For Immediate Release
Written by: Susan Alderman, 260-481-6165
Media contact: Marianne Messmann, 260-481-6460
2008 Purdue Honorary Degree Recipients Announced
(Fort Wayne, May 1, 2008) -- This month, during Indiana University—Purdue University Fort Wayne's (IPFW) commencement ceremony, Purdue University will recognize two members of the Fort Wayne community with honorary degrees.
Ruth Needham Rhinehart, long-time music educator and philanthropist, will receive a Doctor of Humane Letters and Alfred Stovall, M.D., a retired Fort Wayne physician and community supporter, will receive a Doctor of Science, both from Purdue University.
The 41st annual commencement ceremony will be held Wednesday, May 14, at the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, beginning at 7 p.m. More than 1,800 degrees will be awarded.
Rhinehart has loved music all her life, and began teaching others to play the piano when she was just ten years old. She taught music and English in the Fort Wayne Community Schools for more than twenty years and volunteered as an accompanist for Canterbury Schools Children's Choir for another twenty years. She and her late husband, John, imbued a love of both music and education in their four children. Her family's philanthropy extends in many directions, including IPFW, where their generous donation resulted in naming the new music building The John and Ruth Rhinehart Music Center in their honor.
Dr. Stovall has devoted his entire professional career to meeting the needs of the underserved. Born in Alabama, he and his family moved to Fort Wayne when he was a young boy. He graduated with degrees from Purdue, Fisk, and Howard universities. Soon after his graduation from Howard, young Dr. Stovall was drafted into the U. S. Army and served in the MASH units as a surgeon in Vietnam.
After serving his country, Stovall returned to Fort Wayne and opened a private practice as a family physician. He chose a location at the corner of Lafayette and Pontiac streets for his practice because it was right in the middle of the minority community and he wanted neighborhood residents to have increased accessibility to health care. Nearly 20 years ago, he and another physician saw the need to expand the services offered at that location. They organized local investors and raised the money to build the Lafayette Medical Center, which opened in 1993.
Dr. Stovall provided health care to families for almost 40 years at the Lafayette and Pontiac streets location. His retirement a few years ago has not diminished his involvement in the community. In 2003 he established a not-for-profit organization, the Dr. Jeff Towles Health Disparity Initiative, which advocates for case management for minorities with chronic illnesses.
Dr. Stovall has also been a strong supporter of IPFW, collaborating with the university to provide learning opportunities for medical, nursing, and dental hygiene students. He worked with local community leaders and the university to bring the Northeast Indiana Area Health Education Center to Fort Wayne, and he furthered his support to IPFW by leasing space in the Lafayette Medical Center for the nurse-managed Lafayette Street Family Health Clinic.
IPFW Chancellor Michael A. Wartell said, "Both Dr. Stovall and Ruth Rhinehart have been wonderful contributors to the growth of IPFW and Fort Wayne. It was my distinct pleasure to forward their nominations to President Córdova and it is with great satisfaction that I see them recognized with these Honorary Degrees."
Photographs of Rhinehart and Stovall are available at www.ipfw.edu/news/resources/downloads.
For more information on the honorary degree recipients or on the commencement ceremony, contact Marianne Messmann, coordinator of academic ceremonies, at 260-481-6460.
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