Erickson Alumni Center Alumni Lounge to be named
for Nate Ruffin
 |
| Left to right:
Sharon Ruffin, widow of Nate Ruffin; Janis Winkfield,
vice president of Black Alumni Inc.; and Nancy Campbell,
MUAA president. |
The
new Erickson Alumni Center (EAC) Alumni Lounge will be named in
honor of Nate Ruffin, thanks to a gift pledged by Black Alumni Inc. to
the EAC Building Fund.
The $100,000 gift
was announced during the Alumni Weekend Awards Banquet on April 12,
2008, by newly elected
Black Alumni Inc. President Bernie Coston. Also present were Ruffin's widow, Sharon,
an longtime friend of the
Ruffin family, attorney William "Bill" Redd.
The
Nate Ruffin
Legacy Initiative, established for the purpose of raising funds for the
naming opportunity, has raised $50,000 toward its goal.
Fundraising is under way to raise the additional $50,000.
Ruffin was a member of the 1970
Marshall football team. Because an injury kept him from making the trip to
Greenville, N.C., for Marshall’s game with East Carolina on Nov. 14, 1970,
he was not aboard the plane that crashed near Tri-State Airport on the
return trip, killing 75 people, including 37 players.
Ruffin
was active in other aspects of university life. He was:
- a rep for the
university at the NCAA meeting in Spring of
'71;
-
represented the university
at Orange Bowl for fundraiser '71;
- served
on three presidential search
committees;
-
served for years as a
member of the Big Green Club;
- served
as an original member of the Marshall Hall of Fame Committee;
- served
as a booster and recruiter
for football and basketball 1972-91;
- served
on the MU Alumni board of
directors for eight years;
and
- served
as a member and an officer of Black Alumni
(2 years as president).
In his professional life, Ruffin
was employed by ACF Industries from 1973 to 1985,
last as personnel manager.
He then joined The Herald Dispatch and Gannett from
1985 to 1997 as director of human resources, and later as vice
president in Washington, D.C.,
in 1997 until his death from
leukemia in
October 2001.
If you are interested in making a gift to
the Nate Ruffin Initiative, please go to
this secure link. Be sure to
designate the gift for the Nate Ruffin Alumni Lounge. Or you may contact
Bernie Coston by e-mail or at
(770) 892-3364.
