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Indiana University

Office of the Vice President

Laurence D. Richards, Ph.D.
Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Indiana University East

Dr. Richards is both the Chief Academic Officer and the Chief Information Officer for IU East, where his responsibilities include strategic planning for academic programming and support, information technology and enrollment management. His research focuses onthe strategic management of technology, policy support systems, the integration of cognitive and quantitative approaches to decision-making, and the role of technology in social design and transformation. Prior to his administrative career, Richards held positions as a Research Fellow at the Logistics Management Institute, Program Manager at the Dynamics Research Corporation, and jet pilot in the Marine Corps, and teaching/research positions at LaSalle University, Colby College, and the University of Pennsylvania.Richards holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Maine, an M.S. in Aeronautical Systems from the University of West Florida, an M.B.A. from Mississippi State University, and a Ph.D. in Operations Research from the University of Pennsylvania. He was the Founding Chair of the Department of Engineering Management at Old Dominion University and the Founding Dean of the School of Management and Aviation Science at Bridgewater State College (Massachusetts), where he also served as Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Selected Publications

  • Richards, L.D. (2007) “The Many Varieties of Systems Theories and their Implications for Engineering Management Practice,” Proceedings of the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Society for Engineering Management. Chattanooga, TN.
  • Richards, L.D. (2007) “Connecting Radical Constructivism to Social Transformation and Design,” Constructivist Foundations, Vol. 2, Nos. 2-3, pp. 129-135.
  • Richards, L.D. (1996) “Analysis of Robustness in the Formulation of Technology Strategy,” Engineering Management Journal, Vol. 8, No. 4, pp. 21-32.
  • Richards, L.D. and Young, R.K. (1996) “Propositions on Cybernetics and Social Transformation: Implications of von Foerster's Non-Trivial Machine for Knowledge Processes,” Systems Research, Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 363-369.
  • Richards, L.D. (1983) Constraint Theory: An Approach to Policy-Level Modeling, Lanham, MD: University Press of America. (reprinted 2002)

Memberships and Awards

Richards has held a number of offices in national organizations, including President of the American Society for Engineering Management, where he was elected a Fellow in 2002, and the American Society for Cybernetics, which awarded him the Norbert Wiener Gold Medal in 2007.

Contact Information

Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs
2325 Chester Boulevard
Richmond, IN 47374
765-973-8239
765-973-8237 (fax)
laudrich@indiana.edu