Ripon College (Wisconsin)

Ripon College
Motto	Fides Christi Scientia Faith in Christ is Knowledge
Established	1851
Type	Private liberal arts college
Endowment	$51.2 million[1]
President	David C. Joyce
Students	Approximately 1000 undergraduate
Location	Ripon, Wisconsin, USA
Campus	Small Town Urban, 250 Acres
Athletics	35% of students on varsity teams
Mascot	Red Hawk
Website	http://www.ripon.edu

Ripon College is a liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin, USA. It offers small class sizes and intensive mentoring to students. Ripon has a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa--one of the nation's most prestigious honor societies. Alumni have high rates of success in the workforce as well as acceptance to graduate and professional schools. 96% of graduates are employed or in professional school six months after graduation, and the acceptance rate to medical school is twice the national average--80%.^[2] The school is also distinctive for its high levels of volunteerism and community service, which earned the institution a place on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2009.^[3] In 2009, Forbes ranked Ripon 100th on the list of America's 600 best colleges.^[4] The school earned an award from The Chronicle of Higher Education as being one of the "Great Colleges to Work For" in the nation, an award given to institutions that are well-managed and where faculty and staff being enthusiastic about their jobs.^[5] As of 2010, Ripon College's student body stood at around 1000, the majority of whom live on campus.

History

It was founded in 1851, but its first class of students did not enroll until 1853. Ripon's first class, four women, graduated in June, 1867. In 1868 formal ties with Presbyterian and Congregational churches were cut, but Ripon remained somewhat religious for much of its history. During the 19th century students were required to attend two church services each Sunday. The first six presidents of Ripon College had clerical backgrounds, as does the current president. The college recognized social and academic Greek letter societies in 1924. The Ripon Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was started by Dr. Clark Kuebler, who served as president from 1944-1955. The National Forensic League, which is still located in Ripon, Wisconsin, was founded at the college in 1925.

Academics

Students choose from 32 majors, ranging from the arts to the social sciences to the hard sciences to pre-professional programs.^[6] Ripon is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest (ACM), a grouping of private liberal arts schools that share expertise and collaborate on off-campus study programs. Internationally renowned economist Alfred E. Kahn served as Chairman of the Department of Economics for several years.

Arts

The college's Rodman Center for the Arts houses the Departments of Art, Music, and Theater. The Art Department manages two gallery spaces, one of which is dedicated to student work and the other to art more broadly. Student work is also shown across campus. Two art works of note in the permanent collection of the college are life-size portraits by Anthony van Dyck of Princess Amalia of the House of Orange and Sir Roger Townshend. The Classics department manages a collection of classical Greek and Roman artifacts, many of which are displayed in the campus library. A sculpture garden is located adjacent to the building. Musical groups on campus include an orchestra, wind band, jazz ensemble, choral group, and drumline.^[7]

Campus culture

Free bicycles

Ripon is offering new freshmen in fall 2009 the option of receiving a free Trek 820 mountain bike, helmet, and U-lock if they pledge not to bring a car to campus for the entire year. The "velorution" bike program aims to encourage environmentally-friendly transportation, cut down on traffic, encourage athleticism, and limit the amount of necessary student parking lots in the rural campus.^[8] For the 2011 school year, the College disbanded the program after funding for the original project expired.

Greek life

The college has seven residential dormitories with several sororities, including Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Chi Omega and the local sorority, Delta Psi Delta, which recently changed to national sorority Kappa Delta. The college has four all-male fraternities including chapters of Sigma Chi, Theta Chi, Phi Delta Theta, and a local fraternity, Phi Kappa Pi, (named Merriman for the college's founding president). Ripon College also has one local co-ed fraternity, Theta Sigma Tau, founded in 1910, the oldest local fraternity on campus. It became co-ed in 1980 after severing ties with Sigma Nu fraternity. All five of the fraternities live in dormitories on campus, following the recent removal of Phi Kappa Pi from Merriman Houuse. Phi Kappa Pi was relocated to the Quad living area, with the other 3 fraternities, after the board of Trustees determined that all students (unless exempted) should reside in residence halls.^[9]

Student media

• Ripon College Days - a bi-weekly campus newspaper, the oldest college newspaper continuously published in Wisconsin^{[citation needed]}
• WRPN-FM - a campus radio station with continuous broadcasts
• RCTV - a television production group
• Parallax - a literary magazine
• Crimson - yearbook distributed every spring

Athletics

Main article: Ripon Redhawks

Ripon College football helmet

Ripon athletics teams participate in NCAA Division III as part of the Midwest Conference. Conference competition for men includes: cross-country, football, soccer (fall), basketball (winter), swimming (winter), indoor and outdoor track, baseball, golf, and tennis (spring). Conference competition for women includes: cross-country, golf, soccer, tennis, volleyball (fall), basketball (winter), swimming (winter), indoor and outdoor track, and softball (spring). Additionally, the Ripon Redhawks Cycling Team competes at the Division II level in the Midwestern Collegiate Cycling Conference (MWCCC), governed by USA Cycling.

Food

As a residential campus, most students take advantage of the campus dining service on a daily basis. The main dining hall includes a wide-range of options at each meal, including traditional American fare, foreign cuisines, and vegetarian / vegan options. A coffee shop on campus brews Starbucks coffee and makes specialty drinks to order. The Ripon Pub is another dining option, which serves snacks, sandwiches, and fast food along with bottled beverages.^[10]

Diversity

The college community includes students of diverse backgrounds. People of color compose 10% of the student population.^[11] A McNair Scholars program to support first generation college students and African American, Native American, and Hispanic students who wish to attend graduate school is on campus.^[12] An office of Multicultural and International Student Affairs strives to meet the needs of students of color, international students, and gay and lesbian students through mentoring and programming.^[13] Student groups that focus on the experiences of racially diverse, culturally diverse, and LGBT students are also active on campus.^[14]

Campus buildings

Education buildings and offices

Ripon College is recognized by the National Register of Historic Places for the history of its buildings with a district called the Ripon College Historic District.

