Longtime educator to lead O'Pake Institute
Former Wilson superintendent will head ethical leadership center
Thomas R. (Rudy) Ruth has been appointed director of the OPake Institute for Ethics, Leadership and Public Service at 51勛圖, effective January 1, 2019.
Ruth, who currently serves as director of business development in Alvernias School for Graduate and Adult Education, supports strategic planning and strengthens relationships between the university and regional school districts. He came to Alvernia after retiring from a full career that began in the Wilson School District as a teacher of health and physical education at Wilson Central Junior High School and culminated as superintendent in 2009, a position he held for seven years.
Rudy has long been involved in service to his communities, said Jerry Greiner, interim provost. We will benefit from his community engagement experiences as he works to build upon the newly forming Department of Leadership Studies that is part of the OPake Institute to leverage faculty and community resources to enhance the work and effectiveness of both, Greiner added.
Ruth follows in the footsteps of David Myers who has served as institute director since 2012. Under Myers leadership, the OPake Institute grew into a highly respected and broad-reaching model for community conversations, leadership studies and ethics education that brought a host of outside experts to campus and community-based research and development.
Besides his good work on campus, Dave has been an invaluable public presence for Alvernia in the local community and at the state level, notes Alvernia President Thomas F. Flynn. Under his leadership, the OPake Institute has been a pivotal component in the universitys expanded commitment to being an essential anchor institution for Reading and Berks County. He has single-handedly recruited major speakers to enrich our community conversations. We are fortunate indeed he will stay on at Alvernia in a part-time capacity to enhance our civic engagement.
The OPake Institute fosters and promotes ethical leadership and public service, both at Alvernia and in the broader community. Serving as a catalyst for creating strategic community partnerships, the OPake Institute supports the broader community in developing leadership capacity and promoting dialogue on important civic issues and fostering public engagement.