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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.

Erin K. Bryan

• D.Mus., University of Wisconsin-Madison
• M.Mus., University of Louisville
• B.Mus., Lawrence University

American soprano Erin Bryan has been praised for her “deft” operatic characterizations and a voice that is “a lyric soprano of exceptional beauty.” Recent engagements include Rosalinda (Die Fledermaus), Anne Sexton/#2 (Transformations), and the Governess (The Turn of the Screw), and she is featured as Young Anne/#1 on the recently released world-premiere recording of Conrad Susa’s Transformations. An advocate for new music, she enjoys frequent collaboration with living composers, including the Midwest premiere of Laura Schwendinger’s Kay Ryan Songs and the world premiere of Dangerous New Avenues, a chamber duet for soprano and percussion by Justin Giarrusso. She has just completed her second season with the innovative Fresco Opera of Wisconsin, where she was heard in works by Mozart, Verdi, Floyd, and Bellini.

Dr. Bryan holds degrees from Lawrence University, where she studied with Steven Spears and Patrice Michaels, and the University of Louisville, where she studied with Edith Davis Tidwell. She earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in vocal performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied with Paul Rowe. Her research concentration is largely in the area of vocal repertoire, with particular emphasis on eighteenth-century opera.

As a member of the music faculty at Ripon College, Dr. Bryan instructs courses in applied voice study, vocal pedagogy, lyric diction, and musicology, and she also enjoys regular collaboration with both the school’s choral program and the theatre department.

Ursula M. Dalinghaus

• Postdoctoral Scholar, Institute for Money, Technology, & Financial Inclusion, University of California, Irvine
• Ph.D. Sociocultural Anthropology, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• B.A. Anthropology and German, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

I am a cultural anthropologist with specializations in economic anthropology and the anthropology of money. My ethnographic research and engaged policy work examines the everyday uses of monetary technologies and the shifting relations of money, social inequality, and financial inclusion in Europe, the United States and internationally. I have a B.A. in anthropology and German from Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis. After receiving my Ph.D. in sociocultural anthropology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, I was a postdoctoral scholar at the Institute for Money, Technology, & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI) at the University of California, Irvine. In partnership with IMTFI and the International Currency Association (ICA), I’ve written two white papers on the role and importance of cash in society. I have been a visiting professor of anthropology at Ripon College from 2018-2022 and participated in faculty-student collaborative research for two summers in the Ripon College Summer Opportunity for Advanced Research (SOAR) program. I am now an assistant professor of anthropology.

Robin Forbes-Lorman

• Postdoctoral Scholar, biology education research
• Ph.D. in behavioral neuroendocrinology, University of Wisconsin-Madison
• B.A. in Biology, Earlham College

Hi! I teach biology, primarily Anatomy and Physiology. I carry out behavioral neuroendocrinology research (hormones on the brain and behavior) in rats. I am particularly interested in the role of steroid hormones in social and sexual behaviors, as well as the neuropeptides vasopressin and oxytocin in social behaviors. I also carry out pedagogy research on how students learn. I grew up in Madison, WI and got my B.A. from Earlham College, a school about the same size as Ripon. I got my MS and PhD from UW-Madison in behavioral neuroendocrinology, did a postdoc in biology education research, then taught for two years at Evergreen College in Olympia, Washington. I currently live in Ripon with my husband, two kids, two dogs, and chickens. I am a runner and hope to get back into triathlons soon (I am a 2x Ironman).

Mary Unger

• Ph.D., in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• M.A. in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• B.A. in English, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Ann Pleiss Morris

• Ph.D. in English, University of Iowa (2011)
• M. Litt in Shakespeare & Renaissance Literature in Performance, Mary Baldwin College (2005)
• B.A. in English & Speech-Drama, Mount Mercy University (2002)

I teach courses in British literary history, women’s literature, theatre history, contemporary drama, Shakespeare, and composition. My current book project re-evaluates the place of women dramatists in the time of Shakespeare and his contemporaries. Outside of work, I enjoy being a part of community theater projects, playing piano, working my way through my ever expanding to-be-read pile, and cross stitching.

Megan Gannon

• Ph.D. in English, University of Nebraska
• M.F.A. in Creative Writing-Poetry, University of Montana
• B.A. in English, Vassar College

Fiction is my favorite recreation; Poetry is my religion. I write in both genres to keep myself grounded and energized. I’m also interested in exploring Creative Nonfiction and Poetry Translation someday soon, but first I’d like to finish writing a new book of poems and a novel or two. I have developed and taught sixteen different classes at Ripon College, ranging in subjects from coming-of-age stories, dystopian narratives, fairy tales, Virginia Woolf, and most recently, the Gothic literary tradition.

Sarah Frohardt-Lane

• Ph.D., University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
• B.A., Swarthmore College

I teach a variety of courses in United States history and global environmental history. I got interested in history when I realized that people could have different interpretations about historical developments and that those varying interpretations could shape how we view ourselves and our relation to one another. I decided I wanted to be a history professor before I headed off to a liberal arts college, and then got interested in other pursuits, including anti-poverty work and being a park ranger. When I figured out that I could combine these interests in the study of US history, I decided I wanted to go into history after all. I’m thrilled to be working at Ripon, as part of a wonderful college community, teaching history and environmental studies. One of my favorite aspects of teaching at Ripon is when I get to know students over multiple courses during their college experience. My research interests combine my background in race and environmental history in 20th century U.S. history, and I’m currently examining the history of lead poisoning from drinking water. Some of the courses I teach include U.S. History 1815-1914, U.S. History 1914-Present, United States Environmental History, Prisons and Punishment in American History, The Civil Rights Movement, Natural Disasters in World History, and World War II Home Fronts.