Richard Warch ( – ) was an American professor, ordained minister and academic. He served as the 14th president of

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a Private college, private liberal arts college and Music school, conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second colle ...

Early life

Warch was raised in

Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey Ho-Ho-Kus () is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 4,258, an increase of 180 (+4.4%) from the 2010 census count of 4,078, which in turn reflected an i ...

. He received his bachelor's degree in

history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...

from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

in 1961. He studied theology at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and earned a Bachelor of Divinity degree from the

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

in 1964 and a Ph.D. in

American studies American studies or American civilization is an interdisciplinarity, interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, History of the United States, history, Society of the United States, society, and Culture of the Unit ...

from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1968.

Career

From 1968 to 1977, Warch was a member of the faculty in the history and American studies departments at Yale University, and served as associate dean in his last year. In the fall of 1977, he served as vice president for academic affairs and professor of history at

. He became president of the school in 1979. In June 1999, Warch was named to the executive committee of the

Annapolis Group The Annapolis Group (officially, the Annapolis Group of Liberal Arts Colleges) is an American organization of independent liberal arts colleges. It represents approximately 130 liberal arts colleges in the United States. These colleges work toge ...

, an association of more than 100 of America's leading

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on Undergraduate education, undergraduate study in the Liberal arts education, liberal arts of humanities and science. Such colleges aim to impart ...

s. In the 1987 study, "The Effective College President," a two-year project funded by the Exxon Education Foundation, he was named one of the nation's top 100 college presidents. He is the author of the book ''School of the Prophets: Yale College, 1710–1740'', co-edited the volume ''John Brown'' in the Prentice-Hall Great Lives Observed Series, and has addressed a wide variety of issues facing higher education in numerous published articles, reviews, and commentaries. His tenure as president at Lawrence University was marked by an improvement in the school's academic reputation, building projects, and an emphasis on the school's liberal arts tradition.

Retirement

Warch retired from the office of president of Lawrence University effective July 1, 2004. After retirement, he and his wife, Margot, moved to

Ellison Bay Ellison Bay is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in northern Door County, Wisconsin, United States, within the town of Liberty Grove and is located on Highway 42 along the Green Bay. As of the 2020 census, its population ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Door County Door County is the easternmost county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, its population was 30,066. Its seat of government is Sturgeon Bay. It is named after the strait between the Door Peninsula and Washington Island. T ...

. On September 14, 2013, Warch died of cancer.Erin Richards
"Former Lawrence University president Richard Warch dies"
''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'', September 14, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2013.

References

External links

Lawrence University

Newspaper interview on Warch's retirement
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warch, Richard Williams College alumni Presidents of Lawrence University Lawrence University faculty People from Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1939 births 2013 deaths Yale Divinity School alumni People from Door County, Wisconsin