Jack Rutt Archives - 91��Ƶ News

Celebrating Service: Special projects manager Jack Rutt keeps his finger on 91��Ƶ’s pulse, but with a bit more time off

Lauren Jefferson — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 13:20:50 +0000

This year, several 91��Ƶ faculty and staff, among them Jack Rutt, are moving into retirement after many years of service. To acknowledge their service and deep commitment to our community, we’ve offered the opportunity for them to share favorite memories of their time here, as well as advice for those of us still laboring onwards.

Please stay tuned as we feature retiring faculty (at least those were agreeable to our idea) in the coming weeks. A complete list of 2016 retirees concludes each article. The comment box is open below for those of you who wish to share greetings and memories with Jack. He can also be reached at ruttj@emu.edu or (540) 432-4478.

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calls this next transition period “moving to retirement.” He’s not quite there yet and may never be “fully retired.” In his current role of special projects support, Jack has provided oversight to some of the major facilities improvements on campus, including the completed and the ongoing Suter Science Center project [view completed Phase I renovations here and check out Suter West plans ].

He anticipates continuing to provide project management services “for some (yet to be determined) period of time on a very part-time, highly flexible schedule,” he says.

A 1972 graduate of 91��Ƶ with a degree, Jack was hired as director of information systems in December 1999 and remained in that position until his first “retirement” in May 2014. In all, he’s worked more than 16 years at 91��Ƶ. (Before coming to 91��Ƶ, he worked more than 20 years in various technology management roles in both small and large companies.)

Jack shared two highlights of being a part of 91��Ƶ:

Seeing students who have just graduated from high school arrive on campus with much to learn, and then seeing those same students, four years later, involved confidently in campus activities where they have “come into their own” confirmed for me, over and over, that many good things happen at 91��Ƶ that are transformative for the rest of these students’ lives.

I made it a priority to attend the chapel gatherings dedicated to returning cross-cultural groups. Many of these travelers shared the profound life-changing impact this experience had, yet another example of the transformation that happens to students during their studies here at 91��Ƶ.
Jack Rutt continues his project management as Suter Science Center renovations move from the $7.3-million “Suter East” campaign to “Suter West,” with renovations to include state-of-the-art laboratories and facilities for a new engineering program, an update to the iconic SC 106 lecture hall, and new natural history museum.

His third highlight is a professional achievement, the installation of a software system that has affected university operations on a daily basis since its implementation in 2009.

The largest IS project during my time as director was the EX conversion, which took 18 months to complete and cost nearly $1 million. The software modules that provide systems functionality for the office of admissions, registration, business affairs, advancement, physical plant, institutional research, student advising and financial aid were converted from a legacy system on a dying computer platform to a modern system running on a Microsoft Windows platform. This change impacted every department and involved thousands of hours of training for many 91��Ƶ employees.

Jack has high praise for his colleagues at 91��Ƶ, “both those above me in the organization (my supervisors) and those I worked with directly (employees who looked to me for leadership).” One of his guiding principles in the workplace that he shared with us speaks to collaboration:

Collaboration trumps individual achievement. It has been my experience that the best solutions to problems are most often developed through a group process which is best served by leadership that ensures a shared understanding of the problem to be solved along with a shared expectation and understanding of what will be delivered. When in doubt, draw a picture to ensure that everyone is visualizing the same concepts.

In between projects, he and his wife Gloria Short Rutt ’72 will spend time with children and grandchildren. Son Eric Rutt ’01 and his wife, Mahlet Aklu ‘01, are in Boston, while daughter Megan Rutt Rosenwink ’02 is in Heidelberg, Germany. There are currently two granddaughters in Germany and a granddaughter in Boston, with a new sister expected to join her later this summer.

Jack also hopes “to establish a schedule that includes some part-time work, volunteering and pursuing my interests in music (perhaps some cello lessons), art/calligraphy, woodworking and gardening.”

Other retiring faculty and staff

Also retiring are the following faculty and staff (position listed is most recent held): , administrative assistant for events, director of the Summer Institute for Spiritual Formation and of the Congregational Resource Center, Eastern Mennonite Seminary, 27 years; Spencer Cowles, Department of Business, 27 years; Jan Gerber, Information Officer, 23 years; , Master’s in Counseling graduate program, 39 years; Ted Grimsrud, Department of Bible and Religion, 20 years; Betty Hertzler, postal supervisor, 41 years; , director of the physical plant, 28 years; Roman Miller, Master’s in Biomedicine graduate program, 31 years; and , education graduate program director at 91��Ƶ Lancaster, 18 years.

