Ruth Love

RUTH B. LOVE is an educator’s educator; having worked at all levels of education: local, state and federal. Dr. Love began her career as a teacher and has held positions of counselor, consultant, and administrator. At the CA State Department of Education, she became the youngest Bureau Chief in the department’s history. There, she organized and led a group of professionals in providing services and technical assistance to the 1100 school district in California. Under her leadership, the bureau’s staff developed program guidelines, implementation procedures and ways to improve basic skills for underachieving students. Dr. Love also championed the involvement of parents and community in the education of their children. 

The Federal Office of Education took note of California’s plans and programs and infused them into federal or national guidelines and requirement. Subsequently, Dr. Love was recruited and eventually persuaded to join the federal office to lead the National Right to Read Program.

Again, she was recruited to become the Superintendent of Schools in Oakland Unified School District. She remained in that position for some 6 ¾ years. Her proudest accomplishment was when the students reached the national norms on standardized tests. With no plans to leave, she was recruited for some time by the Board of Education in Chicago, After a year and a half, she finally accepted the position to the objection of Oakland’s school board and the community. In Chicago, her approach and devotion to educational excellence resulted in the average 500,000 students reaching the national norms. In Chicago, she faced the usual politics, but won the support of parents and the business community. Her budget of $2 billion was increased by special funds from corporations as they adopted schools within the vast school district.

When Dr. Love returned to the Bay area, she became a university professor . Currently, she teaches in a doctorate program at the University of California, Berkeley, preparing urban superintendents. In her own consulting company, RBL Enterprises conducts searches for superintendents nationally and works with troubled school districts. Dr. Love has an earned Ph.D., but has received about one dozen honorary doctorates. She has written several books and numerous articles and is currently writing a book about what works in urban schools. She speaks at national and international conferences and advises Ministers of Education in African countries. She has received hundreds of awards and citations and has served in various commissions for five U.S. presidents. Her hometown has named a county library in her honor. Dr. Love has traveled extensively, around the world twice and on every continent with the exception of Antarctica. Dr. Love has adopted villages and schools in Africa and ships containers of books and schools supplies to the continent. She continues to work in the community and raises funds of low income high school students to attend universities. She serves on national, state and local boards of directors. Recently, she was elected to serve as a representative from the Diaspora to the African Union.