Ripon College Days

Ethics in the Media was the hot topic this year, and the Ethical Leadership Program hopes to find another topic with guest speakers who will spark as much, if not more, interest among students and the community in the following years.

"We set the bar high this year, but the college is working very hard to get some larger names on campus one way or another. We are already working on making next year a success," says Doug Northrop, professor and leader of the Ethical Leadership Program.

"Last year we had Wes Clark. This year we had the three big names, Russert, Noonan and Barnes, and we are already working on next year," says President David Joyce.

Joyce is a major supporter of discussing and debating controversial topics. He encourages people from all points on the political spectrum to voice their opinion.

"Part of the experience at a liberal arts college like Ripon is the opportunity for civic engagement, and the conference seemed to be an excellent source of engagement," says Joyce.

Ethics in the media is a passionate debate on the minds of people throughout the country, but especially at Ripon College after the conference featuring senators, Milwaukee media and professional journalists. These panelists of experts added to the discussion.

"I think that the conference went sensationally," says Joyce. "It was well-attended by people from the community and people from far away as well as our faculty and students."

The conference not only brought nationally-celebrated minds to campus, but also brought Ripon, as a school and as a community, into the spotlight.

"There were dramatic and immediate benefits in getting our name out. We are better known in Madison, Milwaukee and the surrounding regions than we have ever been before," says Northrop.

Russert, whose face was on all of the advertisements, headlined the event.

"He was clear and concise as well as politically neutral. I liked that," says sophomore Adam Mielke, a red member in the ethical leadership program, who attended every event the conference featured.

It was the largest group of celebrity intellectuals the Ripon campus has hosted in a long time.

"How often do you get to see all these big names in Ripon? I had the opportunity to go see all of these people speak for free. You do not often get that kind of opportunity on any campus," says Mielke.

This year's conference was the first of what will become an annual event, as the Ethical Leadership Program will host a conference on a different topic next year.

"We have board members, alumni and faculty with enough broad-based connections to make it just as interesting as this year," says Joyce. "Good schools breed good alumni."

The Ethical Leadership Program looks forward to many more events on campus, and the program, as well as Ripon College as a whole, believes the conference was the beginning of a tradition.

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