The HPOL Spectropolarimeter and the First 1.5 Years of Operation at Ritter Observatory

We will report on the first year and a half of observations with the University of Wisconsin's Halfwave Polarimeter (HPOL) instrument at the University of Toledo's Ritter Observatory. HPOL is a medium resolution spectropolarimeter, providing wavelength coverage from 3200 angstroms to 1.05 microns with a 10 angstrom resolution. It was previously a facility instrument at the Pine Bluff Observatory (PBO) of the University of Wisconsin, going off-line in October 2004. We will present the calibration work performed to demonstrate the instrument and telescope stability, which is comparable to the stability of HPOL at PBO. Selected results from the first year and a half of operation will also be presented. The refurbishment of HPOL has been partially funded by a Small Research Grant from the AAS, and also by the Scott E. Smith Fund for Research at Ritter Observatory.