Jack Rutt’s journey to 91��Ƶ

Bonnie Price Lofton — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 18:41:00 +0000

After graduating in 1972 as a psychology major from 91��Ƶ, Jack Rutt got his first job in the business world at Goodville Mutual Casualty Company in New Holland, Pennsylvania.

Rutt initially earned $1.85 per hour as a trainee in underwriting. Three years later – at age 25 – he was named head of the automobile underwriting department, succeeding his mentor, a pastor who was transitioning to full-time ministry work.

Suddenly, Rutt was managing a department of about a dozen people, developing underwriting procedures for no-fault automobile insurance. “The job of an underwriter is to find people you don’t want to cover with insurance and to exclude them,” he now says wryly, by way of explaining why he decided not to make a career out of the position as his predecessor had done.

Goodville did, however, expose him to the workings and possibilities of computers – the company had an IBM mainframe that processed data that Rutt’s underwriters needed.

Next life stage: one of six owners and president of an office supply and furniture business. Through the 1980s, this new company, The Office Works, added a personal computers sales division and grew to have seven retail outlets in Pennsylvania and North Carolina.

Rutt found himself writing the software code that his company needed for inventory control, accounts receivable, and service-work orders. He worked on a mini-computer that was one of the first to challenge the dominance of IBM mainframe computers for small businesses.

Ironically, the only class Rutt had ever dropped at 91��Ƶ was Fortran taught by Joe Mast, because the challenging class didn’t seem worth it when Rutt already had a full courseload. As a result, Rutt had to learn about computer technology the hard way – on the job.

Rutt and his partners sold their computer division to a national chain in 1990. Almost immediately, Rutt was recruited to be systems manager for a health maintenance organization affiliated with Blue Shield of Pennsylvania. There he supervised a small group of employees responsible for keeping three high-availability, multi-million dollar computer systems running. There, too, he earned the highest annual income of his lifetime.

That work continued until Beryl Brubaker, then vice-president of enrollment at 91��Ƶ, contacted him to consider the role of information systems director at 91��Ƶ, where Rutt’s two children were then undergrads. Feeling called, Rutt took a substantial pay cut to come to a place in December 1999 where stability was needed – he would be the third IS director in as many years.

The changes in 91��Ƶ’s information systems since 1999 have been extensive. Computer technology now claims about 5% of 91��Ƶ’s total budget. Key markers: the staff nearly doubled in size under Rutt’s leadership; about every seven years, the core networking infrastructure has been replaced; its student information system was converted in 2007-09 to a new operating platform.

In May 2014, Rutt handed over his departmental leadership to someone he had trained, Ben Beachy ’02 and stepped into a pre-retirement role of doing project management and communications facilitation for 91��Ƶ’s building renovations.

Rutt is married to Gloria Short Rutt ’72, a schoolteacher for much of their married life. Their children are Eric Rutt ’01��Ի��Megan Rutt Rosenwink ’02.

From local threesome to national Jenzabar

Steve Shenk — Thu, 01 Jan 2015 18:30:43 +0000

It all started in a corner of 91��Ƶ’s old administration building in 1980. Two employees began tinkering – on their own time − with ways for colleges and universities to manage their administrative affairs with a new technology called computers.

The employees – Dwight Wyse ‘68, the school’s director of business affairs, and Mark Shank, director of computer services − cobbled together a company they called Computer Management and Development Services (CMDS). Their first client was 91��Ƶ; their first employee was Harvey Mast ‘80.

Mast, who shared with another student the distinction of being 91��Ƶ’s first computer majors, recalls one of his first computer classes: “We built a very simple computer out of a Heathkit package and inputted information with an eight-button keyboard, one 8-bit character at a time.”

CMDS soon moved to a farmhouse on Virginia Avenue, which was eventually torn down to make room for the expansion of Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC). In 1983 CMDS moved to a house next to Miller Cabinet Shop at the southwest edge of town and in 1986 to an office building on Virginia Avenue north of VMRC.

