NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

4/5/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - Thomas F. Ruffin of Shreveport shared a piece of Northwestern State University history with the school by donating his father's college diploma to the NSU Archives. The donor's father, Trueheart H. Ruffin, was among the first individuals to earn a four-year bachelor's degree from Louisiana State Normal School, now Northwestern, in 1921.

The 84-year-old document is encased in a purple suede cover embossed in gold letters with the graduate's name and the date he graduated.

"He finished at mid-term, but he had to wait till spring to get his diploma," Ruffin explained. There were only three students who graduated in 1921 with the first four-year degrees ever awarded.

A native of DeSoto Parish, the elder Ruffin started out to earn a two-year degree before serving in World War I. When he returned from the war, the four-degree program had been established.

After receiving the diploma, T.H. Ruffin lived in Wallace community north of Pleasant Hill and "would ride the train home on the caboose." For a short time, he taught school in Rambin community between Mansfield and Pleasant Hill, before moving to Minden, his wife's hometown, where he was assistant superintendent of Schools in Webster Parish. He eventually left teaching, moved to Shreveport and went into the building materials industry.

Northwestern has a special place in Ruffin's family history. The donor's mother and two aunts earned two-year teaching certificates from Northwestern. After earning her certificate, Ruffin's mother taught school for several years before becoming a full-time homemaker.

"My father and mother were both very appreciative of Northwestern," Ruffin said. "They'd go down to see old friends, like Miss Dean Varnado, so as a kid, I spent a lot of time on that campus." One of his sisters attended Northwestern but transferred before graduation.

Thomas Ruffin earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Louisiana State University and enjoyed a varied career path in business and brokering. He served in the Navy during World War II and is a former president of the LSU Alumni Association.

In 1998, Mr. Ruffin honored his parents by creating the T.H. and Xenia Fuller Ruffin Endowed Scholarship for an education major.

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