Four alumni were inducted to the MSOE Alumni Wall of Distinction Nov. 9, 2018 in recognition of their professional contributions and dedicated service to their profession. In addition, their distinguished careers have contributed to, or reflect credit on, the various academic programs in the university.  

Congratulations to Richard Galling ’75, Edgar Hotchkin ’51, Barbara Ripley ’80 and Scott Ripley ’80.  

Richard Galling ’75
Richard Galling is president emeritus and senior advisor to Hammes Company Healthcare LLC, which he co-founded with John Hammes in 1992. The company is the nation’s leading health care facility development and project management company with 14 offices from coast to coast. Galling is considered a leading national expert on the planning and development of hospitals, ambulatory facilities and medical office buildings having personally directed the development of more than 100 facilities around the world. He holds a B.S. in Architectural and Building Construction Engineering Technology and is licensed in Wisconsin as an Architect and Professional Engineer. Galling is a board member and chairman of the development committee for the Three Harbors Council of the Boy Scouts and has served on the board of the Milwaukee Rescue Mission for the last nine years and as president from 2015-17. Galling was named an MSOE Corporation member in 2013 and became a Regent in 2015.  

Edgar E. Hotchkin ’51
Electronics piqued Edgar Hotchkin’s interest from a young age, as he often tinkered with radios and other gadgets. He enrolled at MSOE after serving in the U.S. Navy and graduated with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. From there, Hotchkin worked with the Bureau of Ships in the nuclear submarine program, then Davies Laboratories. Also on his resume are IBM, Brush Instruments, Midwestern Instruments, and finally Consolidated Electrodynamics, which became Bell and Howell. In 1973, Hotchkin founded the real estate investment company Anchor West Financial in Pasadena, California. Today, Anchor West is a collection of companies under the umbrella called the Anchor Pacifica Group. Hotchkin is a member of the Annandale Golf Club of Pasadena and Pasadena Elks Lodge # 672. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Los Angeles Caregivers Resource Center and the Santa Anita YMCA. He received an Honorary Doctor of Engineering degree from MSOE in 2009.  

Barbara Ripley ’80
Barbara Ripley earned a B.S. in Architectural and Building Construction Engineering Technology from MSOE in 1980. After graduation, she spent eight years at Wisconsin Telephone, where she was a construction engineer and the first woman engineer in her department. After the birth of her third child, Ripley stayed home to raise the children and began volunteering. She is a member of the St. Luke’s United Methodist Home Repair Mission Team, responding to damage caused by natural disasters in Virginia, North Carolina and Mississippi. She has also participated in Habitat for Humanity projects. Ripley was honored with the 2006 United Methodist Women Outstanding Service Award. She is also involved with the Appalachia Service project to make homes warmer, safer and drier for needy families, and has provided “Women Only” training and mentoring in construction tools and techniques. Ripley also has served as a science instructor and volunteer coordinator, created a competitive indoor drum line for the high school band, and volunteers with Commonwealth Catholic Charities.  

Scott Ripley ’80
Scott Ripley is the office manager for the Newport News, Virginia office of Bruce S. Rosenblatt & Associates Naval Architects and Marine Engineers. He earned his B.S. in Architectural and Building Construction Engineering Technology and Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Achievement from MSOE in 1980, and MBA from Marquette University in 1988. Ripley started his career at Bucyrus Erie. He subsequently worked for Newport News Technical Services and was the ship design manager of the aircraft carrier George H. W. Bush (CVN  77). Next Ripley moved to a position with Newport News Shipbuilding subsidiary AMSEC LLC as engineering program manager until taking his current position. Ripley is a registered Professional Engineer in Wisconsin and a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers and the American Society of Naval Engineers. He is also very active in the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary,  earning dozens of prestigious awards. Ripley assists in catastrophe relief efforts, Habitat for Humanity, and the Appalachian Service Project through St. Luke’s Church in Grafton, Virginia.