1984 – Fall ’21 Class Letter

1984 – Fall 2021 Class Letter

Co-Class Agents:

VICKI VICHA ERICKSON ’84

(224) 656-3442 / [email protected]

CONNIE HERBON MOSER ’84

(847) 372-5410 / [email protected]

Happy Fall, Class of 1984!

I hope this message finds you all well, safe, and healthy. These last 18 months have been crazy for all of us; both happy and sad. COVID has impacted many of our lives and we have not done much in the way of travel, reuniting with family and friends, etc. As a result, there is not much to report on the class of 1984. VICKI VICHA ERICKSON ’84 and I spent the Fourth of July weekend with DONNA REARDON GOLDBERG ’84 and had much fun with wine, good food, and great friends.

I did speak with MIKE FRANCOLUCCI ’84. VICKI and I were going to attend the College’s golf outing with him and MARK SPRAGUE ’84 in June. But, I ended up buying a home in Franklin, Tennessee so I began the onerous move process and was unable to attend. I heard from MIKE that they had a great time while in Ripon.

Other stats from Alumni Weekend: Alumni and guests from 29 states, including Alaska and Hawaii, were on campus, August 6-8, representing the classes of 1961 to 2023, for the first-ever August Alumni Weekend after COVID-19 put a pause on campus events over the past 18 months. Save the date for Alumni Weekend 2022, which will go back to our traditional end of June date: June 23-26, 2022.

On another note, we cannot thank everyone enough for the generous donations committed to Ripon College in the last fiscal year. These donations allowed us to ride the COVID wave to a record-breaking 2,087 donors from all around the world to support Ripon’s fourth annual giving day on April 28, known as #OneDayRally, reminding us all that, regardless of the circumstances, Red Hawks come together. Outside of #OneDayRally, Ripon had over 3,600 donors who supported the College through the Ripon Fund and other initiatives. THANK YOU!

In addition to allowing us to move through COVID in a financially healthy way, the Administrative team, staff, and many others focused on much-needed campus upgrades. The McCullough Family Lounge in Farr Hall of Science — a favorite location of students for studying and collaborative work — recently received an extreme makeover with the intent of making the space more contemporary and technologically friendly. The renovations were made possible by a lead gift from Trustee PHILIP MCCULLOUGH ’69/P’04, and his wife, Pat. Thank you, PHIL! Also, a new Data Visualization Lab was installed in Todd Wehr Hall, which will be a great asset for the math and computer science departments. 

Another amazing feat accomplished with the generous giving: The Ripon endowment recently hit an all-time high and as of Thursday, August 19, 2021, it was at $112 million. 

Start of the Academic Year: The new class is at 250 freshmen with nine transfers. Over 70% of the new students hail from Wisconsin. The rest represent 23 other states and two countries. Ripon maintains its reputation with an incoming class holding an average GPA of 3.42. Classes started on Monday, August 30 and the academic year is in full swing with in-person classes. The College is continuing to follow CDC and Fond du Lac County Health Department guidelines regarding COVID-19 safety protocols.

For other news about the College:

  1. Link to the news stories published by the College: ripon.edu/news/ 
  2. Link to the latest Ripon Magazine, which includes features of alumni and faculty: ripon.edu/about-ripon/publications/
  3. Facebook pages that you could follow, in addition to the main Ripon College page:
  1. Ripon College Center for Politics and the People: www.facebook.com/RiponCollegeCPP 
  2. Ripon College Center for Diversity and Inclusion: www.facebook.com/ripondiversity 

This is a short note, but VICKI and I are all hopeful that you are happy, healthy, and safe. Would love to hear from each of you. 

Please make sure you are are receiving emails from Ripon College. Much of the College’s communication, including the monthly newsletter and our Class Letters are sent out electronically. Email [email protected] with your preferred email address to ensure that you are in the loop when it comes to our class as well as any news and events from Ripon College. 

More to come next time,

CONNIE HERBON MOSER ’84 

VICKI VICHA ERICKSON ’84

Posted November 15, 2021 in .