Online Job Fair | December 19 at 1:00pm EST

November 17th, 2011

Close out 2011 learning more about Program Center Management!
AJ Pennington will host a conference call and web presentation Monday December 19^th @ 1:00 pm EST.

Register in advance by emailing contact information to aj.pennington@ruffalocody.com

Al Ruffalo: Distinguished Alumni Award Recipient

September 27th, 2011

Albert P. Ruffalo (’69) came to Loras from Kenosha, Wisconsin, after graduating from St. Joseph’s High School. Loras is special to Ruffalo because, “it was my home for four years and taught me to think outside the box.” That dynamic thinking has allowed Ruffalo to achieve great success in his personal and business life.

While at Loras, he participated in Intramurals football, wrestling and softball, and served as Vice President of the Commerce Club. He received his bachelor’s degree in Accounting and wasted no time establishing his career.

Ruffalo worked as the marketing manager with the National Oats Corporation, held various positions at TelecomUSA, was president of a subsidiary of MCI Direct, and served as the executive vice president in a variety of departments at McLeod USA.

While serving at McLeod USA, Ruffalo teamed with Clark McLeod, Blake Fisher and Stephen Gray to form RuffaloCODY, a direct marketing and telemarketing services company. When the company started in 1991, they began with 50 employees, and by 2009, the company had grown to 3,000 employees in 85 locations! In 2007, Inc. Magazine named RuffaloCODY as one of America’s 5,000 fastest-growing private companies.

In the fall of 2005, Loras College was one of the pilot schools for the new Graduate Services phonathon program that RuffaloCODY was implementing. The program was a huge success and Loras College still uses RuffaloCODY’s services today for the annual phonathon fundraiser.

Ruffalo has been very generous to Loras, serving on the Board of Regents from 1998-2007 and was named Regent Emeritus in 2008. He and his wife, Martha, have generously supported many projects across campus, including the walkway connecting the Academic Resource Center and the Alumni Campus Center which was named in their honor.

A few of the honorable awards Ruffalo has earned include: Midwest Emerging Entrepreneur of the year by Inc. Magazine, Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame, and Cedar Rapids Chamber of Commerce Entrepreneur of the Year Award. In his spare time, Ruffalo has donated his time as a member of both the Board of Trustees for Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Eastern Iowa and Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa, and has also served as chair for the Mount Mercy Scholarship campaign.

Ruffalo is proud to have his son Paul continue the Loras legacy by becoming a Duhawk and receiving his degree in 2000.

Read the press release.