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Andrew “Andy” Rich has been named the 17th president of Franklin & Marshall College, effective July 12, 2025. 

Since 2019, Dr. Rich has been the Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, and Professor of Political Science at the City College of New York (CCNY).  With 4,000 students, the Powell School is the largest academic division of CCNY, home to the social science departments as well as the College’s business, public service, and leadership development programs.  

As dean, Dr. Rich oversaw record-setting enrollment growth of 40 percent in six years. He spearheaded student success initiatives, including eight new student fellowship programs, and a ten-person Office of Student Success that provides students with mentoring and career services. He formed a Public Service Career Hub that has enabled more than 500 students to obtain internships and jobs in public service. The Career Hub won the 2023 Exemplary Model Award from the American Association of University Administrators.

Dr. Rich mobilized the Powell School’s largest development campaign, generating more than $85 million to support scholarships, student services, faculty positions, and academic initiatives. He generated resources to create the Leadership for Democracy and Social Justice Institute, which focuses on leadership development, and the Moynihan Center, which focuses on supporting new voices and leaders for public service, both among students and mid-career public servants. He also launched the Social Mobility Lab, which seeks new ways for higher education to accelerate social mobility for young people. 

From 2011-2019, Dr. Rich was Executive Secretary and CEO of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, a federal agency that supports young people committed to careers as public service leaders.  During his tenure, scholarship applications increased by more than one-third, and the number of young people from underrepresented groups selected as Truman Scholars doubled. Dr. Rich initiated the Truman Foundation’s first private development efforts and worked with the Trustees and members of Congress to double the agency’s federal appropriation.

From 2009-2011, Dr. Rich was president & CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, a national think tank and leadership development organization. During his tenure, the think tank played a key role in guiding national discussions of financial sector reform, and the Roosevelt Campus Network grew from 65 campus chapters to 105 campuses with more than 10,000 student members, making it the largest student policy organization in the United States. 

Dr. Rich’s research focuses on the influence of think tanks and experts in public policy and public debate in the United States. He is the author of Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise and has written about and given extensive public commentary on the role of think tanks and foundations in American politics and policymaking. Dr. Rich teaches courses in American government, politics, and policy, and has been an active mentor to students and student organizations throughout his career. 

Before 2009, Dr. Rich served on the faculty of CCNY, where he was chair of the Political Science Department and the Deputy Director of the Colin Powell Center, the predecessor of the Colin Powell School. He previously served on the faculty of Wake Forest University. 

Dr. Rich is currently Chair of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Truman Foundation. He is also a member of the Board of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation. 

A native of Delaware, he received his BA from the University of Richmond and his PhD in political science from Yale University. He will be moving to Lancaster from New York City, where he lives with Joel Allen, his husband and partner of 30 years, who is a Professor of History and Classics  at the City University of New York.