Category: Commencement


Honoree Jason Felts urges Ripon College graduates to promote change, leave a legacy

The Ripon College Class of 2024 celebrated the 158th Commencement ceremony at Ripon College Sunday afternoon. The theme was “Breaking Barriers: Creating a Legacy.” A full video of the Commencement ceremony can be viewed at ripon.edu/live. Nearly 150 members of the class heard from three honorees: keynote speaker and honorary degree recipient Jason Felts, a […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Commencement.


Dena Willmore, Ripon College Class of 1967, to receive honorary degree

Dena Willmore, a 1967 Ripon College graduate, philanthropist and retired partner and senior vice president of Wellington Management Company LLP of Boston, Massachusetts, will be presented with an honorary degree at Ripon’s Commencement May 12. The Commencement theme is “Breaking Barriers – Creating a Legacy.” After graduating with a degree in philosophy from Ripon, Willmore […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Commencement.


Ripon College announces 2024 Commencement speaker Jason Felts

Jason Felts, serial entrepreneur, Fortune 500 brand advisor, philanthropist, film producer and founding CEO of VIRGIN PRODUCED, will be the keynote speaker at Ripon College’s Commencement May 12. The Commencement theme is “Breaking Barriers: Creating a Legacy.” Felts also will be presented with an honorary degree. As co-founder and CEO of VIRGIN PRODUCED, the media […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Commencement.


New Ripon College graduates urged to seek joy in life and in careers

The Ripon College Class of 2023 celebrated the 157th Commencement ceremony at Ripon College Sunday afternoon. The theme was “Strategic Thinkers who Ignite Change.” A full video of the Commencement ceremony can be viewed at ripon.edu/live. Nearly 150 members of the class heard perspectives from three special honorees: Zachary S. Morris ’02, an associate professor […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Commencement.


Peter E. Stone to receive Ripon College’s Founders’ Day Award

Peter E. Stone of Fond du Lac, chairman of the board of National Exchange Bank and Trust (NEBAT) as well as the private Stone Family Foundation, will receive Ripon College’s 2023 Founders’ Day Award at the College’s Commencement ceremony Sunday, May 14. The award is presented annually to an individual or organization in Ripon and […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Commencement, Office of the President.


Zachary Morris ’02 will be honorary degree recipient, speaker at Sunday’s Commencement

Dr. Zachary Morris ’02 will be the honorary degree recipient at Ripon College’s Commencement May 14. Morris is a tenured associate professor and vice chair of the Department of Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Originally from Rockford, Illinois, he completed his undergraduate studies at Ripon, majoring in chemistry and biology with a minor […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Commencement.


New Ripon College graduates urged to take sense of community out into the world

The Ripon College Class of 2022 celebrated the 156th Commencement ceremony at Ripon College on a picture-perfect day Sunday afternoon. The new graduates came together with joy, spirit and pride to celebrate a traditional ceremony after cancellations and modifications of the event during the pandemic. The theme was “The Stories We Tell: Connecting to Our […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Commencement.


Honorary degree recipient finds theatre’s greatest strength is ‘connections’

Brenda DeVita, artistic director of American Players Theatre in Spring Green, Wisconsin, has spent a lifetime in the theatre — as an actor, director and administrator. Sunday, May 15, she will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree and give the Commencement speech at Ripon College. The 2022 Commencement theme is “The Stories We […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Commencement.


Anne Negri Lewinthal ’03 to receive honorary degree Sunday

Ripon College will honor one of our own at the 2022 Commencement May 15. In celebration of the theme “The Stories We Tell: Connecting to Our Community through Theatre,” Anne Negri Lewinthal ’03 of Skokie, Illinois, will receive an honorary doctor of fine arts degree. Lewinthal is a drama specialist in District 65 Evanston-Skokie (Illinois) […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Alumni, Commencement.


West Allis teacher will be honored as Distinguished Educator

Jordan Pollard, a fourth- and fifth-grade teacher at Franklin Elementary School in West Allis, Wisconsin, will be honored as Ripon College’s Distinguished Educator for 2022 at Commencement May 15. He was nominated for the award by Lindsay Wigand ’22. Pollard is from West Allis originally and received his degree in elementary education with a minor […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Commencement.


