1994 – Spring ’23 Class Letter

Hello Class of 1994.  I hope you all are doing well.

I recently hosted the Bay Area Welcome reception for new Ripon College President Dr. Victoria N. Folse. This was primarily an opportunity for the new President to meet Bay Area alumni and parents of current students, but it also offered an opportunity to mingle with interesting alums who attended Ripon during different decades. At the event I met NANCY WADLEY KEOUGH ‘67. Nancy shared stories from Ripon in the ‘60s and how the college helped launch her successful legal career, which included serving as a Captain in the United States Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps and active duty in Vietnam. Nancy, like so many other accomplished alumni, reminded me of why Ripon is special and made me proud to be associated with the college.

In the last year, I was on campus in April and September for Trustee meetings. I am planning to come back for the Presidential Inauguration on April 21 and 22. Please reach out if you will be there. And if you haven’t been back on campus in a while, make a plan to visit and check out the new infrastructure projects.

Update on the College

In December, Ripon announced a $35 million strategic infrastructure plan to renovate and expand Farr Hall, build a new on-campus stadium and upgrade the residence halls. The first phase will prioritize a $24.5 million investment in the science center and an $8.5 million investment in the campus stadium, both of which are projected to break ground in the Spring of 2023.

  • Farr Hall renovations include: more than 19,000 square feet of new construction and new laboratory, classroom, collaboration and gathering spaces throughout. A range of aesthetic and functional improvements will also be made to the existing building.
  • The new 157,000-square-foot on-campus stadium will be located on the underutilized lower Sadoff Field. It will feature a 2,000-seat grandstand and press box.  The stadium will house the Ripon College football and men’s and women’s soccer teams but  also will serve the entirety of the student body and Ripon community through potential intramural offerings, concerts and other student life programming.
Some upcoming events on campus:
  • Presidential Inauguration Ceremony April 22, 2023. This will be the formal inauguration of new President Victoria Folse. She will be the first woman to be formally inaugurated as president of Ripon College since its founding in 1851. Vicki brings to Ripon more than 30 years of experience in higher education and a long-standing commitment to the liberal arts. I plan to attend the inauguration and hope to see many of you on campus for this historic event.
    • There will be a special giving event in conjunction with inauguration weekend, April 20-23, to celebrate Ripon’s 14th President, Victoria N. Folse, and the exciting momentum happening within our campus community. This event will be an extension of the #OneDayRally brand and experience. Stay tuned for more information. We look forward to your participation!

  • Alumni Weekend June 22-25, 2023. Always a fun time to connect with classmates.  Just a heads up that next year will be our 30 year reunion. CARRIE ROCA-DAWSON ’94 and I are already brainstorming about the event. Please let us know if you are interested in helping to plan for our reunion next year – the more the merrier! More information about the event and activities occurring during Alumni Weekend will be available soon. There are room blocks at Heidel House in Green Lake (Book here) and at Cobblestone Suites in Ripon (Call 920.748.5500).
Class Notes:

Thank you to the classmates who reached out to me with updates. Here are what some of our classmates are up to:

T.J. JOHNSON ’94 of Powell, Wyoming, recently accepted a new position within the National Parks Service. This promotion has Todd working for the Pacific West Region.

LIZ MAHONEY ’94 of Mathuen, Massachusetts, is an Executive Assistant and Operations Associate at a Building and Zoning Law Consulting Firm in New York City. True to the liberal arts tradition, Liz takes on many roles, including IT, Facilities, and contract review. She leads the company’s eLearning initiative and is about to complete a cloud migration, the second of her career. Taking advantage of the company’s remote work policy, Liz recently moved back to her native Massachusetts to help care for her Mom. Having worked in the office throughout the pandemic, Liz is now fully embracing work from home culture with her feline office mate, Shirley.

CHRIS METZO ’94 of St. Cloud, Minnesota, started a new job in August 2022 as Initiators Fellowship Program Manager for the central Minnesota Initiative Foundation. The program awards a two-year Fellowship to aspiring social entrepreneurs in greater Minnesota to help them build their organization and develop as community leaders.

SHAWN BLESSING ’94 of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, went ‘Ice Camping’ recently on Lake Poygan. (I stole this from Shawn’s Facebook post but I’m sharing because those are two of my least favorite words strung together. He looked happy, but noted that the ice popping was scary as hell. Ice Camping and ice popping. Um, no. But the steaks cooked in the lomo al trapo style did look good.)

Please continue to send updates or you’ll force me to stalk you on social media. Or as SARA HOLBACH KLECKNER ’94 of Minneapolis, Minnesota, suggested, just make stuff up about all of you and then you guess what’s accurate. Two truths and a lie next time?? Stay tuned for an epic spring class letter that would make George Santos proud.

LISA SPROSTON SUTTER ‘94 will be writing our next class letter in the Fall. If you have updates that didn’t make it into this letter, please reach out to her at [email protected] or contact me and I will make sure Lisa receives the update. 

All the best,

Kimberly ‘94
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Lisa ’94

Posted April 7, 2023 in .