Category: Sustainability


Backer to discuss conservative environmentalism Feb. 26

Benji Backer, founder and current executive chairman of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC), will discuss his new book “The Conservative Environmentalist: Common Sense Solutions for a Sustainable Future” Wednesday, Feb. 26 at 6 p.m. at Knuth Brewing Company (upstairs) 230 Watson St., Ripon. The book talk is sponsored by Ripon College’s Center for Politics and […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Social Responsibility, Special Event, Student, Sustainability.


Paper co-authored by Patrick Willoughby published in Nature Chemistry journal

Associate Professor of Chemistry Patrick H. Willoughby co-authored a paper published in Nature Chemistry, the chemistry-focused subsidiary journal of Nature. The paper, “Biocatalytic asymmetric aldol addition into unactivated ketones,” describes new approaches for the enzyme-catalyzed synthesis of amino acids. Willoughby worked alongside his students and his collaborators at UW-Madison to expand this idea to include […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Academics, Faculty, Homepage Featured, Staff, Sustainability.


Ripon College to host first Ceresco Prairie Celebration Sept. 7

Ripon College will host its first Celebration of the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy Saturday, Sept. 7, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. High school students from across the state are invited to participate in STEM- and music-specific activities, while the greater Ripon community is encouraged to participate in any of the day-long activities. The day culminates […]

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


Ripon College personnel featured in South Woods documentary

A new documentary celebrating the community of Ripon’s South Woods Park, features several Ripon College personnel. “Woodland of Wonder, Wisconsin’s First Preserve: The Story of South Woods Park Association, Ripon” is featured on the South Woods Park Association’s website. Among the quoted individuals in the documentary are Ric Damm, director of creative and social media; […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Faculty, Staff, Student, Sustainability.


Gaylord Nelson, onetime Ripon College honoree, founded Earth Day

Today, April 22, we celebrate Earth Day and remember Gaylord Nelson, a former Wisconsin governor and senator, who founded Earth Day in 1970. He received an honorary degree from Ripon College in 1971 when the Commencement theme was “Environment.” He told Ripon, “Your efforts to emphasize the ‘Environment’ are very gratifying, for the future welfare […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Social Responsibility, Sustainability.


Summer fellowship boosted students’ experience in sustainability

Shreeya Gautam ’21 of Kathmandu, Nepal, and Valerie Doornbos ‘21 of Allendale, Michigan, both took part in fellowships with the Summer Institute on Sustainability and Energy. The program usually is held at the University of Illinois at Chicago, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was entirely virtual this year. Gautam is majoring in environmental […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Internships, Student, Sustainability.


Ripon College named a Tree Campus USA

Ripon College has been named a Tree Campus USA by the Arbor Day Foundation. This honor is bestowed on colleges and universities that promote healthy trees and involve students and staff in conservation. Calyn Rieger ’22 of Dassel, Minnesota, was instrumental in the effort to earn this honor for Ripon College with help from Alice […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Sustainability.


Talk on Wednesday complements traveling exhibit on Wisconsin farming, culture, history

“The Lands We Share,” a cultural traveling exhibit highlighting the farming and history in five Wisconsin communities, is on display through Dec. 13 in the West Hall Museum of Ripon College. A related talk, “Land, Farming and Identity: The Oneida Nation in Wisconsin,” will be presented Wednesday, Nov. 6, by Stephen Kercher of the University […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Sustainability.


Sustainability conference offers attendees new ideas for collaboration

Three faculty members and six students attended the Upper Midwest Association for Campus Sustainability conference in September at Carleton College, Northfield, Minnesota. They were Alice Reznickova, director of sustainability; Jennifer DeBoer, assistant professor of business management; Ursula Dalinghaus, visiting professor of anthropology; and Sonja Brueggemann ’22, Valerie Doornbos ’21, Shreeya Gautum ’21, Kelsi Morris ’22, […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Sustainability.


Climate change focus of talk Sept. 16 at Ripon College

Climate change will be the focus of a talk presented Monday, Sept. 16, at Ripon College. The Hon. Claudine Schneider, a Republican representative from Rhode Island, will present “Climate Action Now! The Politics of Causes, Impacts and Solutions to Climate Change,” beginning at 6 p.m. in Kresge Little Theatre, East Hall. The Center for Politics […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Political Publications, Sustainability.


