Archives

Yuan Wang

• Ph.D. from University of Georgia
• M.A. from University of International Business and Economics
• B.A. from Nanjing Tech University

Receiving my Ph.D. from the University of Georgia, I was born and grew up in East China. I host enthusiasm and research strengths in a wide range of topics including comparative democratization, media politics, cyber politics, political communication, public opinion, nationalism and research methodology (both quantitative and qualitative). Focusing on authoritarian regimes, especially China, I am particularly interested in answering how authoritarianism remains durable and viable through miscellaneous means. My recent publications appear in the Journal of Chinese Political Science, International Studies Review, among others.

I teach courses such as Introduction to Global Issues, Introduction to Comparative Politics, Politics of China and Data Analysis and Visualization.

In my spare time, I love hanging out with my toddler girl and cool spouse in various museums, amusement parks and hiking and climbing trails.

Emily Schultz

• Doctorate of Clinical Psychology from Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology
• Masters in Clinical Psychology from Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology
• B.S. in Biology and Psychology from Marian University

I am a licensed psychologist who loves to talk about and teach psychology. I currently teach General Psychology and Advanced Counseling/Clinical Psychology. Other courses you may find me teaching include: Abnormal Psychology, Personality Theories, and Practicum Experience. I was born and raised in Horicon, Wisconsin. I now reside just outside of Horicon on my 20-acre farm with my husband and 3 children. We raise horses, alpacas, goats, rabbits, geese, ducks, cats and dogs. I also operate a private practice on my farm offering equine-facilitated psychotherapy. I received my undergraduate degree in Biology and Psychology from Marian University. I did some master-level coursework in experimental psychology at UW-Oshkosh before transferring to the Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology. There I earned my masters and doctorate degree in clinical psychology. Prior to coming to Ripon College, I worked for almost 9 years as a staff psychologist for Fond du Lac County. My research interests include evidence-based treatments, specifically equine-facilitated psychotherapy.

Jackie Sirovina

• Ph.D. in Political Science from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, expected Fall 2023
• M.A. in Political Science from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• B.A. in Political Science and Global Studies from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
• Semester abroad at American University in Bosnia-Herzegovina
• Semester abroad at Charles University in Prague, Czechia

I am a doctoral dissertator and lecturer in Political Science at UW-Milwaukee, Marquette University and Ripon College. I study international relations and comparative politics and teach courses on international relations and international security. My dissertation focuses on the intersection of ethnicity, conflict and refugees. With the development of a new dataset on refugees’ majority or minority ethnic status in a country of asylum, she looks to unravel how one’s ethnic identity can influence the production, flow and treatment of refugees fleeing conflict.

In 2019, I earned my master’s degree in Political Science at UW-Milwaukee with my thesis focusing on Chinese foreign aid and corruption. I also received my bachelor’s degree in 2016, summa cum laude, from UW-Milwaukee in Political Science and Global Studies, with a minor in Geography and two certificates in Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution and Russian and Eastern European Studies.

Overall, my research interests center on ethnic conflict, migration politics, nationalism, political violence, politics of developing nations, foreign aid, and corruption.

Steve Wammer

• M.S. from Texas Woman’s University in Denton, TX
• B.A. from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN

Richard Gerstein

• B.S. in Economics from Miami University, Oxford, OH

With over 30 years of leading some of the world’s largest and most trusted brands, I launched my career at Procter and Gamble (P&G) in brand management. My time at P&G included the US headquarters working on several billion-dollar brands, five years working in Europe, and eventually leading P&G’s first significant move into the digital realm with a customized online beauty brand start-up. I then led some of the fastest-growing beauty products, including Nexus Haircare and Tresemme, before moving into retail, leading marketing for Sears and Kmart, followed by a time leading the Strategy and Marketing for HP’s computer and mobile business.