Smith Hall

East Hall

• Bartlett Hall - part of the college union and houses student services and student organization offices
• Carnegie Library Building - downtown building, President and Dean of Faculty's office
• Collaborative Learning Center - place for students to receive help from mentors on writing, class work, or presentations
• East Hall - classrooms and faculty offices (the original campus building)
• Farr Hall - science laboratories, classrooms, and faculty offices
• Harwood Memorial Union - Great Hall, The Pub, lounges, mail center, radio station (WRPN), and student organization offices
• Kemper Hall - technology department
• Lane Library - Ripon College Library
• S.N. Pickard Commons - bookstore, coffee shop, dining facility
• Rodman - Center for the Performing Arts
• Smith Hall - business and financial aid offices
• Storzer - full-sized gymnasium, the tartan area, swimming pool, dance studio, locker rooms
• Todd Wehr Hall - classrooms and faculty offices
• West Hall - classrooms and faculty offices

Residence halls

• Campus Apartments - Apartment style living for fourth- and fifth-year students
• Johnson Hall - Women only
• Merriman House - Former fraternity house of Phi Kappa Pi
• The Quads - Upper-class students
  • Anderson Hall - Co-ed
  • Bovay Hall - Co-ed
  • Brockway Hall - Men Only
  • Mapes Hall - Co-ed
• Scott Hall - First-year men, upper-class men and women
• Tri Dorms (Shaler Hall, Evans Hall, Wright Hall) - Mainly first-year women, except for living groups

Notable alumni

• Frank L. Anders, Medal of Honor recipient
• Jack Ankerson, NFL player
• Dick Bennett, head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Phoenix, Wisconsin Badgers, and Washington State Courgars men's basketball teams
• Emma H. Blair, class of 1872 - editor, translator, and compiler
• Theodore Brameld, philosopher
• Dennis Conta, politician and consultant
• Bernard Darling, NFL player
• W. R. Davies, second president (1941–1959) of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire
• Harrison Ford, actor
• Justice Michael Gableman, class of 1988 - Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice 2008-Present^[15]
• George Glennie, NFL player
• Tubby Howard, NFL player
• Bruno E. Jacob, founder of the National Forensic League
• Al Jarreau, class of 1962 - Grammy award-winning musician
• Harley Sanford Jones - U.S. Air Force general
• Charlie Mathys - NFL player for the Hammond Pros and Green Bay Packers
• Lt. Col. James Megellas - member of the 82nd Airborne during World War II
• Elmer A. Morse - U.S. Representative
• Orville W. Mosher - Wisconsin State Senator
• Dick Rehbein - NFL assistant coach
• Charles Rutkowski - professional football player
• Ted Scalissi - professional football player
• Webb Schultz - MLB player
• Champ Seibold - NFL player for the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Cardinals
• Wally Sieb - NFL player
• Dave Smith - professional football player
• Brittany "McKey" Sullivan - winner of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 11
• Spencer Tracy, class of 1924
• Lloyd Wescott - New Jersey agriculturalist and civil servant
• Cowboy Wheeler - NFL player
• Jon Wilcox - Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice from 1992-2007
• Otto Julius Zobel - inventor of the m-derived filter and the Zobel network
• Terry Cramer- Drafted by New York Knicks

Notable faculty

• Edward Daniels, geologist
• David Graham, poet
• Karen Holbrook, President of Ohio State University
• Bruno E. Jacob, founder of the National Forensic League
• Wacław Jędrzejewicz, Polish diplomat
• Alfred E. Kahn, Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board
• Russell Burton Reynolds, U.S. Army Major General
• Paul N. Siegel, author
• William Hayes Ward, President of the American Oriental Society

References

1. ^ As of June 30, 2010. "U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2010 Endowment Market Value and Percentage Change in Endowment Market Value from FY 2009 to FY 2010" (PDF). 2010 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments. National Association of College and University Business Officers. http://www.nacubo.org/Documents/research/2010NCSE_Public_Tables_Endowment_Market_Values_Final.pdf. Retrieved February 2, 2011. 
2. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/about/fastfacts.html
3. ^ http://www.learnandserve.gov/pdf/06_1016_RPD_college_full.pdf
4. ^ "America's Best Colleges". Forbes. August 5, 2009. http://www.forbes.com/lists/2009/94/colleges-09_Americas-Best-Colleges_Rank_4.html. 
5. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/news/2008-09/great_colleges_070609.htm http://chronicle.com/section/The-Academic-Workplace/156
6. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/academics/majors.html
7. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/studentlife/clubs_orgs/music/index.html
8. ^ "Ripon College bike program entices new students to ‘just say no’ – to cars". Ripon College. http://www.ripon.edu/news/2007-08/velorution_021208.html. Retrieved 2009-05-05. 
9. ^ "Phi Kappa Pi fraternity alumni club sues Ripon College". Fox News. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rCyO4j1m10&feature=youtube_gdata. Retrieved 2010-06-30. 
10. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/offices_resources/foodservice/index.html
11. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/about/fastfacts.html
12. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/studentlife/student_support/McNair_index.html
13. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/studentlife/student_activities/misa/misa.html
14. ^ http://www.ripon.edu/studentlife/clubs_orgs/multicultural/index.html
15. ^ http://www.wicourts.gov/about/judges/supreme/gableman.htm

External links

• Official site