In 1974, when Dr. Jack Ryder took over the presidency of then Saginaw Valley College, the pine trees along the Fox Drive were barely knee high, and the nearly 2,000 students and faculty of this tiny college were divided over issues of governance, ethnic representation and academic focus.

When Dr. Sam Marble retired Saginaw Valley was in the market for a new President. The candidate ideally would posses abilities that included according to Charles Curtiss, chair of the Board of Control. "The ability to work effectively with the state legislature, high integrity, a good understanding of the tri-county area, a believer in academic freedom, responsiveness to minorities, strong public relations skills and a sensitivity to the purpose of the college."

In Dr. Jack Ryder, Saginaw Valley found a leader who, with a varying degree of success, fulfilled all those requirement and added some strengths of his own to the list. His first few months on campus weren't particularly easy. Dr. Ryder's inaugural speech was accompanied by picketers hoping to retain Dr. Hanos Wenek and the Polish Institute. Ryder's first few days in the president's office were marked by a furious student who demanded payment for an expensive leather coat that had been ruined by a smoke bomb tossed into his classroom. In addition to the day-to-day frictions of running a college, Dr. Ryder had to overcome some unique problems, Saginaw Valley suffered from a sagging image among legislators and local residents.

According to past House Minority Leader J. Michael Busch, "Before Ryder, SVSC has a great deal of problem's with credibility." Dr. Ryder went to Lansing and listened to the complaints. He felt some complaints were warranted. Other complaints were "pretty much just posturing. Politicians doing what they do. But, I had a commitment to SVC, as it was called then, and was very much up front about it."

The key to Dr, Ryder's commitment to SVSU lies in his vision of the schools mission. When he accepted the President's job in 1974, he knew that the needs of all students would have to be met-traditional students, transfers, part-time students and students returning to ease a job transition or to seek a new career. Compound that with an approaching recession and the stop in state funding to education that usually accompanies tight fiscal belt tightening, and a very complex picture emerged. "We had a chance to break ground here, to accomplish some goals that could help this school meet the needs of a very diverse population. I was looking forward to the challenge." Ryder was more then qualified to meet the challenge.

After spending two years in Navy, he graduated from MSU with a degree in biology, and then spent two years teaching in Greece to fulfill part of his graduate degree. He earned his MA in school administration and Doctorate in educational administration, both from MSU. For a man with some enthusiasm for foreign travel, Ryder has generally worked in the Midwest, serving as s superintendent on the Brady School District and in Cassopolis. While serving as a superintendent, he convinced voters to pass a 1.5 million dollar bond issue - "A miracle." According to Samuel Adams, quoted in the Saginaw News. Ryder worked as a assistant instructor at MSU before leaving for a job as assistant dean at Purdue. Immediately prior to his tenure at SVSU, he was working as a Dean and Director at Purdue's Indianapolis campus. Looking back over Dr. Ryder's tenure at Saginaw Valley, his commitment to growth for the university seems very obvious.

Source: The Valley Vanguard, August 11, 1989.

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