Academic Centre
Roberts Rūsis was born on 5 September 1933 in Riga, the eldest son of attorney and faculty member Armīns Rūsis (1907–1987) and Margareta (née Šortmane) (passed away in 1981). He had a brother – Armīns Rūsis. In 1929, the father of Roberts, Armīns Rūsis, graduated from the University of Latvia, Faculty of Economics and Law, the Department of Law.
In the autumn of 1944, Rūsis family was forced to leave Riga and flee to Germany, where they settled with Margareta's parents in Werdau. In 1951, following an official invitation from the Lutheran Church in America, he travelled to the United States and settled in Washington. There, the church donated clothes, furniture and other necessities, as well as assisted in finding a job.
In 1961, R. Rūsis obtained his law degree from George Washington University. Throughout the years he worked in the insurance field as a lawyer and administrator. By his retirement in 1999, he had become the head of Legal Department at Chubb Insurance Company and was one of the executive directors.
Extensive information about the Rūsis family and attorneys of Latvia in Latvian language is available in the biographical dictionary released in 2007 "Latvijas advokatūra. Zvērināti advokāti un zvērinātu advokātu palīgi biogrāfijās 1919–1945" ("Latvian Bar Association. Attorneys at Law and Assistant Attorneys in Biographies 1919–1945"), compiled by Dr. hist. Ēriks Jēkabsons and Dr. hist. Valters Ščerbinskis.
All members of the Rūsis family actively participated in public life, unequivocally demonstrating patriotism and love of their nation.
Dagnija (1935), née Āboliņa, was awarded the Diploma of Mercy Nurse, graduating from St. Mary's School of Nursing, Saginaw, Michigan in 1957. She later earned a bachelor's degree from Jersey City State College and a master's degree from Seton Hall University, New Jersey. Raising two children (Armīns Kārlis (1963) and Nora Elizabete (1965)) did not prevent her from holding positions of responsibility at General Motors and Ford auto factories, hospital emergency departments. She also worked as a school nurse.
Dagnija and Roberts Rūsis wished to support the studies of the nurses in Latvia.
Dagnija believes that nurse's foremost duty is to take care of the patient. It should not be too difficult to "turn the pillow around" for patient to have a good sleep. The nurses are an integral part of the health system. If there is not a sufficient number of nurses to meet the needs of society, then the whole population suffers from it. It was our motivation to set up a scholarship fund to promote nursing studies in Latvia.”
Support
In 2017, the Rūsis Family Scholarship is established for UL Faculty of Medicine students specialising in nursing, and disbursement of this scholarship is scheduled to continue for 10 years. The donation was USD 50 000.
In 2019, Rūsis family donates EUR 4 302.09.
We greatly appreciate the generous support to education and development!
