Uncommon Success of Charter Schools CEO Peter Ruppert '86 Noted

July 30, 2002

July 30, 2002, Greencastle, Ind. - You're not at a plant making widgets -- you're hearing exciting stories from teachers and parents about kids." That's what Peter G. Ruppert, president of National Heritage Academies and a 1986 graduate of DePauw University, tells the Grand Rapids Press in an article entitled "Back to School: Charter school president leaves his mark on education." The paper's Cameron Conant notes that Ruppert's "chance to make a mark on public education came five years ago, when an upstart charter-school company in Grand Rapids recruited him to serve as its president." In five years, Ruppert has grown the company from 4 schools to a total of 32 schools that serve more than 14,000 students in four states.

The article continues, "The Cincinnati native left his job as a president of Landmark Consulting Group, a strategic planning firm in Chicago, to join National Heritage Academies. Ruppert, who holds a bachelor's degree in economics from DePauw University and a master of business administration from Harvard Business School, said he is not daunted by the company's goal of building 200 elementary schools."

The 38-year-old Ruppert, whose wife Jessica (Lumsden) is also a member of DePauw's Class of 1986, says that before joining NHA, "I would read the newspapers and just shake my head that nothing more could be done to improve schools -- I had always looked at it from a distance and felt there had to be a way to improve public education." The DePauw alumnus adds, "I enjoy strategic planning -- the challenge of growing and constantly improving the business. And there's nothing I enjoy more than being out at the schools."

The entire article is accessible at the newspaper's Web site by clicking here. You can learn more about National Heritage Academies here.

Students in DePauw's Management Fellows program have benefited from internships at NHA, and Peter Ruppert has returned to campus as a lecturer. You can read more by clicking here. An Associated Press article notes that Inc. magazine placed NHA "first in Michigan and 19th nationally on its list of fastest-growing private companies from 1995 to 2000." You can read that article here.

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