On Sept. 17, President Wubah announced that Victor Ramos, vice president for advancement, will retire in November. Ramos has spent more than 30 years working in higher education. He spent much of his career working for his alma mater, St. John’s University in Queen, New York. Ramos moved to Pennsylvania in 2014 for the position of vice president for the HACC Lancaster and Lebanon locations. In 2019 Ramos was hired as vice president for advancement and spent the last seven years of his career in higher education at Millersville University.
Throughout his work at Millerville, Ramos hopes to have created strong traditions that will continue after his retirement. He is proud of his work with the Presidential Gala and Cygnus Society. Ramos and his colleague Dr. Mary Beth Williams presented the idea for the Cygnus Society five years ago to provide 12 promising students with the chance to be ambassadors for the university. Ramos and Williams created the Cygnus Society with the goal of preparing students for the professional world. “I really enjoyed providing those professional development trainings along with my colleague Dr. Mary Beth Williams,” Ramos said. “As well as interacting with them at many different events and providing hopefully some professional guidance that they can use in the future.”
Ramos was also eager to share his work with the Fiat Lux Society. In 2022, Ramos and his team noticed that there was a fair number of people donating seven-figure gifts to the university. Ramos wanted to create something to bring those major donors together on a regular basis. The Fiat Lux Society was created as a group for anyone who has committed $1 million or more to the university. Since 2022, Ramos and his team have held annual events for the society to offer continual support and thank members for their generosity.
As Ramos inches closer to retirement he admits he has had a lot of time to reflect on his career and his time at Millersville. One of his favorite memories from working at Millersville has been the Celebrate Scholars event held every fall semester. Celebrate Scholars connects donors with their scholarship recipients. “What makes that so special is hearing the student’s story of how the scholarship impacts their life here at Millersville,” Ramos said. “You can see a certain magic when a donor meets their scholarship recipient.” Ramos is proud to say that Celebrate Scholars continues to grow every year. This year he expects such a large turnout that the event has been moved to a larger venue. Watching scholarship donors and students build connections has been a highlight of his time at Millersville University.
During his time at Millersville Ramos has had the pleasure of working with students and alumni. His final piece of advice to current Millersville students is to increase and leverage their networks. He encourages students to stay connected to fellow graduates and their alma mater. “At the end of the day you never know who the next hiring manager might be across the seat from you,”
Ramos believes that Millersville is a special place. The community built between students, faculty, and staff is something he is proud to have been a part of. Through his experience working at other institutions of higher education, Ramos explains that Millersville is a very connected campus and he hopes that students will continue to be involved with the university after they graduate. “I always like to say that Millersville hopefully is a home to you and with it being a home you’re always welcome back,” Ramos said.
During his retirement Ramos plans to focus on his health and reconnect with his family. He also admits that there will be some travel in his future. Although Ramos says that working in higher education keeps him young, after nearly 37 years he is ready for retirement. “He has been a valued member of the University’s leadership team and has worked with colleagues across the institution to support our students and strategic priorities,” said President Wubah.
The staff at The Snapper thanks Victor Ramos for all his hard work during his time at Millersville University and wishes him a happy retirement.
