“A Good Way to Make a Better Future”

Ralph grew up in West Chester, Pennsylvania. While his father worked hard to support four children, there was not enough money left over for college. Thanks to a scholarship, Ralph was able to realize his dream: an Ivy League school in New York City.

For his first two years at Columbia, Ralph played on the football and wrestling teams and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity. During his last two years, he said, “academic demands and life at Sigma Chi took over.” 

His Columbia experience instilled a sense of confidence and pride, and the quality of his engineering courses—Columbia was among the first to make semi-conductors part of its curriculum—launched his career after graduation.

“My lucky star timing was instrumental in finding the perfect profession,” he told Columbia Engineering Magazine in 2022. “It was the dawn of micro-electronics, and I landed right at the beginning. Though I loved New York City life, my heart led me to pursue California opportunities.

“I arrived with no money and didn’t even have a car,” he continued. “I scrambled by living in the Sigma Chi fraternity at the University of Southern California.”

Ralph moved to Silicon Valley even before it was known by that name, working as a semi-conductor design engineer primarily in micro-processors for automotive and consumer goods and winning patents along the way.

“I had challenging jobs that spanned great design teams, multi-national companies, and start-ups,” he said. “I was exposed to many wonderful, smart people all across the globe. My career was wildly successful, financially and intellectually.” 

When he retired, Ralph and his wife, Patricia, moved to Evergreen, Colorado. They travel widely and enjoy spending time with their two sons, their daughters-in-law, and five grandchildren. He is a duplicate bridge Life Master and teaches classes locally. Every five years, Ralph and Pat travel back to campus for Reunion. “Retirement is a joy,” he said. “My current love is astrophotography. The sky is my playpen!”

Ralph made his first contribution to Columbia not long after graduation to help build a new stadium. In 2007, he joined the 1754 Society, and he served on his 45th Reunion committee. He is a member of the Columbia Engineering Dean’s List Leadership Society.

Grateful for the opportunities Columbia gave him, he established the Ralph Haines Scholarship Fund with contributions made primarily from his individual retirement account (IRA).

“I want to help support future generations of students,” he said. “I received a scholarship to go to Columbia. I could not have gone without it. And I like making a difference. Money spent on students is a good way to help make a better future.”