R Connections

06/08/1946 – 10/17/2019

Diann revered the written word, from Shakespeare to the Bible, the poetry of Billy Collins to the barroom wit of Billy Joel. She rooted for the underdog, except on Derby Day. She believed in speaking truth to power and standing up to bullies big and small. And she was also unafraid to address the unspeakable, whether that meant helping a dear friend navigate a fresh diagnosis or bravely healing a horrifying local tragedy through a gaspingly forthright editorial in the community paper. Diann worked hard as an educator, a manager, an advocate, supporter and volunteer. She was the family grammarian and the keeper of manners and formalities, not because they were fancy, but because she believed they gave our lives grace and continuity. And she was smart, a born debater with skills that left many of us wondering why she’d walked away from her acceptance to law school. But then Diann was often difficult to figure: an intensely sensitive soul who projected confidence and toughness, an intensely private woman who deeply felt the solitary nature of existence but could connect with anyone in a grocery store or soup kitchen. We watched Diann shy away from the sort of social gatherings others find easy and fun, but walk calmly into the difficult stuff most of us fear and avoid, to help a person she’d just met through a crisis of sickness or despair.

She delighted in nature, but greeted the prospect of “camping” with a long silent stare that dared you to ask twice. She loved jokes but struggled adorably and quite literally for years, to master one through to the punchline. She was a deeply spiritual, in the sense of remembering to fill the birdfeeder, just in case her father came back to visit as a cardinal, which he definitely would, every day. And despite being deeply invested in the importance of maintaining the family history for the next generation, stuffing the family bible with immaculate cursive notes on 17th century immigrant namesakes and homesteading Iowan ancestors, Revolutionary War surgeon grandpeople and her dad’s early life in New Orleans and various family farms between the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, Diann felt that her own life history somehow didn’t count.

On her death, her family was instructed to skip the usual list of accomplishments and memberships and who begat whoms, announce that “Diann was here, and she left,” and leave it at that. And while we honor her memory, we cannot honor that request. The truth was vitally, essentially, stubbornly important to Diann, but she often didn’t give that truth to herself, and sometimes at great personal expense. And what’s true is that the contradictions are part of our memory, and part of what made her beloved to so many around the country, from her native Iowa to her longtime Connecticut home, from those who once gathered in her hydrangea garden on Nantucket to her newer neighbors in Southwest Florida. Those contradictions also happen to make Diann especially difficult to summarize in an obituary.

Now those contradictions will be puzzled over by those she leaves behind: the handsome motorcycle riding boy whose pet name for Diann was “Iowan”, and the man who, after 51 years of marriage, still does, Dr. Charles W. Graeber; her sons Charlie and Matthew and their spouses Gabrielle Allen and Jana Graeber; her grandchild Thomas, to whom she was “Baba”; her sister Jane and husband George Maciel, her aunt Anne Gillespie, and a gaggle of beloved nieces and nephews, cousins, friends and admirers. We will remember a woman who could be fierce in her love, and whom we fiercely loved. We also remember that Diann taught us how to correctly use the word “whom”. She will be missed mightily. The morning that Diann left us, the morning papers reported that a rare bird had been spotted nearby, a yellow cardinal, one in a million. We will keep our feeders stocked with black oil seed and milk duds, and watch the skies.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2019 at Christ Church in Harwich Port, MA. Details, as well as an invitation to add remembrance and celebration will be posted on www.morrisoconnorblute.com. Diann beat cancer, and knew firsthand the importance of research and great patient care, so in lieu of flowers, donations in her memory may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute www.dana-farber.org/gift.

At Ripon College, Diann studied English.

Read Diann’s obituary here.

Connie Smith Linde ’54 finished her journey home on December 24, 2019. Her travels began in Chicago on September 29th, 1932. Her parents, Elmer and Ruth Smith gave Connie a strong happy beginning. Her Aunt Ruby Smith gave her colorful inspiration. She was the “little mom” to her younger brothers Lee (Cindy) and Robert (Connie) Smith.

Connie’s journey crossed tracks with her future husband Richard in a Milwaukee railroad station when they were both headed back to Ripon College after Christmas break. They married on June 6, 1953 and were partners and traveling companions for life.

Fellow wayfarers are her children Kim Linde, Shan Linde (Kevin Cooper), Jo (Bruce) Walker, and Mace (Amy) Linde; grand children Rick (Ibetliza), Mike (Stacey), Trevor, Carra, Holt (Emily), Grayson, Tate (Chelsea), Kelsey (Andrew), and Chuckles; and great grandchildren, Niko, Sophia, Matthew, Mia, Oliver, and River along with many nieces and nephews.

