Ripon College (Wisconsin)

Ripon College is a private liberal arts college in Ripon, Wisconsin. As of 2022, the college enrolled around 766 students. Nearly 80% of students were Wisconsin residents.[6]

Ripon College
Motto
Fides Christi Scientia
Motto in English
Faith in Christ is Knowledge
TypePrivate liberal arts college
Established1851 (1851)
Endowment$108.1 million (2021)[1]
PresidentVictoria N. Folse[2]
Students766 (2022)[3]
Location
Ripon, Wisconsin
,
U.S.

43.8436°N 88.8413°W / 43.8436; -88.8413
CampusSmall town, 250 acres (100 ha)
Colors   Red and Black[4]
NicknameRed Hawks[2]
Sporting affiliations
NCAA Division III – Midwest Conference
MascotRally the Red Hawk [5]
Websitewww.ripon.edu

History
Smith Hall.

Ripon College was founded in 1851, although its first class of students did not enroll until 1853. It was first known as Brockway College, named for William S. Brockway, who gave the most, $25, in a fundraising effort.[7]

Ripon's first class, four women, graduated in 1867.[8] The college was founded with ties to local churches, but early in its history the institution became secular. In 1868 formal ties with Presbyterian and Congregational churches were cut, but Ripon would retain some ties to its religious past. During the nineteenth century, students were required to attend two church services each Sunday. The first six presidents of Ripon College had clerical backgrounds. Today students are not required to attend religious services.[9]

The National Forensic League was founded at the college in 1925. Since that time communication has been an important subject at the college.[10]

Academics
Harwood Memorial Union.

Students may choose from 31 majors, a variety of pre-professional advising options and also opt to self-design a major. Off-campus study is highly encouraged; nearly one-third of all Ripon College students elect to spend a semester off-campus on a focused area of study.[11] Ripon has a student-to-faculty ratio of 14:1.[12]

Catalyst Curriculum

Students take five Catalyst courses that focus on solving real-world problems. The Catalyst curriculum consists of five seminars spread over three years. After completing the Catalyst curriculum, students receive a certificate in Applied Innovation. Ripon College provides a four-year graduation guarantee to all students who remain in good academic standing, declare a major course of study by the end of sophomore year, and follow an approved course plan.[13]

Associated Colleges of the Midwest

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. The college is also affiliated with the Annapolis Group of private liberal arts colleges and is a member of the Council of Independent Colleges.[14]

Ripon College Peace Pole.

Center for Politics and the People
Todd Wehr Hall.

The Center for Politics and the People was established in spring 2014. The center sponsors scholarship and hosts special events featuring elected officials and policy makers, high-level campaign operatives, academic experts, journalists, prognosticators and citizens representing a spectrum of political views. The center also manages the college's annual Career Discovery Tour to Washington, D.C., and helps place students in internships.[15]

Center for Career and Professional Development

The Center for Career and Professional Development offers resources to students such as workshops, employer visits, job fairs, and assistance with writing a resume. It also helps organize the annual Career Discovery Tour.[16]

Summer Opportunity for Advanced Research (SOAR)

SOAR is a program offered to students of various disciplines to research alongside professors over the summer while living on campus and partaking in volunteer projects around the local community. It was first offered in summer 2021.[17]

Badger Boys State

From 1941 to 2019, the college served as the host site for Badger Boys State, a summer leadership and citizenship program for more than 800 Wisconsin high school juniors that focuses on exploring the mechanics of American government and politics.[18][19][20]

Arts

The college's C.J. Rodman Center for the Arts houses the Departments of Art, Music, and Theater.[21]

Visual art

The Art Department manages two gallery spaces, one of which is dedicated to student work and the other to art more broadly. Work by students and professional artists is also shown across campus. A sculpture garden is located adjacent to the building. 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 also manages a collection of classical Greek and Roman artifacts, many of which are displayed in the campus library.[21]

Music

The college has a music department which offers classes, lessons, and ensembles. Students of any major may participate in the music department and are eligible for music scholarships. The department offers the following ensembles: Orchestra, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Rally Band, Jazz Ensemble, and three choirs (Chamber Singers, Choral Union, and Concert Choir).[22] All musical ensembles, with the exception of Chamber Singers, are open to students, faculty and staff, and community members to join without auditioning. All musical performances by campus groups are free to students and the public. The program also hosts visiting musicians each semester, and performances are free to all students.[21]

Theater

The college's theater program produces three productions per year, with students from any major encouraged to act or be involved with set, costume, and makeup design. Each theater major directs a one-act production their senior year, as part of a campus theater festival. Students regularly participate in the Region III Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival. All theatrical events are free to students and the public.[23]

Sustainability and the environment

Sustainability initiatives

Ripon College attempts to be a sustainable institution. It has a fleet of campus hybrid vehicles, a recycling program, and uses energy efficient light bulbs.[24]

Ceresco Prairie Conservancy

The college is home to the Ceresco Prairie Conservancy, consisting of 130 acres (53 ha) of native prairie, oak savanna, and wetland habitat in the making. The Ceresco Prairie Conservancy is used by different classes in a number of different disciplines.[25] Trails for walking and snowshoeing throughout this area connect to a municipally run older growth woods nature park, the South Woods.

Environmental activism by students and faculty

A student group, EGOR: The Environmental Group of Ripon, focuses on awareness of environmental issues and contributes to the restoration and preservation of the prairie.

