In Memoriam: Ruth Schildhouse, Columbus International Program Founder

We are saddened to share the passing of Ruth Schildhouse, who died peacefully on October 29, 2020. Ruth and her husband Burt were the founders of the Columbus International Program (CIP) which merged into US Together in 2017 to become the International Program of US Together.

Ruth was born in Columbus, Ohio, on October 29, 1927. She was a graduate of Columbus’s University High School (1945), The Ohio State University College of Social Work (1949) and The Mandel School of Social Work at Case Western Reserve University (1952). After holding various positions in her chosen field of social work, in 1972 Ruth became the first Executive Director of the Columbus International Program, which she led until her retirement in 1999.

US Together Co-Founder and Director Nadia Kasvin receiving a Schildhouse grant at CIP's 40th Anniversary Celebration (2010). Bottom left to right: Julie Jacobson, Ruth Schildhouse, Burt Schildhouse.

Ruth’s lifelong objective was to promote international understanding and world peace, one person at a time. The Schildhouse family was the first to become a host family to international youth when the Cleveland International Program expanded to Columbus in 1960. Ruth was appointed Executive Director of the Columbus Chapter and ran the program out of her home. The dining room table was her office. She envisioned the program as an international exchange that would benefit both visiting professionals and the Columbus community. Ruth extended the program from a summer experience to a year-long exchange with the support of host families, employment for the international visitors, and personal service contracts from the state to provide stipends to all the participants. CIP was the only international exchange program of its kind to receive state funding. During her time at the helm of CIP, Ruth brought over 550 international participants to Columbus to both share their knowledge with and learn from local agencies. Ruth’s work brought a global perspective to the agencies as well as to the local families who hosted them.

Ruth Schildhouse (center) and US Together's Founders present a check to leaders of the Columbus Youth Guild during US Together's 2019 Open House.

Picture credit: Margaret W. Wong Associates LLC

After their retirement, Burt and Ruth Schildhouse continued to support the Columbus International Program through the Schildhouse Founders Fund.  The Fund enhanced international understanding, cultural exchange, cultural inclusion and any activity that creates relationships between Americans and people from other countries.  Throughout the years, the Fund sponsored local community organizations to led activities promoting CIP’s values. Former grant recipients include: Engineers without Borders (The Ohio State University College of Engineering), Center for Somali Women's Advancement, Girl Up Columbus, Role Model Magazine, Medicine for Mali, Libraries for Liberia Foundation, Columbus International High School, United Columbus Sister Cities International, Inc., Horn of Africa Rescue Committee, The Ohio Supreme Court, Children Helping Children, and others. US Together sustained the Schildhouse Founders Fund's tradition by distributing small grants to Columbus grassroots organizations in 2018 and 2019.

Education, politics and civic involvement also mattered to Ruth. She was appointed to the State Board of Education by Governor John Gilligan and then elected to continue a ten-year term. Ruth was active in the Columbus Metropolitan League of Women Voters, serving as president from 1970-1974. Hers was one of the featured stories in the 2015 documentary, “Light Undimmed: Stories from the League of Women Voters of Metro Columbus.” Other community positions to which she was appointed include the Ohio Youth Advisory Commission, the first Board of Central Ohio Transportation Authority (COTA), the Ohio Urban Education Coalition, and, in her younger years, one of five youth representatives to the Mid-Century Planning Committee for the White House Conference on Children and Youth.

You can read Ruth’s obituary on Epstein Funeral Home webpage.