Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) — A retired pipefitter and World War II veteran from Terre Haute is the most recent honorary alumnus of Indiana University.
Just a couple weeks before his 89th birthday, Myron Rukes received the honor recently from the School of Public and Environmental Affairs Alumni Association Board during a small ceremony in the SPEA building on IU's Bloomington campus.
"I couldn't believe I got that," Rukes said, looking at the framed award. "I felt like a professor or something."
The honor from IU was initiated in February by Rukes' grandson, Matthew Sullivan, who decided 15 years after earning a bachelor's degree in health care administration that his grandfather also deserved a degree. You see, Rukes was the "driving force" behind Sullivan's success — literally.
A diving accident in 1997 left Sullivan a quadriplegic, unable to attend college classes on his own. Sullivan was a junior at IU at the time of his accident. When his fifth and sixth vertebrae were broken in his neck, he was left with no use of his legs and hands, though he can turn his neck and move his arms. The then-21-year-old Sullivan spent the next year coming to terms with his disability and re-learning everyday tasks. He enrolled at Indiana State University in the fall of 1998 to see if he could handle a return to college. After a year of success, he re-enrolled at IU. He graduated in 2001.
Once Sullivan had adjusted to his new "normal" and decided to return to IU, the main challenge for him was getting from his home in Terre Haute to his classes in Bloomington. That's where Rukes stepped up.
"He didn't even have to think twice. He just said, 'I'll do it,'" said Matthew's mom, Sherri Sullivan, of her father's decision to make the daily drive for his grandson.
It helped that Rukes, along with his late wife, Maurine, was a huge IU basketball fan. "They always had a winning team, and I liked Bobby Knight," Rukes said.
He enjoyed the daily drive, talking with his grandson about basketball, and then waiting around on campus for Matthew to finish his classes for the day so they could return home.
"I walked all over that campus," Rukes told the Tribune-Star (http://bit.ly/1ydnFkD ). "And sometimes I'd go uptown for a sandwich. I even went mushroom hunting in the woods there." One of his favorite places to wait was in a coffee shop in a campus library.
Sullivan said his grandmother would have been proud that her husband was recognized by the university. "She would have gotten a kick out of this," he said. "I can hear her say, 'Now, don't think you're any smarter than me.'"
For some classes, Rukes attended with his grandson, leading some professors to joke that Rukes should also be earning a degree.
Sullivan said he doesn't know why he waited so long, but he decided it was time for his grandfather to be recognized for his own commitment to education.
"You will never find a more dedicated, hard-working, 'nose-to-the-grindstone,' huge in stature, humble in nature man," Matthew said of his grandfather. "He grew up poor, and college wasn't an option for him. After returning from WWII, like many in his generation, he jumped straight into work and family life, doing his civic duty, and worked for 43 years at the same company."
In his request letter to the SPEA, Sullivan wrote that his grandfather was one of the biggest reasons he wanted to attend Indiana University in the first place.
"Growing up living with my grandparents, rooting for the Hoosiers was a way of life," Sullivan wrote. "For him to have been able to take me there each and every day was never a problem for him but more of a privilege because he just absolutely loved the school, the atmosphere, and the people at IU. Unofficially, my family and I have always said that even though my name is the only one on the diploma, he too is an Indiana University alum."
Sullivan was pleased when he received the response that the university would like to honor Rukes, either in a smaller ceremony this spring, or a bigger event in the fall. Sullivan said he knew his grandfather would prefer the smaller event. Several members of Rukes' family were able to attend. Along with Matthew's mother were his sister, Kristi Barnaby, her husband, Erik, and their daughter, Alex; Sullivan's uncle Brad Rukes and wife Ruth; and another uncle, Joe Williams, with wife Pam and their son Andy.
Eleven-year-old Alex Barnaby, who is a sixth-grader at Woodrow Wilson Middle school, said she was proud of her grandfather for becoming an alum before she gets to attend college.
In a letter to Rukes about the award, SPEA's Executive Associate Dean Michael McGuire wrote, "SPEA attracts students that are committed to putting their talents to use for the greater good. We proudly boast an alumni base of over 32,000 graduates — including your grandson — who have become leaders in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. But as proud as we are of our alumni and their accomplishments, your story is an inspirational reminder that none of our graduates would be where they are without the support of family, friends, and communities standing behind them."
Even after his grandson earned that first bachelor's degree, Rukes was not finished with his volunteer driving duties. When Sullivan decided to pursue a master's degree in counseling psychology at Indiana State University, Rukes again handled much of the driving for his grandson.
"He's always been a guy that is behind the scenes," Sullivan said. "Without guys like him, nothing would get done."
___
Information from: Tribune-Star, http://www.tribstar.com
This is an AP Member Exchange shared by the Tribune-Star.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
