Dick Ruhl’s estate gift providing a number of enhancements for AU students

Joe Lyons • September 4, 2024

ASHLAND, Ohio – Dick Ruhl, who made contributions to the success of Ashland University as a longtime member of the AU Board of Trustees (1992-2009), is still making an impact and improving the quality of education and the quality of life for AU students after his passing.

A highly successful businessman in Columbus, Ohio, Ruhl passed away this past December at the age of 86. While still mourning his loss, Jody Ruhl ‘92, the youngest of his three daughters, felt privileged to personally deliver the remainder of the estate gift to AU President Jon Peede in August.

The total bequest was $600,000, which will help to complete a number of recent and ongoing projects at the university:

· Renovations to the upper level of the John C. Myers Convocation Center

· Renovations to the Conard Field House

· New Shimadzu scientific instruments in the Colleges of Arts and Sciences

· New uniforms for the Eagle Marching Band

· Support for the athletic operations budget

Jody Ruhl remarked that her father would be overjoyed his gift is able to impact so many different areas of campus.

“He would love it, he would. He would have been really happy that the money is going to several areas, not just one area of campus,” she said. “And, that’s what I like. He had a term … spreading the wealth and that was kind of his motto. I think it’s great it’s going to Convo, to band uniforms, etc.”

Peede agreed and told Jody Ruhl, “What I really love about your father’s gift is that comprehensiveness. I think in life we want to be full people. We want to live in full communities. We want our mind, body and soul engaged.”

“So, it’s this idea … you can be a scholar-athlete, you can be in the fine arts, you can be in the sciences, then when you finish you can come to a great convening right here (Convocation Center),” he continued. “What a legacy, and we’ve used several times his gift, but it’s a family decision that says from the resources and capacities of this family, we’re giving this. And, that’s special.”

In addition to serving on the AU Board of Trustees for nearly two full decades, Dick Ruhl was recognized with the Honorary Alumnus Award (2010), given to a friend of the university who demonstrated dedication to the beliefs and values of the university through service and philanthropy.

Jody Ruhl majored in fashion merchandising, studied abroad in Mexico and was a member of the Alpha Phi sorority during her undergraduate days, and her greatest memory came at graduation when her father handed her diploma on stage. AU had been the ideal match for her.

“I loved Ashland. Small classes and individualized attention were exactly what I needed. And, it was only an hour and a half from home, so it was a perfect fit,” said Ruhl, who has served on the AU Alumni Board.

The family’s legacy at AU continues to this day. Molly Hopson Kindel, a niece of Jody Ruhl, just graduated from the Masters of Education program this spring. She earned the M.Ed. degree, specializing in literacy, curriculum and instruction with a reading endorsement, to advance her career as a teacher in the Jonathan Alder Local School District.

As Jody Ruhl reflected on her family’s passion for AU, she said it all started when her father was a teenager and didn’t think he had the finances or the grades to go to college, but was inspired by the advice from a professor to pursue higher education. That may have fueled him to help others in similar situations.

“He didn’t know his calling in life right off the bat,” Ruhl noted. “I think he (thought) back about the people who gave him chances as well.”

Dick Ruhl’s repeated gifts—his lifetime giving to AU totals more than $1.6 million—have provided a number of significant enhancements to the AU student experience. Prior to the estate gift, his philanthropy has impacted the annual fund, the Ashbrook Center, the Dwight Schar College of Nursing and Health Sciences, the Rinehart Center for Religious Studies, the women’s basketball program and other areas.

“We always need a reminder what are we doing this for … what’s the mission,” said Peede. “We’re trying to help these young people with their calling in life.”