Dr. Rittenmeyer received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees from Western Michigan University and his Ph.D. in higher education administration from Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan.
He began his career as a resident director at Michigan State, and aside from a two year stint as captain in the U.S. Army, he has spent the last 40 years in higher education.
He retired from Calumet College of St. Joseph on June 30, 2011, capping a distinguished 40-year career in higher education.
Some of the notable accomplishments of his tenure include:
• The development of accelerated programs in organization management, healthcare management and public safety administration to assist adult learners
• The development of master’s degree programs in teaching, public safety administration, and quality assurance
• The achievement of 10 year accreditation by the North Central Association
• The establishment of the Public Safety Institute, which has organized projects such as the Major Crimes Task Force and literacy and drug assessments of inmates at the Lake County Jail
• Development of an athletic program which now includes 19 teams in eleven sports, including the men’s basketball team which won the CCAC conference championship and the men’s and women’s bowling teams which earned a trip to the national finals.
• U.S. News & World Report has named the college number one in diversity among colleges in the Midwest for the past ten years.
Knowing the necessity of public transportation, Dr. Rittenmeyer accepted the position of president of the Regional Bus Authority and served the area for ten years. He and the RBA promoted the idea of a transportation system that unites the cities of the region in an effort to promote access to employment and education in an affordable manner. He recently stepped down from that position and was named “Distinguished Hoosier” by Gov. Mitch Daniels for his “tireless work to improve public transportation in northwest Indiana.”
He has previously served as chairman of the Northwest Indiana Quality of Life Council and as president of the Tri-City Mental Health Board of Directors.
Updated: 8-1-11
