Kenneth Ruscio, Leadership at Its Best

Kenneth Ruscio, Jepson School Dean

from July 2002-June 2006

Leadership studies scholars wrestle with how to define a great leader. Some would say the mark of a great leader is her ability to articulate a vision in a way that compels followers and even outsiders to act. 

Others would argue that adherence to the highest ethical standards determines a great leader. Still others believe that a leader’s greatness rests on his ability to transform followers so that they can reach their greatest potential and assume leadership roles of their own. 

For the past four years, the Jepson School has been blessed with a dean who meets all these criteria for great leadership.  

When Kenneth Ruscio joined Jepson as its dean in July 2002, the School, which opened its doors in 1992, was emerging from its formative stage and was poised to embark on the next phase of its development, Provost June Aprille said. Aprille charged Ruscio with raising Jepson’s profile.  

“In order to do this, Ken needed to create a coherent strategic plan,” Aprille said. “He is very methodical, patient and inclusive. He talked to faculty, staff, students and alumni.”  

Aprille noted three specific areas where Ruscio’s leadership contributed to moving Jepson forward. First, she credited Ruscio with extending Jepson’s leadership education to the rest of the University by securing grants and supporting team-teaching initiatives that fostered collaboration with the University’s other schools and departments in teaching leadership studies across the curriculum.  

Second, Ruscio’s national networking promoted Jepson as a whole, resulting in a greater national presence for the School, Aprille said. And third, Ruscio contributed to the internal growth and development of the School through his excellent faculty hires and curriculum revisions, she said. 

“Ken made a number of high-profile hires, including Gary McDowell, Al Goethals and Don Forsyth,” Aprille said. “The maturity and experience they bring to the School benefit the younger faculty and build on an excellent existing senior faculty. In addition, he led the faculty in rethinking the curriculum, with the result that the curriculum is more intellectually grounded than it used to be.” 

“Ken did all this exceptionally well in a short time,” Aprille said. Jepson faculty and staff clearly agreed with Aprille’s assessment of Ruscio’s tenure. 

Several mentioned their impression of Ruscio as the pivotal factor in their decision to come to Jepson. Given that Ruscio hired six of the 11 tenured or tenure-track faculty members, he has certainly shaped the face of Jepson for years to come.  

Crystal Hoyt, a social psychologist and Ruscio’s first junior faculty hire, recalled how Ruscio assuaged her initial concerns about joining an interdisciplinary faculty engaged in researching and teaching leadership studies, a relatively young, uncharted discipline. In particular, Ruscio’s commitment to scholarly research impressed her, Hoyt said. 

“From the beginning Ken offered strong support for my research,” Hoyt said, noting that he gave her everything she requested to start her psychology lab. “I was impressed by how much he knew about the small details of my field—it’s so important for a dean to know these kinds of details when discussing tenure promotion and scholarly research.  

“But I was equally impressed by his willingness to ask questions when he wasn’t familiar with an aspect of my research and by his desire to learn.” 

Like Hoyt, Gary McDowell, a constitutional scholar and Ruscio’s first senior faculty hire, was immediately impressed by Ruscio. “Ken had a vision for what a leadership studies school can and should be,” McDowell said. “He takes a serious liberal arts approach to leadership studies that is grounded in academic scholarship.”

McDowell also noted Ruscio’s administrative skill. “My view of a good academic dean has always been someone who is extraordinarily successful at herding cats into a bag,” McDowell said. “Not only is Ken successful at doing that, but in his case, all the cats seem to be happy about going. His good judgment and his way of dealing with people make him the finest college administrator I’ve ever worked for.” 

Susan Murphy, Manager of Operations and Assistant to the Dean, echoed McDowell’s sentiments. “Ken has wonderful people skills which he used to mend bridges and build new bridges,” she said. “Before his arrival, many outside the Jepson School viewed us as insular, stand alone, aloof. But through Ken’s outreach efforts this perception has changed.”  

The development of the Jepson Advisory Council composed of national and international leaders who will advise the School on the direction it should take in its interactions with the community and the creation of @Jepson, the School’s online alumni newsletter, serve as two examples of Ruscio’s outreach initiatives, Murphy said.

Ruscio has also clarified the staff’s roles, Murphy said. “He is very astute at recognizing our talents and then making use of them. He respects and welcomes staff members’ opinions. He has created an atmosphere where we can succeed.” 

Ruscio encouraged and supported his faculty, staff and students in ways that helped them grow and excel, agreed Teresa Williams, Associate Dean for Student and Community Affairs. “He is one of the few supervisors I’ve had who has helped me think thoughtfully and strategically about my own career in higher education. A lot of people wouldn’t take the time to do that.”  

He took the same time to mentor students that he took to mentor faculty and staff, Williams said. For example, Ruscio, who had served as a regional reader for the Truman Scholar program, encouraged Jackie Knupp, ’06, to apply for a Truman Scholarship and mentored her through the application process, Knupp said. Knupp became Jepson’s first and the University’s seventh Truman Scholar.  

“Dean Ruscio is particularly adept at identifying potential in students and encouraging them to aim high, as he did with me and the Truman Scholarship,” Knupp said.  

Indeed, excellence seems to permeate every aspect of Ruscio’s leadership, according to those who have worked with him at Jepson during the last four years.  

Ruscio will leave Jepson to assume the presidency of Washington and Lee University, his alma mater, effective July 1, 2006. Although saddened by his imminent departure, members of the Jepson community recognize his presidential appointment as a great honor for both Ruscio and the Jepson School. They also eagerly await the next phase in Jepson’s development.  

“We look forward to continuing in the direction in which Ken has led us and drawing on the strengths of our faculty, staff and students,” said Thomas Wren, who will serve as Interim Dean. Jepson, like Ruscio, will continue to lead in an exemplary way.