Ripon College

We're looking forward to Friday!

A definitive ace on the mound during one of the most dominant stretches in Ripon College baseball history, Jordan L. Baitinger ’07 will be inducted into the College's Athletic Hall of Fame Friday night. A premier talent, Jordan anchored a powerhouse Red Hawks program that captured four consecutive Midwest Conference Championships. His exceptional performance earned him First-Team All-Conference honors in each of his final two seasons, First-Team All-Region accolades, and the MWC Pitcher of the Year title as a senior.

His individual achievements are firmly etched into the record books. Over his career, he amassed a spectacular 15-2 record, finishing with a 1.81 career ERA — the second-lowest in program history and the third-best in conference history. As a junior, he threw six complete games to spearhead Ripon’s drive to the winningest season in program history, as the team notched 34 wins and earned a perfect 16-0 conference record. He followed that with a masterful senior campaign, posting a 7-1 record and a 1.84 ERA, which ranked 24th nationally in Division III. That single-season performance ranks second in program history for wins and ninth for ERA.

Standing as one of just 11 MWC players to throw a no-hitter, he cemented his legacy on the national stage in his final collegiate appearance. He became only the second player in NCAA Division III history to record a no-hitter in a tournament game, achieving the feat during a first-round matchup against St. Olaf College.

This Friday as part of Alumni Weekend, Thomas A. Bellfort ’67 will be awarded a Distinguished Alumni Citation during the College's 1851 Awards Dinner. Tom is an award-winning sound editor and designer whose work has shaped the audio experience of some of the most celebrated films and television productions of the past four decades. Over the course of his career, he has contributed his talents to more than 80 motion pictures and television series, as well as dozens of video games.

His exceptional craftsmanship has been recognized at the highest levels of the entertainment industry. In 1998, Bellfort won an Academy Award for Best Sound Effects Editing for his work on Titanic (1997). He also earned both an Academy Award nomination and a BAFTA nomination for Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). His television honors include two Primetime Emmy Awards for The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1993) and HBO’s acclaimed World War II miniseries The Pacific (2010), alongside three Golden Reel Awards recognizing excellence in sound editing.

Emma Johnson ’28 of Powell, Wyoming, is gaining insight in the world of journalism as a content intern with the Appleton Post Crescent newspaper this summer. She writes stories each day, covering local events and producing and editing her own videos posted to the Post Crescent’s social media and website.

“I’m very grateful to be able to have an opportunity like this and spend a summer doing what I once considered a hobby as an actual paid job,” says Emma, a psychology and political science double major with a minor in French.

She credits Instructor of Journalism Ian Stepleton ’98 for his support and her success with College Days as integral to navigating the internship interview process. As editor-in-chief of College Days, Emma has been recognized with three Wisconsin Newspaper Association Foundation awards.