One man who recently joined the President’s Club by pledging to donate $15,000 to Hillsdale College doesn’t only support the college from afar. He is often seen around campus, chatting with students. Because he is one.
Ryan Richert, a 20-year-old junior, obtained his Young Alumni membership in the President’s Club on Aug. 26, a few days before classes started.
“I felt called to give back to the college by joining the President’s Club,” he said.
Richert is now one of four members who joined as undergraduates, according to the President’s Club office. There are 4,929 members total.
According to its website, “the President’s Club is Hillsdale College’s primary donor recognition and appreciation society.”
Richert said his experience at Hillsdale has been the most “formative and enriching” of his life. He expressed gratitude for the students, the faculty, and the college as an institution.
“I’d like to see that continue,” he said.
The $15,000 he will donate over the next 15 years will help the college do just that. Richert has left his donations unrestricted, meaning the money contributes to the college’s Independence Fund. The fund supports operations that College President Larry Arnn deems most pressing, according to the President’s Club website.
Richert felt comfortable making the pledge because he worked full time on his grandfather’s blueberry farm for the past three summers.
“I’ve been blessed to be able to pay for college,” he said, “and to go beyond that and make an economic contribution to my alma mater.”
Richert has not yet had time to attend any President’s Club events, but he looks forward to attending a reception during Parent’s Weekend. He especially looks forward to meeting older members of the club.
The story of Richert’s joining traces back to Gary Wolfram, professor of political economy. Wolfram joined the President’s Club as a traditional member almost immediately after being hired by the college in January 1989, motivated by his belief in Hillsdale’s mission.
In 2003, while out running with the men’s cross-country team, Wolfram struck up a conversation with Lewis Butler. Butler, now a lecturer in economics at Hillsdale, was at the time a freshman at the college.
Wolfram told Butler that no student had ever joined the President’s Club before graduating. He explained the benefits as he saw them: supporting the college, building relationships with other members, getting to know the administration and board of trustees, and attending special events—such as the dinner where Wolfram met Margaret Thatcher.
Butler joined the next year, scraping together cash to fund his donation.
“I just worked and lived like a refugee,” Butler said.
He joined mainly to support the school’s mission, but his Traditional membership had other benefits, such as the dinners accompanying special events.
“I don’t know if you’ve eaten in Saga recently,” he began, explaining that the special dinners preceding President’s Club lectures were a major improvement. Butler said he wasn’t the only one to benefit, as he would sometimes bring his friends or other special guests.
“Occasionally a cute girl would want to go to dinner,” he said.
One girl he took to dinner later joined the President’s Club with her husband. She wasn’t the only person to join because of Butler. Richert was inspired to join after encountering Butler’s story in a Collegian article printed last semester.
Richert hopes to have a similar impact.
“It’s my hope that students reading this article might notice or might find another opportunity to give back to Hillsdale College financially,” he said. “Because that’s what inspired me.”
