Susan Remmer Ryzewic: Honored Volunteer Gives Back with an Estate Gift to UNF
Susan Remmer Ryzewic has seen firsthand how a college education can transform lives. With the help of scholarships, her parents were able to earn undergraduate degrees, which then afforded Susan and her siblings many opportunities they otherwise never would have had. As a result, the children went on to earn college degrees and graduate debt-free.
"We now have a responsibility to give back and help others change their lives and those of future generations," she said. In 2008, Susan and her siblings established the Remmer Ryzewic Family Fund Scholarship, which she also supports through a bequest in her estate plan. Susan enjoys attending the annual First Generation and Endowed Scholarship Luncheon and hearing the students' stories about what a difference scholarships make in the lives of recipients.
"My family spent time identifying values and living their lives according to those values," said Susan, president and CEO of EHR Investments Inc. in Jacksonville and past president of the University of North Florida Foundation Board. "My work with UNF reflects three of my core values: the power of education, the obligation to develop and use your skills and social responsibility." During her tenure as board president, Susan's primary focus was to promote the role of board members as ambassadors for the University. "UNF makes a huge difference in the quality of life in Jacksonville," she said. "I believe that a strong university contributes to the local intellectual community in all aspects."
At the end of her term, Susan was presented with the Presidential Medallion, the highest honor the University awards to volunteers. She continues to serve on the Foundation Executive Committee, the Investment Committee, and the Governance Committee. Her service to UNF combines two key components of her life - investments and a way to stay involved in her former career in education.
Susan attended Wellesley College in Massachusetts and earned a doctorate in the sociology of education from the University of Chicago in 1981. She taught college for several years and worked for two banks in New York before moving to Florida in 1989.