Memorial Service for family and friends will be on December 30, 2019 at 4pm at First United Lutheran Church in Sheboygan, WI.

At Ripon College, Connie studied mathematics.

View full obituary here.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Captain Brandon Kasubaski ’12, U.S. Army, has written an article for Small Wars Journal. He is a space operations officer serving as the lead planner for space control operations for U.S Army Space Missile Defense Command at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. He holds a BA in psychology from the Ripon College, Wisconsin and is studying for an MS in space studies from American Military University. Previously, he served in the 25th Sustainment Brigade and 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Hawaii. You can read the article here.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Jenny Pool Radway ’00 has been named the new executive director of the Lower Columbia Hispanic Council, replacing Jorge Guttierez who resigned in July for another position in Washington State. Pool Radway comes to Astoria from Denver, Colorado where she founded and directed Diverse Communities LLC. Her company designed and implemented programs for international and national organizations to increase capacity for building and implementing diversity and inclusion strategies while addressing systemic and institutional inequity. She has in-depth experience working with immigrant communities while working in the mental health field as well as the 2020 Census preparation. Born and raised in Costa Rica, Pool Radway has degrees in Spanish and Political Science from Ripon College, a Master’s Degree in Human Services from Capella University and is currently a Master’s in Latin American Economics and Politics candidate from the Universidad de Salamanca in Spain.  She has worked primarily in non-profits throughout her career.

Rocio Simmons, co-president of the board of directors for the Lower Columbia Hispanic Council said that Pool Radway stood out to the board “not only because of her ample experience working as a community leader, but also because she is bilingual and bicultural and possesses the necessary skills to manage a non profit dedicated to help the Latinx community.” The board brought Pool Radway to visit the area and the Latinx community prior to the offer of employment.  Community businesses, such as the Hotel Elliott, offered services gratis to Pool Radway during her visit in September to help the Council make the visit possible.

Pool Radway is excited about her new position and the move to the new community: “I am honored and excited to have the opportunity to serve the Lower Columbia Hispanic Council. The Hispanic Council is poised to really develop its vision and build on the tremendous momentum of recent years.” Pool Radway added that she looks forward to “being a part of this effort, supporting and uplifting our members, and making a positive difference for the Latinx community of the Oregon coast.”

Maritza Romero, the Family Engagement Specialist for the Hispanic Council, served as the interim director after Gutierrez departed in July. Craig Hoppes, another board member of the Hispanic Council, emphasized how grateful the board is to her service during the interim. “We appreciate the dedication and work that Maritza Romero did during the hiring process for the new director.  Her work with her staff and the community has only made the Lower Columbia Hispanic Council stronger.”  Hoppes added the that the board looks forward to Maritza’s continued effort to support the Hispanic community.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Sun Prairie – John (Jack) Louis McMahon was born on February 28, 1933 to Ervine (E.P.) McMahon and Amanda (Setz) McMahon in Beaver Dam, WI.

Weighing in at over 10lbs, right from the start he was a force to be reckoned with. With his parents, and his brother Jim, they moved to Sun Prairie in 1935.

A gifted athlete, he lettered in all four sports, all four years of high school. After high school, he attended Ripon College, where he was the star of the football team. He married Nancy Jeane Chase on June 1st, 1957. Between E.P, Jim, and Jack, they ran E.P. McMahon and Sons Concrete for over 70 years, building a large portion of Sun Prairie.

He had a quirky sense of humor and loved to play pranks. First impression for most people was that he was fierce and scary. They didn’t know he always hid the last piece of a puzzle in the sugar bowl. He loved a good story, and often made up tall tales. Six-foot beavers, Sasquatch, and a lake haunted by a team of white oxen dragging a load of logs who fell through the ice were all part of Jack’s lore. He tried to have the image as someone who didn’t care, or who played hardball, but if someone ever really needed help, he was right there.

Jack loved his dogs, the Northwoods, and his family.

Jack’s purpose in life was to take care of his family. Everything he did was to provide for, and take care of, his wife, his children, his parents, his brother, and his nephews. He did a magnificent job.

After a long battle with Parkinson’s, Jack passed away peacefully at home on December 6, 2019 surrounded by the family he loved.

