Andrew “Andy” Rich, dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York (CCNY), has been named the 17th president of Franklin & Marshall College. Following a highly competitive, international search process, the F&M Board of Trustees voted unanimously to appoint Rich as president, to begin in July, following a unanimous recommendation from the Presidential Search Committee – consisting of trustees, faculty, staff and student representatives. 

Rich will succeed President Barbara K. Altmann, who has led Franklin & Marshall with distinction since 2018 and will retire in July. 

VIDEO Time Stamp Key

• The Power of Franklin & Marshall is its People: 0:01-0:19
• Personal Background and Early Career: 0:20-0:55
• Developing Young Leaders: 0:56-1:52
• What it Means to be a Diplomat: 1:53-2:10
• Collaborating with Community to Move F&M Forward: 2:11-2:43
• The Impact and Joy of the Liberal Arts: 2:44-3:20

“I am thrilled to welcome Andy Rich as F&M’s next president. He will build on Barbara Altmann’s successful presidency with his sharp strategic sensibilities and deep appreciation for our excellent liberal arts college.”

— Eric Noll ’83, P’09, chair of the College’s Board of Trustees

“I am thrilled to welcome Andy Rich as F&M’s next president,” said Eric Noll ’83, P’09, chair of the College’s Board of Trustees. “He will build on Barbara Altmann’s successful presidency with his sharp strategic sensibilities and deep appreciation for our excellent liberal arts college and its importance in our society’s future. I want to thank Susan Kline Klehr for her leadership and the members of the search committee for their diligence and tremendous success.”

“The members of our committee were very impressed with Andy’s vitality, vision and career accomplishments,” said Susan Kline Klehr ’73, P’12, a trustee vice chair who chaired the search committee. “At the Colin Powell School, Andy extensively enhanced philanthropic support, increased enrollment, and grew programmatic offerings. Throughout the interview process, and in conversations with Andy’s references, it became clear that he was a rare and empowering leader who is ready to bring all this and more to F&M.”

A Visionary Leader for F&M

For the past six years, Rich has been the Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Dean of the Colin Powell School, the largest student division of CCNY. The Powell School is named for General Colin Powell, a 1958 graduate of CCNY who served as chair of the School’s Board of Visitors until his passing in 2021. Its mission is to transform one of the nation’s most diverse student bodies into tomorrow’s global leaders. It is home to CCNY’s social science departments as well as the core public service, business, and leadership development programs at City College.

During Rich’s tenure, the Powell School has grown by 40 percent to 4,000 students. Rich has led the launch of new student success initiatives, including eight new student fellowship programs and a new Office of Student Success that provides students with mentoring, professional development, and career services. He formed a Public Service Career Hub that has more than doubled the number of students obtaining internships and jobs in public service. The Career Hub won the 2023 Exemplary Model Award from the American Association of University Administrators. Rich mobilized a successful fundraising campaign to support these new initiatives, generating more than $85 million in new investments in scholarships, student services, faculty positions, and academic initiatives.

Before arriving at CCNY, Rich was CEO and executive secretary of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation from 2011 to 2019. The Truman Foundation is a federal agency that supports young people pursuing public service leadership across the United States. It has several ties to Franklin & Marshall, as two F&M graduates in the last 12 years, Makaila Ranges ’22 and Akbar Hossain ’13, earned the prestigious Truman Scholarship. Rich remains chair of the Board of Friends of the Truman Foundation. From 2009 to 2011, Rich was president and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, a national think tank and leadership development organization based in New York City with ties to the FDR Presidential Library and Museum in Hyde Park, New York.

“The members of our committee were very impressed with Andy’s vitality, vision and career accomplishments…it became clear that he was a rare and empowering leader who is ready to bring all this and more to F&M.”

— Susan Kline Klehr ’73, P’12, trustee vice chair who chaired the search committee

Rich received his bachelor's degree in political science in 1992 from the University of Richmond, where he was awarded a Truman Scholarship, and his doctoral degree in political science from Yale University in 1999. Rich has taught political science at CCNY and Wake Forest University. He has written extensively about the role of think tanks and foundations in American politics and policymaking, and is the author of Think Tanks, Public Policy, and the Politics of Expertise. Read a full bio of Rich. 

“I am excited to become an F&M Diplomat,” said Rich. “For more than 235 years, Franklin & Marshall has been a beacon for excellence in liberal arts education. We prepare students for fulfilling lives, inspiring them to achievements that enrich every sector of society. Rooted in Lancaster with a lens on the world, F&M creates tomorrow’s global citizens and change makers. I look forward to working with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Lancaster community to advance our mission – and to do it in the Diplomat way. I offer my heartfelt thanks to the Board of Trustees and the search committee for their trust, and the opportunity to join you this summer as F&M’s 17th President.”

Rich 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.

“I look forward to working with students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the Lancaster community to advance our mission – and to do it in the Diplomat way.”

— Andrew "Andy" Rich, dean of the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership at the City College of New York (CCNY), the 17th president of Franklin & Marshall College