag was city administrator for the […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Ellen Sorensen ’00 president of local League of Women Voters

International Women’s Day is being celebrated today, March 8, with a theme of “Choose to Challenge.” The organization aims to celebrate the achievements of women and says, “A challenged world is an alert world, and from challenge comes change. So let’s all choose to challenge.” One recent achievement among Ripon College’s female alumnae is Ellen […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


MLK Spirit Awards honor work toward diversity and inclusion

The MLK Spirit Awards for 2020 and 2021 have been announced by the Ripon College Center for Diversity and Inclusion. The announcement was the culminating event of Black History Month celebrations at Ripon. The awards typically are presented in person at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day Breakfast, but this is the second year […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Diversity, Faculty, Student.


Ripon education paves way for career in museum work for Amy Fels ’17

Undergraduate studies at Ripon College and a student internship at an area museum helped prepare Amy Fels ’17 for her current position. Fels now is the archivist at the Oshkosh Public Museum. “My work as an archivist entails many things, and no day is exactly alike,” Fels says. Her job includes cataloging archival materials, handling […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Eric R. Pilsl ’93 commemorated in article after his sudden death

Eric R. Pilsl ’93 of Wild Rose, Wisconsin, died suddenly Feb. 27, 2021, just hours before his stepson, Ashton Schwartzman, ran a race in the adidas Indoor Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A touching article on milesplit.com ran Feb. 28. “A Performance Much Deeper Than A Race On Saturday Night” details Schwartzman’s decision to run […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Scott Strazzante ’86 referenced in feature about new photography service

Scott Strazzante ’86 of Mill Valley, California, had a shoutout in an article published Feb. 25 in the Tampa Bay Times newspaper. Strazzante, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist currently with the San Francisco Chronicle, serves on the advisory board for the newly launched nonprofit Picture the Recovery. “He thought the pandemic ended his career, but now […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


International Day of Women and Girls in Science: Jenan Kharbush ‘09

The International Day of Women and Girls in Science is celebrated today, Feb. 11, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. In recognition of the role women and girls play in science and technology, we honor one of our own making advances in the field. Jenan Kharbush ’09 says she has a personal commitment […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Emma Bronson ’17 learning about international affairs

Emma Bronson ’17 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is learning about international affairs with like-minded individuals from around the country. She has been accepted into the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition Next Generation Program after being nominated by President Zach Messitte. The program started in January. “I have always had a servant heart and been drawn to something […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Black alumni panel to speak Thursday

A panel of Black alumni will speak via Zoom from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday as part of Black History Month. The event is sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion. The panel is open to all. The Zoom ID is 928 5716 6896. Panel members will speak about their journeys after college, and […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Diversity.


Graduate who will speak Tuesday credits Ripon education for skill sets

Alexander R. Arifianto ’99, who will be a speaker during the Center for Politics and the People presentation “Can Islam Coexist with Democracy?”⁠ Tuesday, Feb. 9, has published widely in his areas of research interest: political Islam and contemporary Indonesian politics. He has published articles in journals such as Asia Policies, Asian Politics and Policy, […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Zachary Morris ’02 co-leads UW team earning $12.5 million grant to combat metastatic cancer

Today is World Cancer Day, observed each Feb. 4. It is organized by the Union for International Cancer Control to rally the international community “to reduce the global cancer burden, to promote greater equity, and to ensure that cancer control continues to be a priority in the world health and development agenda.” Zachary Morris ’02 […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Stanley Nowinski ’37: Righteous Among the Nations

In honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day today, Jan. 27, we honor the memory of Stanley Nowinski ’37 who earned the distinctive honor of being named Righteous Among the Nations. Nowinski was the son of Polish Catholic immigrants and grew up on a farm near Ripon. His service during World War II and his humanitarianism led […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Gary Yerkey ’66 tells story of historic civil rights march

Today, Jan. 18, the country observes the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, celebrating the Civil Rights leader’s life and legacy. A major achievement was the Selma to Montgomery March in March 1965 along the 54-mile highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery. Non-violent activists advocated for voting rights for African-American citizens. Between […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Julia Lilly ’20, Robin Forbes-Lorman publish biology education manuscript

Julia Lilly ’20, who is studying in Bloomington, Indiana, was the first author of “Doctor in the house: Improving undergraduate critical thinking skills through diagnosing medical case studies,” published on Coursesource. Coursesource publishes peer-reviewed, evidence-based teaching resources for undergraduate biology education. Lilly worked under the mentorship of Assistant Professor of Biology Robin Forbes-Lorman. The manuscript […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Faculty, Research, Student.


New scholarship links Ripon College to Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Milwaukee

A new endowed scholarship will link graduates of Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Milwaukee and Ripon College. The Franzen/Cristo Rey Endowed Scholarship is named for Ripon College graduates Mark Franzen ’83 and Janice Heinz Franzen ’83 of New Berlin, Wisconsin, who are supporters of the initiative. ”We are delighted to support this scholarship which […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Admission, Alumni, Funding and gifts.


Hollywood life of David Mirisch ’59 documented

A documentary about the life of former Hollywood press agent David Mirisch ’59 of Superior, Montana, will soon be entering the film festival circuit. “David Mirisch, The Man Behind the Golden Stars” focuses on this member of the family that founded the Mirisch Film Company, producers behind such classic movies as “Some Like It Hot,” […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Candice North ’04 helps orphaned children in Ghana get an education

In Ghana, K-12 education is not free, so orphaned children tend not to attend school unless someone sponsors them. Candice North ’04 is addressing that need. She started the nonprofit Building One Community at a Time (BOCAT) which works to enroll orphaned children in Nalerigu, Ghana. As a first-generation student who grew up in rural […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.


Nationally televised tribute honored alumna Barbara Blank Lueck ’64 before her death

Ripon College recently was notified of the death of Barbara Blank Lueck ’64 of Fort Collins, Colorado, on March 12, 2019. In October 2018, while she was fighting cancer, a group of her former music students arranged for an interview and tribute performance that aired on the national television program “Good Morning, America” from New […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni.