Fred Rucker, you have come a long way since your undergraduate
days at WPI in the late '70s and early '80s. From vice president of
Phi Kappa Theta during your senior year to your current position as
the executive vice president of sales and marketing at Global One.
From president of your sophomore, junior and senior class to
membership on the Board of Trustees' Physical Facilities Committee,
which is responsible for the planning and oversight of the campus
center (nearing completion not far from where we are gathered
tonight)
You have contributed to this university in virtually every way
imaginable and have honored it with your continued dedication,
commitment, and interest. You alma mater had recognized your
commitment by presenting you with both of its young alumni awards:
the John Boynton Award in 1991 and the Ichabod Washburn Award in
1996. Tonight we honor you once again-this time for your athletic
achievement.
In your day, you ran the 400 meters, anchored the mile relay,
threw the javelin, and helped propel WPI's track teams to winning
seasons in four straight years: a 7-2 record in 1978, 8-1 in 1979,
8-1 in 1980, and 6-3 in 1981. But it was the decathlon, that
grueling 10-part, two-day marathon that seems to receive
attention only during the Olympics, that was your specialty. You
excelled in the 100-meter run, long jump, shot put, high jump, and
400 meters that comprise Day 1, and in the 110-meter high hurdles,
discus, pole vault, javelin, and 1,500-meter run on Day 2.
Grueling, indeed!
You continually set WPI records in your junior and senior years.
In the second week of 1980 you earned 5,778 points to finish second
at New Englands Division III Championship; one week later, you
broke that record with 5,975 points at the New Englands at
Dartmouth. The following year you set yet another record for your
alma mater with your 6,131-point, first-place finish at the New
England Division III Championships at Bowdoin.
Notes former coach Merl Norcross, "Fred would perform in any
event his coaches asked him to," he says. "He was a team guy in the
true sense of the word, a competitor who always took things in
stride. He was as successful in the decathlon then as he is in the
business world today."
You received your bachelor's degree with distinction in
mechanical engineering and completed your M.B.A. at Columbia in
1989. A WPI trustee since 1996, you have served on several
committees since graduation.
Fred Rucker, superior athlete, loyal graduate and dedicated
trustee, it is with great pride that we honor you once again by
welcoming you into the WPI Athletic Hall of Fame.
