Biographical / Historical
Ruth Burt Ekstrom was born Ruth Elizabeth Burt on July 2, 1931, a single child raised by her parents and maternal grandfather in Bennington, Vermont. She graduated from Pembroke College in Brown University in 1953 with her A.B. in psychology. She later earned a master's and PhD in educational psychology from Rutgers University in the early 1960s.
In 1957, Ruth Ekstrom married Lincoln Ekstrom, Brown University class of 1953, who was a chemist and environmental scientist. The two moved to Princeton, New Jersey where Lincoln Ekstrom accepted a job at RCA Laboratories. Ruth Ekstrom took the opportunity to pursue her dream of working for the Education Testing Service where she enjoyed a successful four-decade career conducting research on assessments of human talents and experiential learning. She retired from the Educational Testing Service in the 1990s.
Throughout her career and volunteer life, Ruth Ekstrom remained committed to Brown University as an active alumna and fundraiser, becoming an early woman elected to Brown University's Corporation in approximately 1972. She served as a Trustee, Fellow, and finally Secretary from 1982-1988. Ekstrom dedicated her work on the Corporation to increasing the acceptance of women serving there; women's involvement with Brown University leadership overall, and to the advancement of women, minorities, and people with disabilities, in education.