As he prepares to retire from Mary Washington College, an unknowing trailblazer who was the first Black male student to move into campus dorms in 1977 is being honored.
It's like going around campus with a big-name superstar when Cedric Rucker is with you. Everyone recognizes him, hears his booming laugh, and wants to take pictures with him, especially during this weekend's alumni reunion.At 1977, as a youngster from Richmond, he was the first to arrive in his freshman dorm.
He didn't realize he was the first Black man to live in a residence hall until later that day.
"I stood there for the remainder of the day, watching as the hall filled up and no one looked anything like me. "No one," he stated emphatically. "I cried that night."
He said he quickly pushed himself into student activities after his mother's guidance, ran for office and losing but meeting hundreds of people in the process.
"Even though I lost, students approached me and invited me to events, clubs, and organizations," he stated. "Mary Washington became mine at that point."
In 1989, Rucker returned to Mary Washington as associate dean, then associate vice president and dean of student life.He left his imprint on the world once more.
"Even strolling down campus walk, I'd make sure I said hello to every single student I saw, because I wanted them to feel like this was their home," Rucker explained.
He stated, "My guiding purpose was to ensure that Mary Washington fulfilled the requirements of all of its students."
It meant dressing up as Winnie the Pooh and handing out candy and hugs on some days.
"Your first day here is overwhelming, insane, and then Cedric comes up to you with a smile and a hug, and you're like, OK, I can be here." It's perfectly acceptable. April Tofanelli, Class of 1996, stated, "Everything will be OK."
As Rucker steps down, the Cedric Rucker University Center will be renamed in his honor.
President Troy Paino stated, "I think what Cedric has meant to Mary Washington is kind of the best of us."
Rucker cried again, just like he had on his first day at Mary Washington.
"I'm a kid from inner-city Richmond, a child of segregation, and now one of the most prominent buildings on this campus will retain my family's name for the rest of my life," he added. "Wow, that's really impressive."
Rucker has major retirement plans in the works. He applied for the Peace Corps and was accepted.
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