Jack was preceded in death by his parents, E.P. and Amanda McMahon, and his brother James (Jim) McMahon. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife Nancy Chase McMahon, sons Patrick McMahon and Daniel (Jeane) McMahon, daughters Amanda McMahon Helman, and Michelle (Kevin) Koessl. He is also survived by grandchildren John Shipp, Jason Shipp, Sean McMahon, Kodiak Koessl, Jackson McMahon and great-grandchildren Saraphin White and Ethan Shipp.

Jack taught his family what responsibility, commitment and caring meant. They will continue with what he wanted. And he will be sorely missed.

There will be no services for Jack but look for the party next spring.

Donations may be made to St. Alberts Catholic Church, 2420 St. Albert Drive, Sun Prairie, WI 53590.

Submitted by: DevStudent

In October 2019, Lawrence (Larry) Honaker ’11 successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis, “Liquid Metals and Liquid Crystals Subject to Flow: From Fundamental Physics to Functional Fibers”, at the University of Luxembourg in the Experimental Soft Matter Physics Group of Prof. Jan Lagerwall. He will remain at the University of Luxembourg through the end of March as a postdoctoral researcher to finish up some loose ends and last papers from his Ph.D. work while looking for the next opportunity, hopefully still in Europe.

Submitted by: Lawrence Honaker

Stevan Zimmer, age 65, of Minnetonka, passed away Feb. 1, 2017. Born Oct. 19, 1951, in Minneapolis to Edward D. “Pete” Zimmer (d. Feb 18, 2019) and Ruth Quarfot Zimmer (d. July 6, 1953). Graduated Alexander Ramsey High School, Roseville, Minn., 1969; Ripon College, Ripon, Wisc., 1973; and University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, 1981. Survived by mother Marjorie Zimmer; children Patrick, Molly (Thomas Rude), and Tommy; siblings Jon, Debra, William, and Peter; nephews Jon and Tom; aunt Ione Boettcher Schlipp; former wife Peggy Zimmer Pomije; and many cousins.

Memorial Service Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, 1 p.m., Cherrywood Pointe Community Room, 2680 Lexington Ave., Roseville, Minnesota. Memorials preferred to Lions Gift of Sight.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Frank Merritt Wheeler, age 74, of Traverse City passed away peacefully on August 14th at Munson Hospice House surrounded by the love and care of his family. Frank was born on January 3rd, 1945 to Barbara (Merritt) and Grant Wheeler in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He earned a BA in History from Ripon College, where he was a member of the SAE fraternity. After earning an MBA from Western Michigan University, he enjoyed a varied career in business finance in Chicago, Illinois, Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and Juneau, Alaska. Ultimately, his career led him to Traverse City where he and his wife Cheryl raised their two boys Dan and Jeff.

Frank and his family spent many years enjoying travel, downhill and cross-country skiing as well as fun bike trips. He also treasured time with his family boating, water skiing, and relaxing at the cottage in Northern Wisconsin. His friends and family were always amazed by his photographic memory and incredible sense of humor. He had a natural curiosity and could often be found reading about history and following stock market and automobile trends. He was a Deacon at the Presbyterian Church, and in his retirement volunteered as a patient escort at Munson Medical Center. He was active in the Parkinson’s Support Group, served on the Parkinson’s Network North Board of Directors and the Munson Volunteer Board.

Frank is survived by his wife of 46 years Cheryl (Geib), his sons Daniel (Peter) of Chicago, and Jeffrey of Chicago, brothers Grant (Nancy) of West Virginia, Kevin (Ann) of Michigan, and James of Michigan, and several nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents, Barbara and Grant Wheeler.

A memorial service will be held at The Presbyterian Church of Traverse City at 11:00 A.M. on Tuesday, August 27th, with visitation at 10:00 A.M. and lunch following the service. Memorial contributions can be made to the Parkinson’s Foundation or the American Cancer Society.

Frank and his family are being cared for by the Reynolds Jonkhoff Funeral Home and Cremation Services.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Mike Maxwell ’03 recently announced a 2020-21 Campus Tour. He writes,

 “I am a Chicago area comedian and formerly a NACA member. I am a regular at the Chicago Improv and tour nationally at clubs, colleges and corporate events. I’ve showcased at the Mid America conference before and I’m currently lining up my 2020-2021 calendar. I’ve performed at over 30 colleges, universities and prep schools. My stand up show is an upbeat, sarcastic and lightly customized show that would be PG-13 rated. I was one of three stand up comedians selected to the Chicago Nerd Comedy Festival too! Colleges have booked me for stand up, improv, late night shows, and emceeing. I’ve performed all over the US, London, Dublin and Montreal. It would be great to talk about how I can fit into the upcoming programming calendar.”

