Penn State Alum and Advisory Board Member To Address Graduates

Richard K. Struthers, Penn State alumnus and Penn State Wilkes-Barre Advisory Board member, will address graduates at the Penn State Wilkes-Barre commencement ceremony Saturday, May 10 at 10:00 a.m. in the campus' Athletic and Recreation Building.

Ric Struthers is the current president of Ashford Point Enterprises, a financial services consulting company in Wilmington, DE. Prior to starting Ashford Point, Mr. Struthers served as president of Global Card Services of Bank of America Corporation from January 1, 2009 to April 2010. Before assuming that role, Mr. Struthers held several executive roles with Bank of America in Consumer Risk and the Credit Card Company.

Mr. Struthers has 33 years of experience in consumer lending and was a founding member of the management team of MBNA America, which was the world's largest affinity consumer lending company before being sold to Bank of America in 2006. The company had grown since its inception in 1982 from 150 people and $100 million in assets to 25,000 people and $125 billion in assets.

While at MBNA, he held several management positions overseeing most of the major operating divisions including Credit, Customer Satisfaction, Fraud and Marketing. He served as chairman of MBNA Canada, MBNA Europe, and MBNA Delaware and was responsible for the International, Small Business and Consumer Finance divisions along with Portfolio Acquisitions from January 2002 to January 2006.

Active in civic affairs, Mr. Struthers is a past director of Emmaus House, an organization that provides shelter for the homeless.  He is a member and past chair of the Delaware Chamber of Commerce. He is also a member of Penn State's Smeal School of Business Board and past chair of their Board of Visitors. Mr. Struthers currently sits on the Executive Committee for Penn State's For the Future capital campaign. Ric is also a member of the Penn State Wilkes-Barre Advisory Board.

Mr. Struthers has been a member since 2011 of the Board of Directors of Dover Downs Motorsports and Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment. He is also a member of the American Express FSB Board since 2013. Mr. Struthers has a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Penn State University and is also a graduate of the Retail School of Banking at the University of Virginia.

In the Spring of 2012, Ric, along with his wife Sharon, pledged a $1 million gift to Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Their gift matched 50 percent of the cost to build and furnish the new Struthers Family Career Services Center, up to a total commitment of $500,000. The remainder of their commitment was split, with $250,000 going to create the Struthers Family Trustee Scholarship supporting students at Penn State Wilkes-Barre with need. The additional $250,000 went into an endowment by the Struthers Family, annually supporting the operational expenses of the new Career Services Center. The Struthers Family Career Services Center opened in the fall of 2013.