Ruth
(Boles) Newton, is a native of St. Louis,
Missouri, and attended Vashon High School. Ruth was an outstanding student
at Vashon and co-captain of the girls swim team. Ruth enrolled at Lincoln
in September 1964 and decided to major in elementary education. While at
Lincoln, she came under the influence of her academic advisor, Mrs. Carolyn
Banner, who confirmed her desire to become an elementary school teacher and
a true "Bannerite". Ruth was active in the Student Government Association,
where she served as representative from both Bennett and Martin Halls, the
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, member of the University choir, the Pan Hellenic
Council and selected to the 1967-68 Who’s Who in American Colleges and
Universities. She was also selected as 1968 SGA “Woman of the Year”.
Ruth graduated from Lincoln in 1968 with a B.S. degree in
elementary education and was married that same year to fellow Lincolnite,
Robert Newton, from Fairfield, Alabama. Two weeks after their wedding, the
couple moved to Washington, DC where Ruth began her teaching career as a 3rd
grade elementary teacher in the District of Columbia, while husband, Robert
enrolled in Howard University Law School. In May 1974, Ruth received a
Masters Degree in early childhood education from George Washington
University in Washington, DC. Ruth, her husband and two infant sons moved
to Birmingham, Alabama, where her husband was engaged in a private law
practice until 1976. They returned to the Washington, DC area with a third
son, born in 1975.
Ruth returned to the work force as
Director of the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center/Greenbelt Child Day Care
Center in 1977. While at Goddard, she developed an exemplary cognitive
education program and supervised a staff of 5. She left Goddard after a
year to resume her motherhood duties. She and her family moved to Columbia,
Maryland in 1978. In 1980, she accepted a position as a library associate
in the Howard County Maryland Library system. Later that year, she was
awarded a National Education fellowship and earned a Masters Degree in
Library Science from the University of Maryland (College Park). Her
academic efforts earned her selection to the Omicron Delta Kappa Fraternity,
and selection to Beta Phi Mu, the library of science honor society.
Eligibility for membership in Beta Phi Mu is by invitation of the faculty
from an American Library Association accredited professional degree
program. Ruth has worked for the public library as a Reference Librarian,
Assistant Branch Manager and Branch Manager. Currently, Ruth is the branch
manager of the Charles E. Miller Branch of the Howard County Public Library
system where she manages a 350,000 materials collection and a staff of 46
persons.
Ruth is active in her church, Peace
Lutheran in Washington, DC, where she is coordinator of the greeters, a
member of the Unity Choir, and the drama ministry. She and her husband
became active with the DC Alumni chapter in 1988 and she has served on
various committees, as delegate to several national conventions, secretary
of the chapter and currently serves as President.
Ruth resides in Ellicott City, Howard
County, Maryland with her husband, Robert Newton. She is the mother of
three adult sons, Robert Wade and Reginald Alan, who reside in New York
City, and Ryan Wesley, who lives in Maryland.