You can learn more here.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Submitted by: DevStudent

Spencer Charles Peterson, a man with a Guitar and a Heart of Gold 71, Life-long Minneapolis resident and renowned local rocker, passed on October 25th, 2019, surrounded by family, friends and adoring fans. Spence was known for his straightforward personality, an uncanny ability to connect with strangers and his deep repertoire of songs and anecdotes. He was a natural entertainer on and off the stage. Born July 6th, 1948 to parents Sally and Cyrus, Spence grew up with two younger sisters he adored, Janet (Jajie) and Melissa (Missy). He attended Blake High School and Ripon College, making many life-long friends. Above all else was Bay Lake, where Spence spent summers at his grand-parents’ cabin. There, his grand-father, Papa, laid deep foundations in the young man’s heart and mind, teaching him the guitar and setting an example for the life well lived — working hard and playing hard. Spence dedicated himself to that credo, traversing many careers while raising four children, Nicholas, Nathan, Kelsey and Schuyler with his former wife, Tori. Countless summer days and nights filled with laughter echo off The Point. Whether cheering on the Gophers, casting a hook for crappies, walking the links or enjoying a cocktail cruise. Or the tough decision you needed help thinking through, the missteps, the hard times. He was with you all the way. He couldn’t pound a nail to save his life, but his fingers could walk the strings like an old country road he’d built himself. A little old-school in his ways, once he started singing, the room was helpless catching fire. It didn’t matter if it was family sing-a-longs with best buds Denny, Tony or Billy or the JR Spencer Band before a cheering crowd, we would all get lifted “higher and higher”. The family is especially grateful to Lucy Stringer, his partner the last six years. They shared a love that bridged our families and put a twinkle in his eye. Services will be announced for gatherings at Bay Lake and Madeline Island in the Spring. Spence, we thank you for all the love you gave, right to the last note.

Submitted by: DevStudent

On Saturday, Oct. 26, Jon P. Wilcox ’58 received the 2019 Resource Award of Merit from the Wisconsin State Council of Trout Unlimited in Madison.  Wilcox was recognized for his life-long support of Wisconsin Cold Water Resources.

Wilcox grew up in Wild Rose and received his undergraduate degree from Ripon College in 1958 and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1965. From 1959 to 1961 he served as an officer in the U.S. Army.  After serving his country, he started his own law practice in Wautoma and represented the 72nd Assembly district from 1969 to 1975.

On February 23, 1971 at a law office in Berlin, several men from Berlin, Wautoma, and Poy Sippi met in what was called an “organizational meeting.”  That was the start of the new Wisconsin Trout Unlimited chapter, which would be called the Central Wisconsin Chapter.  Wilcox was elected to serve on the board of directors for the chapter.

Wilcox fished in the local waters of Central Wisconsin  as well as beautiful streams in Idaho and Montana with his good friends, Dr. Tom Poulette, Russ Younglove, Arling Erickson, and others.

Wilcox developed a love of trout and their beautiful environs and realized their habitat needed to be protected.  As a state representative, Jon wrote and introduced Wisconsin to a bill in 1971 which proposed that Wisconsin fishing license holders who wanted to fish for trout pay an additional $1 for a trout stamp to fund trout habitat improvement.  The bill did not pass, as the Department of Natural Resources did not think separate funding was a good idea at the time.

But Wilcox persisted and continued to push the bill for the remaining tie he was in office.  He was then elected to the Wisconsin Conversation Congress from 1975-1980.  During that tie he continued to push for passage of his bill.  The trout stamp bill final passed and the first trout stamp came out in 1978 and sold for $2.50.

Jon Wilcox served as circuit court judge in Waushara County for 13 years and Chief Judge of the Sixth Judicial District.  He was appointed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court by Governor Tommy Thompson in 1992 and elected to a 10 year term in 1997.  His term expired in 2007 and he did not see reelection.

Throughout Judge Wilcox’s long career he remained a strong supporter and member of Trout Unlimited and its mission to improve trout habitat and protect our coldwater resources.  The trout stamp program continues to this day and the cost is now $10.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Submitted by: DevStudent

Does Ripon College have ghosts?

That’s difficult to confirm, noted Assistant Professor of Sociology Marc Eaton, who’s taught a course on “Sociology of the Paranormal.”

