Richard J. "Dick" Richardson is an American former

political scientist Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, holding the Burton Craig Professorship at

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

Education

Born in Missouri, Dick Richardson received his undergraduate degree from Arkansas’ Harding College in 1957 and his graduate degrees in political science from Tulane University

Career

He taught at Tulane, Western Michigan University, and the University of Hawaii before joining the faculty of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1969. Richardson specialized in the study of the judiciary his Politics of American Democracy, co-authored with Marian Irish and James Prothro, was for a generation the nation's most widely adopted college textbook in American politics. A popular teacher and raconteur, he served as chair of his department from 1975 to 1980 and chaired the university's bicentennial observance in the early 1990s. From 1995 to 2000, Richardson was provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs.Baumgartner, Frank. 2015. "Biography of Dick Richardson" accessed at https://fbaum.unc.edu/vita/Richardson.htm on October 30, 2022

Honors and recognition

In addition to his many teaching awards, Richardson won th
Thomas Jefferson Award
in 1987, presented annually to “that member of the academic community who through personal influence and performance of duty in teaching, writing, and scholarship has best exemplified the ideals and objectives of Thomas Jefferson,” whose complex legacy includes the values of democracy, public service, and the pursuit of knowledge. He also wo
The C. Knox Massey Distinguished Service Award
in 2000 which recognizes a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill employees e for unusual, meritorious or superior contributions. In 2001, Richardson won the UNC General Alumni Associatio
Distinguished Service Medal
Th
citation
described him as "the heartbeat of academic Carolina," and noted that "he served as provost with compassion, wit, and a refreshing frankness." Richardson was awarded the highest honor made by the University Board of Trustees in 2005
the William Richardson Davie Award
and the university created a professorship in his name, The Richardson Professorship.

References

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty 1935 births Midwestern State University alumni Tulane University alumni Living people American political scientists {{US-polisci-bio-stub