The company grew to 160 employees, providing software and services to nearly 300 customers in 45 states. CMDS became one of the nation’s leading developers of administrative software for colleges and universities, serving the offices of admissions, registration, alumni, development, financial aid and accounting. Its best-known software was TEAMS.

In 1999 CMDS built an imposing corporate office building, designed by architects LeRoy Troyer and Randy Seitz, on Technology Drive off Mt. Clinton Pike near North Main Street (U.S. Route 11).

In 2000 CMDS made the momentous decision to be acquired by a new Boston company named Jenzabar. Jenzabar also acquired three of CMDS’s competitors – Campus America of Knoxville, CARS of Cincinnati and Quodata of Hartford. CMDS and two of the other companies maintained their own buildings.

After the merger, there was a period of significant employee turnover. A number of the key players in CMDS, including Wyse, left or were laid off. The imposing CMDS building was now too big, and Jenzabar moved its Harrisonburg offices to the headquarters of a former technology firm nearby at 1401 Technology Dr.

Jenzabar supports more than 1,000 campuses in the United States and around the world. Some 20% of all U.S. colleges and universities use Jenzabar software. Among them is 91��Ƶ.

“The core product 91��Ƶ uses today is Jenzabar EX, the flagship student information system sold by Jenzabar,” said Jack Rutt ’72, 91��Ƶ’s director of information systems from 1999 until last summer. “Several other systems which supplement the functionality of EX have been added over the years, including My91��Ƶ and a retention management system.”

��Ben Beachy ’02, MBA ’09, Rutt’s successor at 91��Ƶ: “A longstanding rumor in our department is that 91��Ƶ was customer number one of CMDS, but I’ve never seen the actual database record to verify that.”

Today, 35 years after the founding of CMDS, Shank and Mast are still with the company. Fifteen 91��Ƶ alumni work for Jenzabar. 91��Ƶ half of them pre-date the merger. One of them, Mark Showalter ’91, joined the day – May 1, 2000 − that the merger was announced.

The alumni at Jenzabar, in addition to Mast and Showalter, are: Lois Ann Handrich ’67;��Don Bomberger ’72;��Dale Hartzler ’85, MDiv. ’08;��Brian Boettger ’86, S ’88, ’91;��Mike Engle ’87;��Mark Deavers ’89;��Mike Weaver ’90;��Robert Ranck ’90;��Dale Hess ’92;��Derek Christner ’97;��Eric Weaver ’02;��Mark Horst ’05; and Jessie Groeneweg ’07.

As renovations proceed, Suter Science Center throws some curveballs

Andrew Jenner — Mon, 10 Nov 2014 14:46:56 +0000

The third time was indeed the charm when construction crews dug down to find the water main outside the . The first time, they’d turned up what appeared to be a small, abandoned gas line. The second excavation also missed the 6-inch water main that feeds the sprinkler system in the renovated building. The next time, finally, with the help of city utility workers, they got it.

“We would like to think that you don’t have these surprises, but that doesn’t always happen,” said , who works on special projects for the provost and is a member of the science center renovation management team. “You have to have a sense of humor about it, or it can really drive you crazy.”

The confusion over the precise location of the underground pipe arose, at least in part, from the sometimes-fuzzy nature of the diagrams and documents of the water and sewer system that was once maintained by the Park View Sanitary District in the days when 91��Ƶ sat outside the Harrisonburg city limits (it was annexed into the city in 1983). It’s a lesson that’s been learned over the years in the course of other projects on campus.

Some uncertainty is usually part of any dig like this, said Ed Roach, utility coordinator for Harrisonburg. Sometimes real-world conditions force construction crews to deviate from the plans, and sometimes record of this does not make its way back to the file cabinet, and a few decades later, people are left scratching their heads.

Navigating around old buried conduits

After discovering the missing water main, crews began running a trench and new pipe from Park Road toward the science center. They went slowly and carefully, so as not to disturb the underground cables that crisscross the area just beneath the surface. Over the years, new things are buried in the ground; it’s rarely worth the expense to remove older generations of pipe and conduit, though. The dirt starts to get crowded after a while.

Partway between the street and the building, workers encountered some very hard rock used as fill around one of these conduits. It was too hard to break up by hand (one reason why construction standards no longer call for this hard-fill technique). In came the backhoe and careful though the operator was, the conduit was broken and a cable ripped out.