After a period leading the development of my own start-up company Zigmail, I moved into consulting where I founded the Brand CHARGE, LLC, working with Private Equity and Publicly traded companies to evaluate potential acquisitions and help drive growth on existing brands. I also work with early-stage technology companies providing strategy, marketing, and fund-raising expertise. I will be teaching one class this fall, BSA 300 02 Dept. Studies: Business Management Through the Lens of Entrepreneurship. Green Lake has been my family’s summer destination for the past 20 years, and I have now made it my primary residence with my wife, Ami. I am a board member of the Green Lake Yacht Club, enjoy sailing, traveling, and having my three sons visit here during the summer.

Lauren Busalacchi

• Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Clarke College
• B.S. in Athletic Training from Clarke College

Mary Avery

• MBA from University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
• B.A. from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Amira Albagshi

• Ph.D. in Special Education from Washington State University
• M.A. in Special Education from University of Northern Iowa
• B.A. in Sociology from King Faisal University

I earned my Ph.D. in Special Education from Washington State University (WSU) and my master’s degree in Special Education from the University of Northern Iowa. My undergrad major was Sociology, so that influenced my educational methods of teaching. I have a wide range of teaching experiences. I started teaching as a teaching assistant at the College of Education at WSU and then as an Adjunct Professor. I have been teaching Special Education and Elementary Education pre-service teacher courses. I have had diverse graduate and undergraduate students in my courses. I have taught online and in-person Some courses I taught were focused on assessment, educational psychology, exceptional children, early childhood, secondary education, and more.

Christopher Cramer

• D.M.A., University of Wisconsin-Madison
• M.M., University of Wisconsin-Madison
• B.F.A., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

As a soloist and chamber musician, classical guitarist Christopher Cramer has performed in the U.S., Canada, and Asia. Recent concert engagements have taken him to major cities including Boston, Montréal, Singapore and Taipei among others. From the renowned National Concert Hall in Taiwan to the extraordinary Eastman Museum in New York, concert season highlights have included featured performances at a variety of unique and historic venues including the prestigious National Taiwan University, Suzuki Guitar Singapore, Bibliothèque publique Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc, the National Music Museum, as well as a broadcast performance on Wisconsin Public Radio’s acclaimed Sunday Afternoon Live from the Chazen concert series.

From college campuses to performing arts centers, Dr. Cramer has presented numerous solo recitals featuring an expansive repertoire that includes masterworks of the past as well as newly composed works by contemporary composers. Dr. Cramer made his concerto debut performing Antonio Vivaldi’s Concerto in D major for guitar and strings with the Madison East Orchestra. More recently, he has appeared with the Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Joaquín Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez. As a chamber musician, Dr. Cramer has performed with a variety of instrumentalists and ensembles including the Beloit College Masterworks Chorus, the Edgewood College Chamber Singers, the St. Norbert Abbey Choir, the St. Norbert College Chamber Singers and Men’s Chorus, and the UW-Madison University Opera. Dr. Cramer also performs regularly, both nationally and internationally, with award-winning soprano Yi-Lan Niu. An advocate of new music, Dr. Cramer has collaborated with and premiered works by a number of contemporary composers including Hong Kong composer Chiwei Hui, New York-based composer Alexander Nohai-Seaman, and Texas-based composer Blake Henson.

Dr. Cramer currently serves on the faculty at Beloit College, Ripon College, and St. Norbert College where he founded and heads the guitar program. He also serves as the director of guitar instruction at the Madison Academy of Music in Madison, Wisconsin. In addition to academic teaching, Dr. Cramer also presents programs in schools and community centers for those interested in learning more about the guitar and its music.

Dr. Cramer began his music studies at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc where he won a number of awards including the UW-Manitowoc County Fine Arts Award in the Area of Music. He went on to complete his undergraduate training at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music where he won first place in the annual WCM scholarship competition in classical guitar. Continuing his studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Cramer earned both his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in music performance. While at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dr. Cramer undertook an intensive study of instrumental conducting, ultimately leading to a doctoral minor in the discipline and the opportunity to work with the UW-Madison Symphony Orchestra.

