Bill Text: VA HJR738 | 2011 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of James L. Ruffa.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 5-0)
Status: (Passed) 2011-02-03 - House: Bill text as passed House and Senate (HJ738ER) [HJR738 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2011-HJR738-Enrolled.html
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WHEREAS, after a lifetime of positively influencing thousands of students, James L. Ruffa of Colonial Heights, a beloved educator and former executive director of the Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology, died on December 5, 2010; and WHEREAS, a native of Petersburg, James Ruffa received a bachelor's and master's degree from Old Dominion University before earning a doctorate from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University; and WHEREAS, James Ruffa began his exemplary career in education as a social studies teacher, where he honed his innovative teaching methods and demonstrated his strong commitment to his students; and WHEREAS, an able administrator who supported his faculty and staff as they instructed and guided students, James Ruffa served as a high school principal and school superintendent of Colonial Heights Public Schools before moving into education at the university level; and WHEREAS, James Ruffa served as an assistant professor at Virginia State University in the master's and doctoral programs of education, where he shared his experience and expertise with a new generation of educators; and WHEREAS, James Ruffa was instrumental in the development of the school's doctoral level program in education and leadership, where future principals and superintendents would gain from his insight; and WHEREAS, James Ruffa completed his distinguished career in education as the executive director of the Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology, a position he held until his retirement in 2010; and WHEREAS, James Ruffa's tenure at the Governor's School was marked by outstanding leadership and commitment to providing an extraordinary learning environment that would allow the students to excel in their fields of study; and WHEREAS, admired for his wisdom and kind heart, James Ruffa served as a mentor to countless students over the years and worked diligently to ensure positive learning environments where they could achieve their potential, creating an enduring living legacy; and WHEREAS, James Ruffa will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his wife of 34 years, Linda; children Jay and Elisabeth and their families; and numerous other family members, friends, and students whose lives he touched over the years; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of an admired educator and outstanding Virginian, James L. Ruffa; and, be it RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of James L. Ruffa as an expression of the General Assembly's respect for his memory and devotion to the youth of the Commonwealth. |
