Rich received his BS in Civil Engineering at Swarthmore, his MBA in International Development at Cornell, graduate certificate in Dispute Resolution at Willamette University’s College of Law, Senior Executive Certificate at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, and graduate credits in arctic and muskeg engineering at the University of Alaska. While at Swarthmore, Rich lettered all four years in basketball and baseball, served as Captain of both teams, and received All-Conference recognition in basketball and baseball. Rich and his teammates on the Darby-Colwyn High School basketball team were recently inducted into the Delaware County Athletes Hall of Fame in recognition of their Pennsylvania State Championships in 1962 and ’63.
Following graduate school at Cornell, Rich helped an agricultural cooperative serving tenant farmers in Louisiana establish a bookkeeping system and then joined the Commissioned Corps of the US Public Health Service, where he served in the Indian Health Service for a total of 50 years both as an Officer and a civilian. Throughout multiple assignments, he planned, designed, and constructed water and wastewater systems and healthcare facilities and served on the Governing Boards for Federal facilities serving Tribes in the Albuquerque, Phoenix, Alaska, and Portland Areas. For 15 years, he served as senior consultant and facilitator for the Director of the Indian Health Service in establishing policies for the Agency and in helping to forge agreements among the Tribes regarding direction and priorities of the Agency. Since his retirement, Rich has become active in Habitat for Humanity and currently serves as Board Chair for the North Willamette Valley Habitat Affiliate.
Rich served as Alumni Council President and as a member of the Board of Managers at Swarthmore during a seminal time for the College and athletics, led efforts toward understanding and reconciliation following the end of the football and wrestling programs, and worked to fund the Alumni Council Scholarship. Rich and his wife Toni live in Wilsonville, Oregon, where they enjoy spending time with daughters Gen, Ashley, Anjali, and Shanda, and granddaughters Brooklyn, Amelia, and Priya and grandsons Jake, Wyatt, Alex, Mason, Lane, and Jackson. They also enjoy experiencing the natural beauty of Oregon, Arizona, and surrounding states.
