Ronald Byard Schram ’64

Ronald Byard Schram ’64 of Hingham, Massachusetts, passed peacefully on February 9. He grew up in Detroit, moving to nearby Grosse Point to attend high school, where he excelled in academics, football, basketball, and baseball. He came to Dartmouth, sight unseen, on the strength of a letter from Coach Bob Blackman that emphasized the College’s place, size, traditions, and educational opportunities in deference to football. Ron’s bond with Dartmouth was immediate and lifelong. Graduating magna cum laude in economics, Ron was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, Palaeopitus, Green Key, the Undergraduate Council, and Sphinx. He was president of Beta Theta Pi and the Interfraternity Council and a member of the varsity basketball and football teams, the latter of which achieved unprecedented back-to-back Ivy League titles. In 1966 Ron earned an M.A. in economics at Kings College Cambridge, then captained England’s entry in the World University Basketball Tournament in Israel. At the University of Michigan Law School, he completed three law degrees and met and married Carol Anderson, 53 years his wife. In 1970 Ron joined Boston law firm Ropes & Gray and founded the healthcare practice, which he led until his retirement in 2002. Specializing in complex nonprofit organizations, Ron was at the forefront of many innovative corporate merger and acquisition transactions that shaped the healthcare provider landscape in New England. Ron served 11 years as Dartmouth trustee. He is survived by daughters Laura ’94 and Alison ’97, Tu’02.