CLASS
NOTES
20
TOWER
|
Winter 2013
recalled. “Gladys worked on The Keystonia. We went out for
coffee. After our second date, I told my roommate ‘I’m going
to marry that girl.’”
As editor of The Keystone, Horvath reported on the sweeping
push for Pennsylvania to provide more resources for teacher
education institutions. In 1960, his graduation year, he saw
the transformation of Kutztown State Teachers College to
Kutztown State College. In 1983, he rejoiced when KU achieved
university status.
“Institutions around the state have really prospered as
universities, as exemplified by KU,” he said. “KU was relatively
small; there were only 900 students when I graduated. There
was an excellent faculty, particularly in English, and I got to
know a lot of people. They all had a positive impact on my life.”
Although his path took him from the classroom to administra-
tion, Horvath never gave up on his first love — teaching.
“I’ve always enjoyed being in the classroom,” he said. “The
students I met were truly inspirational. One woman was 86 years
old when she graduated from JCTC in 1983! She had a straight
‘A’ grade point average, never missed a class and graduated
first in her class. When she walked across the stage, 100 of her
closest friends were shouting for her. I joined in.”
Horvath and Gladys have endowed the Dr. Ronald J. and
Gladys (Albright) Horvath Scholarship at KU, which provides
scholarship assistance to the editors-in-chief of The Keystone
Newspaper and The Keystonia Yearbook — an homage to
the story of their love.
“My favorite memories are
of being with Gladys at KU,”
Horvath reminisced. “A sacred
part of me says that with-
out KU, I never would
have met her, and my
life just wouldn’t have
been the same.”
When
DR. RONALD HORVATH ’60, M ’66
retired as the president
of Jefferson Community and Technical College (JCTC), located
in Louisville, Ky., he left a legacy of excellence. During his
20-year tenure, from 1975 to 1995, Horvath was named one of
the top 50 community college leaders in the nation and JCTC
was ranked second on
a list of America’s best
community colleges.
If you ask him about
the secret of his success,
he’ll tell you it was the
people around him.
“I had such wonderful,
talented people working
with me and for me,”
Horvath explained. “I
always tried to involve
faculty in any direction
the college would take
and, most importantly,
I was willing to listen
to them. The faculty
at JCTC set an excellent
example for the students. Their commitment to students
reminded me of the professors I had at KU.”
Horvath credits the trajectory of his successful career to
serendipity — he always happened to be in the right place at
the right time.
A love for English led him to obtain his bachelor’s degree in
English at Kutztown, and a talent for teaching made pursuing a
master’s degree in education the next logical step. Horvath
taught for seven years at Parkland High School before moving
on to become an assistant professor and administrator at
Lehigh County Community College. In 1973, after he received
an Ed.D. in educational administration from Lehigh University,
the sky was the limit. His credentials earned him
a position as Vice President for Academic Affairs
at Broome Community College (N.Y.), where he
was also acting president (in 1975), and launched
his career as a visionary leader at JCTC.
“An accumulation of experiences has led me
wherever I wanted to go,” Horvath revealed.
“I’ve enjoyed my career immensely and made
lots of friends along the way. I’ll always appreci-
ate the support I received from faculty and
colleagues — I learned a lot from them.”
Serendipity led Horvath to his wife,
GLADYS
(ALBRIGHT) HORVATH ’62, M ’72
.
“I was editor-in-chief of The Keystone,” he
Dr. Ronald Horvath: A Leader in Education
“There was an excellent
faculty [at KU] ...
They all had a positive
impact on my life.”
—DR. RONALD HORVATH ’60, M ’66
Dr. Ronald Horvath (far right) during Family
Day 1975, his first year as president of Jefferson
Community and Technical College.
COURTESY OF JEFFERSON COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE
