Andrew Rich (Delaware 1991)

Andrew Rich became Dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership in February 2019. As Dean, he oversees the social science departments at CCNY as well as the core leadership development and public service programs at the College. Graduating the most CCNY students annually, the Colin Powell School promotes the values of service and engagement. The School supports a faculty dedicated to the highest standards of research and to the university’s democratic and public obligations. Dr. Rich advances the School’s commitment to disseminating research in usable forms, especially that which furthers equality, prosperity, stability, and peace for all people—in Harlem, in New York, and around the world.

Rich has been a part of the CCNY community since 2003. He is a Professor of Political Science, and since 2012, in a part-time capacity, Rich has been Executive Director of the Colin Powell School’s Skadden, Arps Honors Program in Pre-Law. In 2014, he launched the Colin Powell School’s Semester in Washington, DC Program, and he directed that program until 2019. Rich was previously chair of the political science department (2007-2009) and Deputy Director and Director of Programs for Colin Powell Center (2005-2009), which launched the School’s core leadership development and community-based research programs.

From 2009 to 2019, in a full-time capacity, Rich led The Roosevelt Institute and the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.

From 2009 to 2011, Rich was President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, a non-profit think tank and leadership development organization devoted to carrying forward the legacy and values of Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. During his tenure, Rich launched the Institute's think tank and oversaw efforts to expand and strengthen the Institute’s Campus Network.

From 2011 to 2019, Rich was Executive Secretary and CEO of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation in Washington, DC. The Truman Foundation is the federal memorial to President Truman and the Presidential Memorial to Public Service. Rich directed the independent federal agency that provides the premier public service leadership fellowship in the United States.

Rich is the author of Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise (Cambridge University Press, 2004), as well as a wide-ranging number of articles about think tanks, interest groups, foundations, individual donors, and the role of experts and ideas in the American policy process. From 1999 to 2003, he taught political science at Wake Forest University. He received his BA from the University of Richmond and his PhD in Political Science from Yale University.