But over the years, stories have been told of such ghostly encounters.

“As far as my determination goes, I can’t say for certain whether it [the college] does or doesn’t; it certainly is rumored to have a lot of ghosts,” he said. “There’s a lot of folklore on campus about certain places being haunted and all that, but I can’t say for certain whether it is or is not a haunted location definitively.”

He added Ripon College is known for its connection with ghosts, pointing to an article several years ago listing Ripon College as the No. 2 most haunted college in the Midwest.

“I think it’s widely known among the students that there are stories, but I think that among paranormal enthusiasts, I guess you could call them, the college is pretty rumored to have ghosts,” Eaton said.

Read the full story, including many tales told by current and former students about ghostly experiences they had on the campus, in the Oct. 31, 2019 edition of the Ripon Commonwealth Press.

Submitted by: DevStudent

Lori Stich Obluda ’91 and husband, Bernard at a 4-day mini-break in St. Maarten for Bernie’s 55th birthday. Christmas week in Amsterdam, and most recently a flight to Paris to spend a day with Bernie during an airline layover and petting this moose when she strolled up as Lori was returning from Home Depot.

See the message below from Diedrich Jewelers:

All the way from Carmel, IN, these Ripon College alumni visited us with their original receipt from the engagement ring Bob sold him 50 years ago! Doug and Linda took a trip to Ripon to celebrate the anniversary of their engagement. Such great memories about meeting at The Spot, babysitting for professors’ families, and their time in Ripon. We especially love the receipt details.

Submitted by: DevStudent

ERC Starting Grant for Zachary Chitwood on investigating the role of the monastic federation of Mount Athos in the Middle Ages

A comprehensive database will include the inhabitants and visitors of Athos over a period of 700 years and paint a new picture of the monastic republic and its manifold connections

8 October 2019

Mount Athos – a peninsula in northern Greece, inhabited for over 1,000 years only by monks, UNESCO World Heritage Site, and from time immemorial a melting pot of the peoples of the Eastern Mediterranean and Russia: in the Middle Ages this monastic republic was a place of retreat for Orthodox believers on the one hand, but on the other hand also connected with the medieval world in diverse ways beyond the walls of the monastery. The monks cultivated close relations with the Byzantine Empire, rulers in the Balkans, the Caucasus as well as in South Italy, and later also the Ottoman Empire. A new research project will investigate these connections and relations of the inhabitants and visitors of Athos and will transform the way the Holy Mountain is viewed. Dr. Zachary Chitwood, a researcher in Byzantine Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), has received a EUR 1.5 million ERC Starting Grant of the European Research Council for this project.

Mount Athos, as the entire peninsula is today called after its highest peak, is with an area of around 336 square kilometers somewhat larger than Munich. In this area are today found 20 monasteries of Orthodox monks and, in addition, numerous smaller monastic settlements. Here live around 2,300 monks; women and female animals are forbidden from entering. After the first settlements in the ninth century, this isolated region on the eastern finger of the Chalkidiki Peninsula experienced an influx of monks from the entire Byzantine Empire and beyond. Greeks from the European and Asian halves of the Byzantine Empire, Georgians from the Caucasus, Bulgarians and Serbs from the southern Balkans, Moldovans and Wallachians from the northern Balkans, inhabitants of Rus’ in the east and even non-Orthodox Christians from southern Italy came to Athos, the “Balkans in Miniature”, so it has been called.

Entries of perhaps 10,000 to 20,000 persons as a basis

“For the first time we will comprehensively analyze what role the monastic communities on Mount Athos played in the medieval society of the Eastern Mediterranean,” explained Dr. Zachary Chitwood regarding the project. He and his team will first collect data for the period between roughly 850 and 1550, i.e., from the time of the first documents that have survived in the archives of Athos until the founding of the last significant Athos monastery, Stavronikita. For this period of 700 years, all monks who lived upon the Holy Mountain, every benefactor, and every visitor will be collected in a database.

“We would like to include in this database any person that had anything to do with the Holy Mountain,” said Chitwood. According to rough initial estimates it might encompass between 10,000 and 20,000 persons attested by documents. “On the basis of these data we will be able to analyze how the monastic community of Athos was embedded within larger networks of economic interests, church leadership, intellectual exchange, and patronage.”

The acts and documents of monastic archives, which to a large extent are already published, will serve as the basis for these inquiries. Especially innovative is the use of commemorative lists, which to date have hardly been noticed by scholars. These documents encompass the names of monks, church hierarchs, and benefactors, who after their death were mentioned regularly in commemorations. The database will later be accessible to other researchers, so that it can be used within all of humanities scholarship.

