DeJesús-Rueff Given Distinguished Achievement Award

Dr. Richard DeJesús-Rueff, emeritus vice president of student affairs and adjunct faculty member of St. John Fisher College, will be honored with the Distinguished Achievement Award, given by the Alumni Board of Haverford College, his alma mater. He will be formally honored during Alumni Weekend on June 1, 2019 at Haverford College.

The Distinguished Achievement Award recognizes alumni who have achieved personal success, made outstanding contributions to their fields, achieved recognition by their colleagues, and brought honor to themselves and to Haverford College through their distinguished achievements.

DeJesús-Rueff graduated Haverford with a B.A. in Spanish in 1975. Having developed bilingual fluency, he then received a Fulbright Fellowship to attend graduate school to study psychology at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico City.

In 1977, he received his M.Ed. from Temple University and his Ed.D. from Boston University in 1986. His impressive career in higher education included work at Philadelphia University, Oberlin College, and Haverford College. He has spent the past 21 years at Fisher.

DeJesús-Rueff is an advocate for diversity, inclusion, and empowerment. At Fisher, he has coordinated Sustained Dialogue, where students engage together and respectfully discuss difficult issues.

“I was surprised and honored to learn that I was selected for the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Alumni Board of Haverford College,” DeJesús-Rueff said. “I learned that the award is in recognition of my work with first generation college students as well as my efforts to promote dialogue across racial difference. As those are two areas of lifelong commitment for me, I am genuinely honored to be recognized for that work.”

DeJesús-Rueff has also devoted a significant amount of his time to service, serving on the boards for the Center for Youth of Monroe County, the Center for Teen Empowerment, Racial Justice & Equality Initiative, and World of Inquiry High School.

This article was written by Caroline Seaberg. A senior majoring in media and communication with a minors in human resources, psychology and Spanish, Seaberg is an executive intern with the College’s Office of Marketing and Communications.