Power of Pollinators family event will be held Saturday

Power of Pollinators, a free, family-friendly community day of discovery, will be held all day Saturday, May 4. Organized collaboratively by Ripon College Sustainability and the Ripon Public Library, activities will be held on the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy, in the library and in The Heist in the Treasury building during its opening weekend. Events include […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Sustainability.


Ripon team wins International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition

The Ripon College team, comprising Tyler Sturzl ’19 of Crandon, Wisconsin; Wyatt McGillen ’19 of Kalispell, Montana; and Haley Stowell ’20 of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, placed first in the undergraduate division of the International Business Ethics and Sustainability Case Competition this past weekend at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California. Their topic, “A Continent […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Ethics, Student, Sustainability.


Controlled burns, habitat renewal in Wisconsin highlighted in photography exhibit

Firelines: Humans and Habitat Renewal, photographs of controlled burns in Wisconsin, is on display through May 19 in East Hall Gallery, first floor, on the Ripon College campus. It is open to the public during business hours. A presentation and reception will be held at 4:30 p.m. Monday, April 15, in Kresge Little Theatre, East […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Special Event, Sustainability.


Alumnus Joe Sandrin to discuss Saudi Arabia’s post-Gulf War environmental remediation, restoration

Joe Sandrin ’73 will share his insights into environmental remediation and restoration in Saudi Arabia, Wednesday, April 3, at 4:30 p.m. in East Hall’s Kresge Little Theatre. Sandrin majored in chemistry at Ripon and did graduate studies in organic chemistry at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. He works in Saudi Arabia as project manager of a […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Sustainability.


Sustainability in the workplace focus of panel at Ripon College Feb. 27

A panel of sustainability experts will be featured at a meeting of the Wisconsin Association of Energy Engineers (WAEE) at Ripon College Feb. 27. The panel will discuss sustainability in the workplace, sustainability job market and opportunities for students. Both the meeting and the panel are open to the public. The event will run from […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Special Event, Sustainability.


Meghann Morrissey Jarchow ’03 profiled for role in sustainability

Meghann Morrissey Jarchow ’03 of Vermillian, South Dakota, chair of the sustainability and environment department at the University of South Dakota, was profiled in the student newspaper, The Volante, Aug. 29, 2018. “Professor shares her passion for sustainability, provides students with opportunities” details how Jarchow obtained a degree in biology from Ripon College and her […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Alumni, Sustainability.


Biology professor Memuna Khan quoted in article about bluebirds

Memuna Khan, associate professor of biology and chair of the Department of Biology, was featured in an article, “Eastern bluebirds find a home at UW-Oshkosh,” published July 26, 2018, in UW-Oshkosh Today. Khan, who studies Eastern bluebirds with her students at Ripon College, visited a nest box on the Oshkosh university campus recently and banded […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Faculty, Research, Sustainability.


Liberal Arts in Focus: Biodiversity in Costa Rica, Journal Entry #1

Eight Ripon College students are currently in Costa Rica as part of the Liberal Arts in Focus course “Biodiversity in Costa Rica.” Led by Associate Professor of Biology Memuna Khan and Professor of Biology and William Harley Barber Distinguished Professor George “Skip” Wittler, the students are exploring Costa Rica’s riches in biological diversity and its […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Academics, Student, Sustainability.


Positive impact of College’s water bottle refilling stations being explored

The positive impact of sustainability on campus is being explored by analyzing data from water bottle refilling stations. Erin Engstrom ’20 of Brookfield, Illinois, and Dana Moracco, environmental health and safety officer, are working together to bring attention to sustainability on campus. Using data collected from water bottle refilling stations around campus, Engstrom says they […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Social Responsibility, Student, Sustainability.


College announces new comprehensive approach to sustainability

Every Ripon College student will directly engage with sustainability principles in a structured and meaningful way, thanks to a new campus-wide initiative targeting the curriculum, student life and administrative decision-making. “Ripon seeks to create an environment in which all students learn, practice and apply sustainability principles, and graduates employ sustainability concepts in their postgraduate careers,” […]

Posted by Dale Devries in Administration, Social Responsibility, Sustainability.