Alumni Weekend 2020 Updates

Dear Ripon College Family,

I am reaching out to you to share updates on plans for Alumni Weekend 2020.

Like so many of you, over the past month I have been safer at home with my family adjusting to working remotely and helping our children with online school. It has no doubt been an interesting and unsettling experience at times, but I am proud to be able to do my part to continue to move Ripon College forward during these unprecedented times. I would be lying if I said it has been easy, calm or streamlined, but through all of our individual and collective challenges, our alumni, students and friends have remained top-of-mind.

After much thoughtful discussion with colleagues, it is the College’s opinion that holding a large campus event in late June would be irresponsible given the demographics of our alumni guests, current nationwide travel restrictions, other large summer event cancelations, and the high number of unknowns still related to the virus itself.

Therefore, it is with a heavy heart that I must announce that Alumni Weekend 2020 is canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. This cancelation includes all 2020 Class Reunions and corresponding activities scheduled to be held on June 25-28, 2020, on or near Ripon College’s campus.

Please mark your calendars for Alumni Weekend 2021, June 24-27, as we are planning to once again hold our largest alumni gathering on our beautiful campus, celebrating our amazing connections in person. Obviously, there are many unknowns given the current state of public health and its impacts on the normalcy of our lives, but I am optimistic that a year from now we’ll be welcoming hundreds of alumni and friends to campus and celebrating the reunion classes and award winners of both 2020 and 2021.

In regard to the cancelation of the annual Doc Weiske ’50 Memorial Golf Scramble, originally scheduled for Friday, June 26, we will be evaluating the potential of rescheduling to the fall of 2020.

2020 financial support for Ripon College, our students and programs is more critical than ever during this last portion of our fiscal year. Reunion fundraising and classmate outreach will remain a priority and continue as planned to support #OneDayRally on April 29. Your dedication and support will be necessary to help us meet our Ripon Fund goals by June 30.

Please stay tuned to www.ripon.edu/alumni-weekend for further updates regarding the golf scramble, as well as opportunities for alumni and classmate virtual engagement. While these virtual experiences will not replace our beloved Alumni Weekend, we hope to provide ways for our Ripon family to continue to connect and support our College and each other in the coming months. Together, we will get through this challenging time.

Sincerely,

Amy Gerretsen ’04
Alumni Weekend Coordinator

Posted April 20, 2020 in Alumni, Health & Safety.