“There are always snags everywhere,” said Phil Reece, job superintendent with , the company overseeing the renovations. “You don’t know what you’re going to run into in a remodel.”

But in this overall bad-luck cable scenario (a literal “snag,” if you will), there was a stroke of good luck. The affected bit of infrastructure was an unused TV cable. A fiber optic cable that brings the internet to the science center – as well as the entire Eastern Mennonite High School campus a bit further down the hill – was also in that same conduit but emerged unscathed.

Working with an eye to the future

It’s all in a day’s work as progress marches on at the science center. There have been other twists, some big, some small. More surprise conduit was uncovered inside the walls of SC 104, the famous “head room.” It wasn’t shown on any drawings.

When the expected unexpected turns up, those involved usually try to get to the bottom of everything. But:

“Once in a while you just have to throw up your hands and say, ‘Well, we really don’t understand why they did things a certain way,’” said , assistant director of the physical plant.

All of this gives Lehman, Rutt, and others encouragement to document every quirk and twist in the new construction as best they can, for the benefit of whoever’s around the next time the science center’s due for an upgrade – which they expect to be a long time from now.

“I believe that we’re proceeding with this project in such a way that it will be a while again before it needs this type of renovation,” said Lehman.

View the latest from the Suter Science Center

$2.2 million renovation of Roselawn now complete, offering pleasant office, class and interaction spaces

Kara Lofton — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 20:12:25 +0000

After more than six months of intensive construction work and a $2.2 million investment, the Roselawn renovation project at 91��Ƶ is complete. The former residence hall now houses departmental offices and several more classrooms on the revamped second and third floor. Its first floor, remodeled in 2012, continues to house the Intensive English Program.

“We’ve been able to replace under-utilized space with well-utilized space, develop classrooms that would accommodate bigger classes, and create a better working environment for faculty,” said vice president for finance .

In recent years, 91��Ƶ’s growth called for more classrooms and consolidation of office space. Various academic departments occupied available space across campus, usually in former homes acquired by the university. The faculty who occupied these houses often felt disconnected from the greater community, according to , who provides special projects support for the provost’s office. One goal of the renovation, then, was to consolidate scattered faculty and provide more opportunities for interdepartmental communication and collaboration.

That goal was first met on two consecutive Saturdays in September, when an interdisciplinary group of volunteers and faculty members began the move-in process.

The , , and departments were the first of the five academic departments to occupy Roselawn; and soon followed.

During the lunch break on that first move-in day, faculty and volunteers gathered in one of the new office spaces to share a meal. For Bible and religion instructor , the value of the move was reflected in this small experience of breaking bread with faculty she had occasionally seen in past semesters.

“It is fun to have a sense of collegiality,” said Schrock-Hurst, whose office was previously located across campus in Blosser House. Being in Roselawn “helps me to feel part of the bigger picture.”

Although university planners considered several ideas for occupants of the new space (including moving the advancement division into Roselawn), they settled upon allocating the space to academic departments with a natural “synergy,” said Bert, the vice president who monitors construction and renovation projects.

Bert is also one of the supervisors of the much bigger across campus. Undergoing two major renovations at the same time was not ideal, Bert said, but neither was leaving Roselawn mostly unused for another couple of years. The project reached completion on a very tight schedule – almost entirely over the summer of 2014.

Built in 1969, Roselawn began as a women’s residence hall. Until the mid-1980s, it was considered one of the “nicer” dorms, said vice president , who was a community assistant there from 1985 to 1986.

By 2011, when the dorm ceased to be used for residence life, it desperately needed renovation and was considered the most undesirable on-campus housing option, said Smeltzer.

In 2012, 91��Ƶ revamped the first floor of Roselawn for occupancy by the rapidly growing , which moved from its former cramped location in a small house near the seminary building.

91��Ƶ leadership, in tandem with contractors, paid special attention to energy and design principles that would make Roselawn as sustainable as possible, as has been done for all recent 91��Ƶ buildings and renovations.

View more photos of the renovated Roselawn through

Jack Rutt Archives - 91����Ƶ News

Celebrating Service: Special projects manager Jack Rutt keeps his finger on 91����Ƶ’s pulse, but with a bit more time off