Marco Rhein

Rhein graduated from Ripon with a major in biology and a minor in education, before going on to earn his master of science degree in educational leadership from UW-Milwaukee. After obtaining his degree at Ripon College, he taught at both Markesan High School in Markesan, WI, and Brooklyn Center High School in Brooklyn Center, MN.

Coach Rhein currently resides in Ripon with his wife, Stephanie, and their dog, Ringo.

Captain Paul Klotz

Miracle-Rose Toppar

• Ph.D. from Iowa State University
• M.S. from Iowa State University
• B.S. from Iowa State University

During my doctoral program at Iowa State University, I specialized in agricultural economics, labor economics and applied econometrics. My research concerns the impact of transgenic cotton adoption on cotton production in sub-Saharan Africa. My former students at Iowa State and Drake University inspired me to explore the impact of mobile games in economic education on serious gamers. I enjoy ballroom dancing and art.

Abby Schmidt

My name is Abby Schmidt and I will be an Adjunct Instructor in the Music Department teaching the Choral Union course during the 22-23 school year. I grew up in Wisconsin and graduated from Hortonville High School. I earned my Bachelor’s Degree in Music Education from The University of Miami in Florida and my Master’s Degree in Music Education from The University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Throughout my career I have taught many different things including middle and high school choir, middle school band, elementary general music, jazz choir, show choir, musical theater, and steel drums. I began my career teaching in the Hortonville Area School District and taught there for 13 years before moving to my current position as high school choral director at Winneconne High School. This year will be my 9th year teaching in Winneconne. I also enjoy being involved in performing groups and have been a member of newVoices Chorus in Appleton, acted in many community theater productions, and played in various area instrumental ensembles. I live in Greenville with my husband and my 6 year old daughter who will be in Kindergarten this school year. My husband is also a music teacher and currently teaches middle school and high school band in Weyauwega-Fremont. In my spare time I enjoy reading, traveling, and spending time with my family and our cats. I am excited and honored to be joining the Ripon College community this year.

Jandelyn Dawn Plane

• Ph.D. from University of Maryland-College Park
• M.S. from UW-Milwaukee
• B.A. from Wartburg College

I recently retired as a computer science faculty member at the University of Maryland College Park where I had been since 1989. I moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family and now live just outside Ripon with my mother, husband and son. With graduate degrees in both computer science and education, I focus on computer science curriculum, pedagogical methods and underrepresented populations in computing. For 15 years early in my career, I worked on State Department-funded projects building computing degree programs at universities in sub-Saharan Africa and Afghanistan. After that, I became the founding director of two centers (Iribe Initiative for Inclusion and Diversity in Computing (I4C) and Maryland Center for Women in Computing (MCWIC)) both of which emphasize improving diversity, equity and inclusion in the computing fields through K-12 outreach education, current student support and research.

Bryan Nell

• Ph.D. from University of Oregon
• B.A. from Ripon College

I grew up in St. Germain, Wisconsin, and graduated from Ripon with a degree in chemistry in 2009. I earned my Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Oregon in Eugene in 2014. My dissertation research focused on the synthesis of tetraphosphine macrocycles and their corresponding coordination chemistry, mostly focused on iron. I taught general chemistry and organic chemistry at the university and classes at a community college and Oregon State University. In 2016, I started a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Rebecca Abergel at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, preparing sulfur-based analogs of the HOPO-type molecules that are well known to capture radionuclei. I then was an assistant professor in chemistry at the University of Minnesota Morris, before returning to teach at Ripon College. I enjoy golf, woodworking projects and being outside with my wife, daughter and pups.

Yukiko Grine

Originally from Oshkosh, Wisconsin, I am the music director of the Oshkosh Youth Symphony Orchestra Inc. I teach orchestra at Oshkosh North and West high schools, a position I began in 2007, and am department chair of the Oshkosh West High School Music Department. I began my violin studies at an early age and received a bachelor of music degree in violin performance from Oberlin College Conservatory of Music. I hold a Master of Education degree in curriculum and instruction and completed my Wisconsin teaching certification at Lawrence University.