Class of 2020 celebrates long-overdue Commencement

It was a long time coming. A few dozen members of the Class of 2020 came back together Sunday, Aug. 8, for an eagerly anticipated and long-overdue celebration of their graduation from Ripon College. Their original Commencement ceremony was cancelled in May 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Rainy conditions necessitated moving the ceremony into […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Commencement, Student.


Ripon College Class of 2021 comes back together for in-person Commencement ceremony

After a year of uncertainty, a cancelled 2020 Commencement ceremony and many adaptations to campus life, the Ripon College Class of 2021 came together Sunday, May 16, with joy, spirit and pride to celebrate at a modified but in-person Commencement ceremony. The theme was “Wisconsin Music: Riffs from the Heartland,” honoring the significant musical heritage […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Commencement.


Guy Henshaw ’68, Susan Siegel Henshaw ’68 receive Medal of Merit

Guy Runals Henshaw ’68 and Susan Siegel Henshaw ’68 of Danville, California, received Ripon College’s Medal of Merit at the Commencement ceremony Sunday. Their commitment to Ripon College spans more than half a century of service and includes Guy’s two decades as a member of the Board of Trustees, their active engagement with the Class […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Alumni, Commencement.


John Harmon will be Ripon’s honorary degree recipient at Commencement

John Harmon of Winneconne, Wisconsin, a widely acclaimed composer, jazz pianist and music educator, will receive an honorary doctorate of humane letters at Ripon College’s 2021 Commencement. While the ceremony is limited to graduates and their families, the event will be streamed live and available to watch at ripon.edu/commencement Harmon’s music is influenced by jazz, […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Commencement.


2021 Distinguished Educator Award to be presented to Sandra Polcyn

Sandra Polcyn will receive the 2021 Distinguished Educator Award during Ripon College’s Commencement. While the ceremony is limited to graduates and their families, the event will be streamed live and available to watch at ripon.edu/commencement Polcyn grew up in Chilton, Wisconsin, and graduated from Lawrence University with a bachelor of music degree in instrumental music […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Commencement, Faculty.


Fond du Lac County Health Department to receive 2021 Founders’ Day Award

The Fond du Lac County Health Department will receive Ripon College’s 2021 Founders’ Day Award at Ripon College’s Commencement May 16. While the ceremony is limited to graduates and their families, the event will be streamed live and available to watch at ripon.edu/commencement The award honors the ideals of those who started the College in […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Commencement.


Maria Dietrich to receive Ripon College’s 2020 Founders’ Day Award

Maria Dietrich, a longtime community arts administrator, will receive the College’s 2020 Founders’ Day Award at Commencement May 16. While the ceremony is limited to graduates and their families, the event will be streamed live and available to watch at ripon.edu/commencement Ripon College was officially founded Jan. 29, 1851. Each year the College celebrates its […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Commencement.


Class of 2020 Commencement Plans

Dear Ripon College Class of 2020,  I am reaching out to you today to provide updates related to the planning for an in-person Commencement. The Commencement Planning Committee has been diligently evaluating all possible options for a safe and in-person experience for the Class of 2020.  At this time, I am pleased to announce that […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Commencement, Office of the President.


Update on Commencement 2021

Dear Ripon College Class of 2021 and Families,  I am reaching out to you today to provide updates related to the planning for Commencement 2021. The Commencement Planning Committee has been diligently evaluating all possible options for a safe and in-person experience for the Class of 2021.  At this time, I am pleased to announce […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Class of 2021, Commencement.


Updates Regarding Commencement 2020

Dear Class of 2020 Alumni, When I wrote to you and your families in April regarding the postponement of the 2020 Ripon College Commencement, I informed you that we would be able to move forward with the rescheduled October ceremony only if public health authorities and College policies deemed it appropriate. After consulting with the […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Commencement, Office of the President, Student.