Dan Rich,
University Professor of Public Policy at the University of Delaware, has
been awarded the Order of the First State by Gov. Jack Markell, in
recognition of his work as a longtime champion of education in
Delaware.
The Order of the First State is Delawares highest award.
State Secretary of Education Steve Godowsky presented the award at
the Vision Coalition of Delawares ninth annual conference, held at UDs
Clayton Hall on Monday, Nov. 14. Markell was traveling and unable to
attend.
Godowsky said Rich, a former provost and dean, has been a pillar at the University of Delaware for over 45 years.
Hes worked with an inextinguishable commitment to progress and a
better outcome for all our kids, Godowsky said. For decades, he has
invested himself deeply in the success of not only the University but
also the greater community here in Delaware.
Rich has served as chair of the Delaware Early Childhood Council,
crafting the state's plan for a comprehensive early childhood system. At
UD, Godowski noted, Rich developed the Commitment to Delawareans and
redesigned the Associate in Arts Program to expand access to higher
education to more Delawareans.
He also was instrumental in working to support what is now the
Wilmington Education Improvement Commission, a public policy advocacy
initiative on behalf of low-income students statewide. That work began
when Tony Allen a former student of Richs who earned bachelors and
doctoral degrees at UD and serves on the Board of Trustees was
appointed chair of Markells citizen advisory committee on education in
Wilmington.
Rich, Godowsky said, marshaled University resources to support the project and lay the framework for Strengthening Wilmington Education: An Action Agenda, published in 2015, and Solutions for Delaware Schools, published in spring 2016.
That effort has turned into the most substantive, grassroots
public policy advocacy initiative in a generation and resulted in the
first legislative actions on behalf of low-income Delaware students
since the U.S. Supreme Courts landmark decision in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, Godowsky said.
Rich, former dean and provost, serves as a senior policy fellow in the University's Institute for Public Administration.
He was recently appointed director of UD's Community Engagement
Initiative, which will focus on what makes every community strong:
improving public education, community health and environmental quality;
encouraging economic development and innovation; and expanding arts and
cultural programs that enrich quality of life.
Originally published by UDaily on November 18, 2016. Article by Ann Manser. Photo by Sarah Pragg.
