William R. "Bill" Stott, Jr

He had a long joy filled life with his wonderful family and will be greatly missed

I had the great pleasure and the significant benefit of working with Bill during nine of his ten years at Ripon College. He was not only supportive of my role as Dean of Faculty, but a great colleague as we spent many hours discussing literature and life beyond our duties as administrators. He was a lifelong influence on me and my family. My deepest sympathy goes out to the family on their loss. It has been wonderful to know him, Peggy, and the children over many years .

Bill Stott was a great believer in the liberal arts from his experiences in both teaching and in administration at Fordham University and Georgetown universities, two institutions with long histories of commitment to the liberal arts. When Bill became president of Ripon College in 1985, he not only expanded fundraising for the curriculum across the board by starting the first capital campaign which now is part of the Advancement Office’s work, but he shored up two critical elements of the curriculum. Within his first two years as president, he secured two endowed faculty chairs – the Van Zoeren Chair in Religion, Ethics and Values and the Marie Zarwell Uihlein Chair in Classical Studies. He wanted both religion and classics to have a permanent place in the curriculum of Ripon College and his vision helped make this possible for many years.

I was fortunate in being selected (after a national search) to become the first holder of the Van Zoeren Chair in 1987 and taught a variety of courses in religion and ethics for 33 years until my retirement in 2020. Bill always impressed me with his vision of what a liberal arts education did for opening the minds of young college students to a variety of ways to understand truth and gain a well-rounded preparation for life. Each year he would open our academic year with an inspiring presentation on the importance of what we as a faculty were doing to promote intellectual, emotional and moral growth among our students, drawing on his many years in the classroom himself. He taught one course a year in English literature while president and would come into my classes regularly on the Christian Scriptures.
He unlocked for my students the literary structure and power of the gospels from his perspective as an English scholar.

I still remember his lectures on Luke the “Great Incorporator” and he enabled the class and myself see some of the various literary devices Luke used in telling the story of Jesus as Man for all Seasons and for all people. Bill was always the consummate teacher and enjoyed being in the classroom immensely as a consummate communicator.

I also had the opportunity to get to know the Stott family as well. The day arrived in Ripon in August of 1987 the home which my wife and family had purchased was locked and the previous owners had not left a key. I arrived alone and Mary Kaye and the children were to arrive later. Bill was on a birding trip, but Peggy, Stasia and Rachel were home in the president’s residence and graciously took me in until we figured out a way to unlock our new home. What gracious hosts they were to this new professor.

I later had the privilege of teaching both Chris and Rachel in my Christian Scriptures class and got to know them well. Chris was a character and always sat in the back row far away from the professor! However, he regularly asked some of the best questions in the class and never was shy to express an opinion about a biblical passage he found difficult to interpret.

Rachel was our first babysitter in Ripon for our 18-month-old daughter, Katie. Katie did not like it when Rachel came to care for her since she knew mom and dad were going out for the evening. She normally would throw a crying fit as we were leaving. On one occasion after we left Katie threw up on Rachel’s beautiful cashmere sweater and we were mortified when we returned home. Rachel just laughed and never complained. She also never took a penny for her babysitting since it was part of a community service requirement for her Confirmation preparation at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church. Like all the Stotts she enjoyed helping others no matter the personal inconvenience.

The Stotts left an impression not only on the college but on the surrounding community of Ripon where Peggy and the children were active in various volunteer organizations. They are all fondly remembered here in Ripon and learned well from Bill’s commitment to service to others.
May God grant Bill eternal rest and may his wonderful family continue to grow and thrive.
Amen.
Brian H. Smith
Professor Emeritus of Religion
Ripon College
smithb@ripon.edu