Ripon College achieves highest fundraising year ever

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Amari Poe ’25 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is receiving assistance through the recently established Richard V. and Frances S. Dietrich Trust Scholarship, established in the names of the parents of Professor Emeritus of Music Kurt Dietrich and his siblings.

The 2021 fiscal year was a record-breaker for Ripon College. The College achieved its most successful and largest fundraising year in its history. More than $16.5 million in new gift production was realized.

 

 

“This record-breaking performance was anchored by the creation of several seven-figure endowed scholarships to address access and equity issues,” said Shawn Karsten ’09, vice president for advancement and marketing and communications.

 

Major scholarships were established to help bring a more diverse population to the college:

 

  • The Richard V. and Frances S. Dietrich Trust Scholarship and Richard V. and Frances S. Dietrich Faculty Development Fund, with a combined value of more than $2 million, focus on first-generation students with financial need and creating opportunities for faculty. They were established in the name of the parents of Professor Emeritus of Music Kurt Dietrich and his siblings.

 

  • The Conforti and Chemerow Scholarship will benefit graduates of Tremper High School in Kenosha, Wisconsin, who display financial need and improve Ripon’s racial and ethnic diversity. It was established by Doreen Conforti Chemerow ’73 and her husband, David I. Chemerow.

 

  • The Franzen/Cristo Rey Endowed Scholarship will benefit graduates of Cristo Rey Jesuit, a high school in Milwaukee. The focus of this scholarship is first-generation students. It was established by Mark Franzen ’83 and Janice Heinz Franzen ’83.

 

Other notable support came with a new five-year grant of $1.4 million to the Student Support Services program by the U.S. Department of Education, TRIO division; more than $3 million was raised for the Ripon Fund; and the endowment surpassed the $100 million mark for the first time, and now, less than a year later, the endowment stands at $116 million.