Ruric N. Roark was born at Greenville, Muhlenbery County, Kentucky, May 19, 1859. He was educated in the Greenville Academy and in the National Normal University at Lebanon, Ohio, where he graduated in 1881.

It was there that he met his wife, Mary Creeghan and they married in 1882. In 1885 they established the Glasgow Normal School at Glasgow, Kentucky where they remained for four years. At that time Ruric was selected as Dean of the Pedagogical Department of State University at Lexington, Kentucky. He served in this position until 1905.

After spending a year in post-graduate work in Clark University at Worcester, Massachusetts, he was selected as the first president of Eastern Kentucky State Normal School which was established in 1906 (now Eastern Kentucky University).

When Ruric died in 1909 his wife, Mary, served as acting president of Eastern from February 1909 through April 1910. She was officially recognized as Eastern's second president in 2015. Mary served as Dean of Women while she served as acting president and continued in this position until 1915 when she left Richmond for Chicago. She died in Baltimore in 1922. Both Roarks are buried in the Richmond Cemetery.