Environmental Studies major

Students can also major in environmental studies, which is an interdisciplinary program.[26]

Media
  • College Days – a monthly newspaper, published both in print and digitally[27]
  • WRPN-FM – a campus radio station with digital broadcasts
  • RCTV – a television production group (defunct as of Fall 2022)
  • Parallax – a literary magazine[28]
  • Crimson – yearbook that was formerly distributed every spring. The last issue was published in the spring of 2017.

Student life

Clubs

There are over 60 student clubs on campus, including special interest groups, diversity-based groups, political groups, Greek organizations, and academic honor societies.[29] There is also a Student Senate, a student government that is open to all students to discuss issues and vote on different matters.[30][31]

Greek life
A side view of Johnson Hall

The college has several sorority chapters and fraternities.[32]

Diversity

People of color compose 16.9% of the student population.[33] The McNair Scholars program supports first generation college students and African American, Native American, and Hispanic students who wish to attend graduate school.[34] The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI), inaugurated in 2015, is a space on campus that centers diversity, including programming such as multicultural events.[35] Student groups that focus on the experiences of racially diverse, culturally diverse, and LGBT students are also active on campus, and are part of a wider Diversity Coalition through the CDI.[36]

A women's basketball game at Ripon College in the Weiske Gymnasium in the Wilmore Center.

Athletics
Main article: Ripon Red Hawks

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, and tennis (spring). Conference competition for women includes: cross-country, soccer, tennis, volleyball (fall), basketball (winter), swimming (winter), indoor and outdoor track, and softball (spring).[37]

Campus facilities

Education buildings and offices
Smith Hall.
East Hall.

The Ripon College Historic District is on the National Register of Historic Places.[38]

Recognition

For 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school tied at #136 in National Liberal Arts Colleges and tied at #38 in Top Performers on Social Mobility.[39] The school's volunteerism and community service earned it a place on the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2009.[40] In 2009, Forbes ranked Ripon 100th on the list of America's 600 best colleges.[41] 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 are enthusiastic about their jobs.[42]

Notable alumni
Main article: List of Ripon College (Wisconsin) alumni

Notable faculty

References
  1. As of June 30, 2021.U.S. and Canadian Institutions Listed by Fiscal Year 2021 Endowment Market Value and Change in Endowment Market Value from FY20 to FY21 (Report). National Association of College and University Business Officers and TIAA. February 18, 2022. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  2. "Ripon at a Glance". Ripon College. Ripon College. n.d. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  3. "Ripon College". Retrieved August 9, 2023.
  4. "Graphics Standard and Usage Guide - Ripon College". Issuu. Ripon College. 7 March 2013. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  5. "'Rally' the Red Hawk". Ripon College Athletics. Ripon College. n.d. Retrieved 14 August 2019.
  6. "Ripon College". Forbes. 2020. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  7. Samuel M. Pedrick (March 14, 1930). "Why Brockway College changed its name". Ripon Commonwealth.
  8. "Ripon College". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-06-04.
  9. "Ripon College Presidents | Ripon College". Retrieved 2019-06-28.
  10. "Ripon Communication Consortium | Ripon College".
  11. "Academics - Ripon College". Ripon College. Archived from the original on 2022-12-05. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  12. "About - Ripon College". Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  13. "Catalyst Curriculum". Ripon College. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  14. "The Council of Independent Colleges". Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  15. "Center for Politics and the People". Ripon College. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  16. "Career and Professional Development". Ripon College. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  17. Schulz, Joe. "Ripon College SOAR program teaches research skills, gives back to the community". RiponPress.com. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  18. "Program History". Badger Boys State. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  19. Schulz, Joe (August 25, 2021). "'There always will be a sentimental value': Badger Boys will no longer be hosted in Ripon". Ripon Commonwealth Press. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  20. "About Boys State & Boys Nation". The American Legion. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  21. "Fine Arts at Ripon". Ripon College. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  22. "Music - Ripon College". Music - Ripon College. Ripon College. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  23. "Theatre Events". Ripon College. Retrieved 2022-04-12.
  24. "Student Life: Parking & Transportation". Ripon College. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  25. "Ceresco Prairie Conservancy". Ripon College. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  26. "Campus Sustainability - Ripon College". Retrieved 2016-10-06.
  27. "Ripon Media". Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  28. "Parallax Magazine". Ripon College. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  29. "Clubs & Organizations". Ripon College. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  30. "Student Leadership". Ripon College. Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  31. Media, Ripon. "Student Senate constitution undergoing possible changes – Ripon Media". Retrieved 2023-02-08.
  32. "Greek Life". Ripon College. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  33. "Ripon College". Forbes. Forbes. 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2023.
  34. "Ripon College : McNair Program". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  35. "Multicultural Affairs". Ripon College. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  36. "Ripon College: Clubs & Organizations". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-09.
  37. "Ripon College Athletics - Official Athletics Website". Ripon College Athletics. Retrieved 2022-12-14.
  38. "National Register Information System – Ripon College Historic District (#95000679)". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2020.
  39. "Ripon College Rankings". usnews.com. U.S. News & World Report. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  40. "Welcome to Corporation for National and Community Service" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-02-28. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  41. "America's Best Colleges". Forbes. August 5, 2009.
  42. "Great Colleges to Work For". Archived from the original on July 26, 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
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