From 2013 to 2018, Virginia Ruesterholz served as the Chair of the Stevens Board of Trustees. During her tenure as chair, a lot has changed here at Stevens. Thanks to Ruesterholz’s leadership, the school worked to execute the 10-year plan designed to make Stevens a more student-centric and innovative place. Due to all of the advancements that Stevens has made under her leadership, the new Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Stephen Boswell, and the rest of the board decided to throw a surprise party for her on Tuesday, Sept. 25. The majority of the board members, as well as President Farvardin and many high ranking faculty members, were in attendance. Prior to the party, Ruesterholz sat down for an interview with The Stute.
Virginia Ruesterholz began her Stevens career back in the fall of 1979 as an undergraduate student studying chemical engineering. During her next four years at Stevens, she eventually met her future husband, who was also studying chemical engineering, and got engaged right before graduating in 1983. She felt that coming to Stevens was one of the best decisions that she had ever made. After Stevens, she began work at a power plant simulation company but was soon recruited by New York Telephone in 1984 into their management career development program. New York Telephone eventually went through a series of acquisitions to eventually become Verizon Telecom. During the many transitions, Ruesterholz remained with the company.
Eventually, Ruesterholz ended up joining the Board of Trustees in 2007. Prior to becoming chair of the board, she served on multiple committees, as chair of the finance committee, and as one of the vice chairs of the board. “I was humbled to be selected,” she added. When Ruesterholz was selected to be the chair, President Farvardin had just begun working at Stevens, and the 10-year plan had just been created. In short, there was a lot of work to be done, and the other members of the Board thought Ruesterholz was the right person for the job. “We were rolling up our sleeves to get the job done,” she continued. With the 10-year plan, it was important for Stevens to gain a “healthy financial footing.” Ruesterholz focused on this by working to create the fundraising campaign, growing the endowment, and making the school cash flow positive. As she puts it, this was all part of “steadying the ship.”
The next step was to deliver on the student-centricity aspect of Stevens. The increase in funding made it easier to obtain high-quality faculty to go along with the high-quality students that Stevens has been accepting. She noted that as an alumnus, she is “so proud” to see the increasing caliber of students. She is also happy to see the increasing number of under-served students attending Stevens through the ACEs and Clark Scholars program. In addition, the board considered it a necessity to improve the infrastructure of the university to properly serve the students and faculty. This includes the recent improvements of classrooms, lecture halls, and ABS, the completion of the Babbio Garage, the construction of the Gianforte Family Academic Center, and the plans for the new University Center. When asked if she would go back and do anything differently, Ruesterholz’s only response was that she wishes that she “had a magic wand to make everything happen at once.”
In large part because of all these improvements, Stevens has grown at a rapid pace, almost to the point where the small school culture is changing. In response to this, Ruesterholz said that the culture will change, but Stevens will always have the “homey feeling” that allows prospective students to say that they can see themselves here. In addition, she stated how important it is for Stevens to increase housing, and to ensure that students living off campus have quality housing. She also noted how she hopes students see the benefits of the work in the long run.
Ruesterholz is very happy with what the board has accomplished, especially the improved relationships between members, faculty, and alumni. She feels good about passing off the gavel to Boswell because of his strong background on the board and professionally. She encourages students to get involved on campus and have a voice. Ruesterholz ended on the point that “Stevens is amazing, I love it!” and that Stevens is “a real game changer.”
As evidenced by the information Ruesterholz provided in the interview, it is clear to see that she has made a lasting impact on this campus as the first female Chair of the Board of Trustees. Hearing speeches from new Young Alumni Olivia Schreiber, President Farvardin, Dr. Boswell, and others, it is clear that Virginia Ruesterholz has personally had an impact on them as well. The gratitude of President Farvardin and the board was clearly seen when they presented Ruesterholz with a miniaturized version of the Torch Bearer statue from the center of campus, as well as a pearl necklace, and a standing ovation when she thanked everyone at the end of the night.
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