On April 6, 2005, Bill Shumway, Director of Development at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), and Walter Cicha, Chairman of the David T. Ryan Memorial Committee, made an official announcement to the media that the David T. Ryan Scholarship Fund has been established at RPI. The fund, which presently holds $21,000, will be used to award annual $5000 David T. Ryan Merit Awards to exceptional RPI students in Science or Engineering. It is hoped that the students’ accomplishments will honor the memory of David Ryan, who was a highly gifted GE Magnet Physicist, formerly the top student in his Physics graduating class at Oxford University, and an exceptional cyclist.

The Scholarship Fund was made possible by the highly publicized “David T. Ryan Ride for Safety Awareness,” a fundraising event in celebration of David’s life which took place on October 9, 2004 in Schenectady, Saratoga and Albany counties. Over 250 registered cyclists rode either 10 or 30 miles along the Mohawk River, on roads and on the Mohawk-Hudson bike path, with one TV commentator dubbing it the “Tour de France Niskayuna.” In addition to each rider donating at least $10 and as much as $100 dollars, many other individuals and corporate sponsors generously donated, with David’s parents and the General Electric Company leading the way.

It is hoped that people will continue to donate to the David T. Ryan Scholarship Fund at RPI. Checks made payable to the “Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute,” with David T. Ryan Scholarship stated as a memo, should be sent to:

Bill Shumway
Director of Development
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy Building – 4017
110-8th Street
Troy, New York 12180-3590

The David T. Ryan Memorial Committee and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute thank you for your generous support!

David T. Ryan Scholarship Fund Update (8/31/2013)

Thank you for your email regarding the David T. Ryan Scholarship.  We really applaud your efforts to honor your friend and support our Rensselaer students. To date, there have been two recipients of the scholarship; each received it for multiple years:

The first recipient was Jeffrey Martin ’07, Ph.D. ’10, from Boylston, MA.  Jeffrey graduated with his B.S and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Carolyn Caruso ’11, from Bristol, RI, was the last recipient.  Carolyn graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering.

With regard to the website, I would like to request that the address to send donations be updated to the following:

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Gifts Processing Center
P.O. Box 3164
Boston, MA   02241-3164

Please have donors indicate that their donation is for the David T. Ryan Merit Scholarship.  We were alerted to watch for funds to come in for the ride that was held at the end of June, but have not received anything yet. I also wanted to let you know Bill Shumway is no longer with Rensselaer.

Again, thank you for your generous efforts to support our students at Rensselaer.  Please let me know if you have any additional questions.

Have a nice weekend,
Marianne

Marianne Senneca
Donor Relations Officer
Institute Advancement
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
110 8th Street
Troy, NY  12180
Direct: 518.276.8545