Ralph Roop receives university's 2003 Ruffner Medal
By Meredith Trotter,
University Relations intern
In honor of his invaluable service to the Virginia Tech Foundation and to the university, the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors has awarded Ralph G. Roop the 2003 William H. Ruffner Medal, the university's highest honor.
For a number of years, Roop has generously supported the programs of the Virginia Tech Foundation, including University Priorities, Alumni Programs, Athletics, and the establishment of a scholarship and fellowship in the College of Human Resources and Education.
"The Board of Directors of the Virginia Tech Foundation has described him as 'an example and inspiration to the entire university community,'" President Charles W. Steger said, "and that is why we are pleased to honor Ralph Roop here today with the Ruffner Medal."
A Tech alumnus, Roop was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honorary Society and received a B.S. in agricultural economics in 1936. Upon graduation he attended Cornell University and received an M.S. in the same discipline in 1937.
From 1937 to 1966, Roop worked for the Southern States Cooperative and held various positions in Baltimore and Richmond, last serving as director of the Petroleum Division.
The founder of Petroleum Marketers Inc, he served as chairman of the board and CEO of the company from 1954 until his retirement in 1987. He remains on the company's Board of Directors and Executive Committee and is currently a special consultant. Petroleum Marketers, Inc. is now one of the largest petroleum distributors in the south.
Ralph Roop and his wife Inez Graybeal Roop are both charter members of the Ut Prosim Society and the Legacy Society. Roop has served as a director and member of the Audit Committee of the Virginia Tech Foundation, a member of the AC Honorary Campaign Committee, Hokies for Higher Education and the Major and Planned Gifts Committee.
He is the former director and president of the Virginia Petroleum Industries Committee, is a former member of the Virginia Oil Men's Association, and is the past director of the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, the Jefferson National Bank Board, Texas City Refining, the Downtown Kiwanis Club and Wilson Inn, the Bethlehem Center, and Richmond & Westview on-the-James.
Roop is currently a trustee of Virginia Wesleyan College, director and member of the Investment Committee for the Suhor-Graham Foundation, director and chairman of the Investment Committee Foundation and United Methodist Foundation, and director and president of the Inra Foundation in Richmond.