The Ruth and Robert White Scholarship

The Ruth and Robert White Scholarship is awarded to promising students who have demonstrated academic achievement and a commitment to pursuing a degree or certificate at Berkshire Community College. Recipients of this award are making satisfactory academic progress as they work towards their degree. This scholarship was endowed with a bequest from Robert S.and Ruth Elizabeth Clark White, community minded individuals who were longtime residents of Pittsfield, Massachusetts..

Mr. White was originally from Schenectady, New York and Mrs. White was from Scotia, New York. They married on May 28, 1949 in Scotia, New York at the Methodist Church, later moving to Pittsfield, Massachusetts. They were longtime members of the First United Methodist Church of Pittsfield, Massachusetts.

Robert was born May 15, 1921 in Schenectady, New York. Mr. White attended schools in Schenectady, New York and was a 1944 graduate of Union College in Schenectady. He joined the U.S Army as a T4 Instructor with Afwespac (Armed Forces Western Pacific (Manila)). He served as an instructor in the Morse Code Radio Communications Program. After the Army, he went on to work for General Electric Company in Schenectady, NY, Utica, NY and in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. He spent most of his working career in Pittsfield. He retired May 28, 1983 from the Pittsfield Ordinance Plant where he was Material Repair and Disposition Planner. He was a member of I.E.E.E. Electrical Engineer ’s Society. Robert Stanley White passed away in 2012 at the age of 90.

Ruth White was born December 19, 1923. Her hometown was Scotia, New York. Mrs. White attended both Pennsylvania State University and the School For Social Work at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She worked as a social worker in Albany, New York in her early working career, but, after moving to Pittsfield, worked as a Librarian at the Berkshire Athenaeum in Pittsfield until her retirement. Mrs. White volunteered for Pittsfield Beautiful and The Whites could be seen watering and tending the flowers around City Hall. Following her move to Kimball Farms in Lenox, she remained active through her 98th birthday. She and passed away on February 19, 2022.