Jeff Ritter 78F P14

I have been in education for a long time and a part of ‘alternative education’ since the first time I was exposed to outdoor education with Project Use in NJ at age 14. A year with the Trailside Country School traveling the country meeting resource people, camping, backpacking, doing anthropology (living with Mennonites), archaeology (a dig in the Anasazi areas of Colorado), ecology studies (Everglades, Big Bend, New England), folklore, and more led directly to Hampshire. Growing enamored of higher education teaching by gleaning the lovely lives led by such Hampshire luminaries as Ray Coppinger, Jim Miller, Margaret Cerullo, Jan Tallman, Laurie Nisonoff, and more inspired me to go towards a PhD in the hopes of being in the gilded circle of the New England professoriate. Recently leaving my positions as a professor and humanities division chair at a small college in western Pennsylvania, I am entering the world of opportunity to figure out what to do next. My current project is a WorldlyXP, creating a virtual global gap year and an online enrichment and self-discovery program for students from around the world.

As an AAG member I hope to help connect alumni with the school, bring about new opportunities, and enhance the general well-being and future of the College.