Class of 1978: Nurturing extremely premature babies Over a four-decade career at Layola University Medical Center in Maywood, Illinois, Jonathan K. Muraskas has built a position as a world-renowned expert in the care of extremely premature babies and children with other critical medical needs. He was born in February 1956 on the south side of […]
Class of 2003: Logistics, supply chain management After commissioning at Ripon through the ROTC program, Daniel T. Trost served 21 years in the U.S. Army, last serving as the 262nd Quartermaster Battalion commander and retiring as a lieutenant colonel. He was born in June 1981 in Minnesota and raised in western Wisconsin. After applying for […]
Class of 2009: U.S. Army Joshua Dalhauser Frey was born March 22, 1987, and came to Ripon from Racine, Wisconsin. At Ripon, he majored in physical science and religion with a minor in military leadership. He was commissioned through ROTC. He received a master’s degree in environmental management from Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri; […]
Class of 1905: Vice Admiral in the Navy Ferdinand Louis Reichmuth was an officer of the United States Navy from 1902 to 1946. He held commands during both World War I and World War II and ultimately achieved the rank of vice admiral. He was born April 11, 1884, in Beloit, Kansas. He came to […]
Class of 1906: Congressional Medal of Honor Frank LaFayette Anders, Class of 1906, received the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1906 for heroic actions on May 13, 1899, during the Philippine Insurrection. The practice then was to receive the medal through the mail and not from the current president; but 57 years later, Anders was […]
Class of 1939: Military, sports, education (Howard) Dayle Balliett was a military officer, athlete, diplomat, musician and educator. He was born Aug. 14, 1918, in Augusta, Wisconsin, and worked his way through Ripon College as a pianist for churches and on the radio station. He majored in history, English and Spanish and was commissioned through […]
Class of 1923: Brigadier General As a brigadier general in the U.S. Army, (James) Harold Banville received the Legion of Merit, an award of the United States Armed Forces, for exceptionally meritorious conduct during the Cold War era. He had risen from a private in the Wisconsin National Guard to brigadier general in the regular […]
Class of 1911: Ripon’s first Rhodes Scholar At Ripon, Latimer A. Johns majored in economics and participated in debate, Glee Club, College Days and Law Club. He also was editor of the Crimson yearbook and treasurer of the State Oratorical Association. Johns was born Sept. 1, 1892, in Cotter, Iowa, where his father, John Rhys […]
Class of 1926: Air Force brigadier general Born Nov. 10, 1902, in Fox Lake, Wisconsin, Harley Sanford Jones graduated from Ripon College with a degree in economics. He was a member of Phi Delta Theta/Alpha Phi Omega and Partners in the Legacy, and was commissioned through ROTC. He received the Distinguished Alumni Citation in 1976. […]
Class of 1942: WWII hero A funeral with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery saw Lt. Col. James Megellas laid to rest in 2022. Megellas, a native of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, was a paratrooper and one of the most decorated soldiers of the 82nd Airborne during World War II. During World War II, […]
1850s: Abolitionist, Civil War officer Oscar Hugh La Grange, known as Hugh, was an American lawyer and abolitionist activist. He served as a Union Army officer in the American Civil War and received an honorary brevet to brigadier general. He was born April 3, 1837, in Fulton, New York, and moved with his family to […]
Class of 1998: Taking on catastrophic disease When Shannon McKinney-Freeman was in high school, her father was diagnosed with myelodysplasia and required a bone marrow transplant. That experience led to a career path where she now is a Member (full professor equivalent) in the Department of Hematology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, […]
Class of 2002: Cancer research An early ambition to help combat cancer led Zachary Morris to his current position as the Endowed Paul Harari Professor and Chair of the Department of Human Oncology at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. He was born in August 1980 in Rockford, Illinois. At Ripon […]
Class of 1981: Three-time Olympian Although not an athlete, Kent Edward Timm, Class of 1981, is a three-time Olympian. As a doctor of physical therapy, he served on the medical staff for the Olympic Games in Atlanta, Sydney, Australia, and Salt Lake City. He also has been a sports physical therapist for the Pittsburgh Penguins, […]
Class of 1927: Maternal healthcare As one of the nation’s most respected obstetricians, Duncan E. Reid, Class of 1927, summed up his professional work in a dedication in his 1962 work “A Textbook of Obstetrics”: to “those who work together toward achievement of the initial right of man to be born without handicap and the […]
Class of 1951: Forensic pathologist At the age of 12, Richard Coe Froede decided to become a medical doctor, and specifically a pathologist, because he liked the idea of being a medical detective. He went on to become one of the world’s most renowned forensic science experts and the first-ever Armed Forces Medical Examiner with […]
Class of 1883: Medical missionary (Margaret) Emma Osborn Cleaver was born May 5, 1862, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She was the only woman in her Ripon College graduating class when she received a Classical degree in 1883. She also earned an M.A. in 1886 and a teaching certificate. She taught in Milwaukee from 1883-1886 before entering […]
Class of 2011: International public health “As with many things, my choice of career was influenced in large part by serendipity,” said Dr. Kylie Ainslie. Her specific research interests were honed early at Ripon College, and she took advantage of fortuitous opportunities that led to an international career influencing public health policy. Ainslie was born […]
Class of 1991: Taking on the world Her biggest take-away from Ripon College was “learning not to be intimidated by perceptions of what I (or anyone else) can and can’t do or have ever done before — learning not to be limited by the impossible,” said Lori Stich. Graduating in three years with three majors […]
Class of 2011: A life in professional sports Aaron Kastner is the director of corporate partnership marketing for the Dallas Cowboys football team, and he describes his position as more of a lifestyle than a job. He was born in October 1988 in West Bend, Wisconsin. At Ripon, he majored in exercise science and participated […]
Class of 1922: Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers Hall-of-Famer Charles Pater “Charlie” Mathys played 52 games with the team as a quarterback and kicker in 1922-26; and for one season as a running back for the Hammond Pros in 1920-21. He was born June 20, 1897, in Green Bay, Wisconsin. He played college football […]