Thematic focus on wealth, ethnicity and gender

Chitwood is placing three aspects or leitmotifs at the front and center of his analysis: wealth, ethnicity, and gender. Despite some reservations regarding monastic wealth, the Athonite monasteries into the Late Middle Ages accumulated the largest amount of land in the Byzantine world, with possessions that were greater than those of the wealthiest aristocratic families. This property stretched not only across Greece, but over the entire Balkans. In scholarship there has even been talk of “Switzerland Syndrome”: the monastic republic of Mount Athos was a sort of tax haven, where the wealthy could invest their money advantageously.

The second central leitmotif is the ethnicity of the communities. Almost every Orthodox church was represented on Mount Athos by a monastery – and even today one finds considerable ethnic variety. “But at present we have no means of statistically measuring this as precisely as possible and documenting it at certain points in time,” said Chitwood, also mentioning that the database will provide future foundations for discussing ethnicity in Byzantium at a more profound level.

Finally, Chitwood’s team will also investigate the “absence of women” on Athos. To date it is not known in what context and why the prohibition arose that females are not allowed to tread the region. “Our goal is to understand the historical background and to recognize the concrete circumstances as well as the exceptional cases that actually occurred,” Chitwood explained. In the context of the question of gender the political role of eunuchs, at times quite important for Byzantium, will also be analyzed. They as well from a certain point in time were no longer able to tread upon Athos.

First ERC Grant in the Humanities at JGU

Zachary Chitwood, born in 1983 in the USA, initially studied at Ripon College in Wisconsin. There followed a course of study of medieval and Byzantine history at the internationally-renowned Princeton University and finally a dissertation on Roman law under the Macedonian dynasty. In 2012, Zachary Chitwood came to Germany, first as a post-doc at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and from 2016 as a lecturer in Byzantine Studies at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz under Professor Johannes Pahlitzsch. The five-year research project, “Mount Athos in Medieval Eastern Mediterranean Society: Contextualizing the History of a Monastic Republic (ca. 850-1550)”, is the first ERC grant in the humanities at JGU. Besides Chitwood, who as a Byzantinist will focus on Greek sources, a Slavicist and a Kartvelologist, a specialist for Georgian language and culture, will also work on the project.

An ERC Starting Grant is the most generous form of financing of the EU given to young researchers. ERC Starting Grants support outstanding researchers at the start of their careers, when they are building their own research team or program. In addition to scholarly excellence, applicants must demonstrate that their projects possess a groundbreaking approach and are feasible in order to receive funding.

See more here.

Submitted by: Devstudent

Leilani Kupo ’98 had been named an ACPA Diamond Honoree. The Diamond Honoree Program, established in 1999, is a way for those that care about students – and the research, scholarship, and programs that promote student development and success – to help advance our association’s efforts. Diamond Honorees are “Championed” by dedicated individuals who recognize their specific contributions and choose to raise funds in honor of each Diamond Honoree’s outstanding and sustained commitment to higher education through student affairs and student development. Those funds are then utilized to help sustain the ACPA Foundation in its support of the research, scholarship, and programs that advance our field as a whole. You can read about Leilani’s work below.

V. Leilani Kupo, Ph.D. (Kanaka Maoli) [she/her/hers] was raised away from her ancestral land of Maui and depended on her ‘ohana [family] to teach her ancestral knowledge from afar. Receiving her B.A. from Ripon College (WI), M.Ed. from James Madison University (VA), and Ph.D. from Bowling Green State University (OH) in Higher Education Administration were points of great celebration for her ‘ohana.  These experiences also helped Leilani understand the ways in which education and schooling both liberated and caused trauma to her, her ‘ohana, and her community.

Leilani currently serves as the Associate Dean of Students for Educational Equity and Access, Learning Support, and Transition Programs/ Director of the Calvin E. Bright Success Center at the University of California, Merced. Leilani has served as a scholar-practitioner in student affairs since 2000.  Throughout her professional practice, she has centered serving students, community needs, and her cultural values in her practice.

Leilani has served ACPA in a number of capacities throughout her career, serving as a CWI Directorate member, CWI Emerging Scholar in Residence, selected as one of ACPA’s 2014 Emerging Scholars, and currently serves on the Governing Board as Member-at-Large Representative for Mid-Level.

Submitted by: DevStudent