Ripon College (Wisconsin)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ripon College
Established 1851
Type Private liberal arts college
Religious affiliation United Church of Christ (no longer affiliated)
Endowment $62.3 million[1]
President Zach P. Messitte
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. As of 2013, Ripon College's student body stood at around 930, the majority of whom live on campus. Students come from 14 nations and 33 states, and 53% are female while 47% are male. Over 95% of students receive financial aid.[2]

History

Ripon College was founded in 1851, although 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 did the previous president, David Joyce. The college recognized social and academic Greek letter societies in 1924. The Ripon Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa was started by Clark Kuebler, who served as president from 1944 to 1955. The National Forensic League, which is still located in Ripon, Wisconsin, was founded at the college in 1925.

Academics

Ripon College is on the semester system and has a two, three-week summer sessions known as Liberal Arts in Focus.[3] The college offers 32 majors, ranging from the arts to the social sciences to the hard sciences to pre-professional programs.[4] Students have one advisor for each major or minor, and meet with these professors at least once each semester.

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 Wisconsin Leadership Institute

In 1997, Ripon College entered into a formal agreement with the Wisconsin Leadership Institute (WLI) to collaborate on the production and distribution of learning materials related to the development of leadership skills and values. The headquarters of the WLI is located within the Leadership Studies Program at Ripon College. In 2000, the WLI created the Collaborative Leadership Network (CLN), also headquartered within the Leadership Studies Program.

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.[5]

Sustainability and the environment

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.

The college has a prairie nature reserve that is used for biology, environmental studies, and other classes. It tries to maintain a healthy population of bees in the area, by including them in the prairie area. There are also trails for walking and snowshoeing throughout this area, which connects to a municipally-run nature park, the South Woods. A student group, EGOR: The Environmental Group of Ripon, focuses on awareness of these issues. Students can also major in environmental studies, which is an interdisciplinary program.[6]

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

Student life

Clubs

There are over 70 student clubs on campus, ranging from fraternities and sororities to special interest groups (focuses include the environment, sexual orientation, race, religion, etc.) to academics (art, anthropology, physics, sociology, music, theater, and others) to service groups (Amnesty, animal welfare, etc.) to politics (Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians, and Greens).[7]

Greek life

The college has seven residential dormitories with several sororities, including Alpha Delta Pi, Alpha Chi Omega, and 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. Students in all five fraternities live in dormitories on campus, following the recent removal of Phi Kappa Pi from Merriman House. Phi Kappa Pi was relocated to the Quad living area, with the other three fraternities, after the Merriman house was condemned and the board of Trustees determined that all students (unless exempted) should reside in residence halls.[8]

Diversity

People of color compose 10% of the student population.[9] The McNair Scholars program supports first generation college students and African American, Native American, and Hispanic students who wish to attend graduate school.[10] An office of Multicultural and International Student Affairs serves students of color, international students, and gay and lesbian students through mentoring and programming.[11] Student groups that focus on the experiences of racially diverse, culturally diverse, and LGBT students are also active on campus.[12]

Athletics

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). The Ripon Redhawks Cycling Team competes at the Division II level in the Midwestern Collegiate Cycling Conference (MWCCC), governed by USA Cycling.

Campus facilities

Education buildings and offices

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

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 and Waitkus Computer Lab
  • S.N. Pickard Commons – bookstore, coffee shop, dining facility
  • Rodman Center for the Performing Arts - theatre, music, and studio art
  • 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 and sororities
  • Merriman House – Former fraternity house of Phi Kappa Pi
  • The Quads – Upper-class students and fraternities
    • Anderson Hall – Co-ed; the new residence of Phi Kappa Pi
    • Bovay Hall – Co-ed (contains the fitness center and the Terrace)
    • Brockway Hall – Men Only; the residence of Sigma Chi and Theta Chi fraternities
    • Mapes Hall – Co-ed; the residence of Theta Sigma Tau co-ed fraternity and Phi Delta Theta fraternity
  • 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

Food

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 serves snacks, sandwiches, fast food, and along bottled beverages. The Terrace, located inside Bovay (one of the residence halls), is open evenings and serves subs, pizza, snacks, and drinks.[13]

Recognition

The school's volunteerism and community service earned it a place on the President’s Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for 2009.[14] In 2009, Forbes ranked Ripon 100th on the list of America's 600 best colleges.[15] 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.[16]

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

References

  1. ↑ As of June 30, 2011. "NCSE Public Tables Endowment Market Values" (PDF). Retrieved 2012-02-06. 
  2. ↑ http://www.ripon.edu/quickfacts/
  3. ↑ http://www.ripon.edu/quickfacts/
  4. ↑ "Ripon College : Academics". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2012-05-15. 
  5. ↑ "Ripon College : Clubs & Organizations". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-09. 
  6. ↑ http://www.ripon.edu/sustainability/
  7. ↑ http://www.ripon.edu/quickfacts/ http://www.ripon.edu/campuslife/clubs/
  8. ↑ "Phi Kappa Pi fraternity alumni club sues Ripon College". Fox News. Retrieved 2010-06-30. 
  9. ↑ "About Ripon College : Fast Facts". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-09. 
  10. ↑ "Ripon College : McNair Program". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-09. 
  11. ↑ "Ripon College: Multicultural & International Student Affairs". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2012-05-15. 
  12. ↑ "Ripon College: Clubs & Organizations". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2013-12-09. 
  13. ↑ "Ripon College: Food Service". Ripon.edu. Retrieved 2012-05-15. 
  14. ↑ http://www.learnandserve.gov/pdf/06_1016_RPD_college_full.pdf
  15. ↑ "America's Best Colleges". Forbes. August 5, 2009. 
  16. ↑ http://chronicle.com/section/The-Academic-Workplace/156
  17. ↑

External links

Private institutions
University of Wisconsin System
University of Wisconsin Colleges
Wisconsin Technical College System
Tribal institutions
Milwaukee Area
Greater Wisconsin Area
Chair
Member schools

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.