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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened
3to learn of the death of Robert F. Rich, Ph.D, who passed away
4on August 7, 2022; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Dr. Rich was born in Chicago on August 2, 1949;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dr. Rich's career included research, writing,
8teaching, and consulting in a variety of fields with an
9emphasis on health law, mental health policy, and law, as well
10as a pioneering role in the field of knowledge management and
11utilization; his career began in 1971 as a Deutscher
12Akademischer Austauschdienst Fullbright Scholar at the Freie
13Universität Berlin; he received the Marc Perry Galler Award
14from the University of Chicago for Best Doctoral Dissertation
15in the Graduate Social Science Division and the Leonard D.
16White Award from the American Political Science Association
17for Best Doctoral Dissertation in the Area of Public
18Administration; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Dr. Rich was an internationally renowned scholar;
20his career included appointments at the University of
21Michigan, Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon University,
22and the University of Illinois; he was also a permanent fellow

 

 

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1at the European Center for Comparative Government and Public
2Policy with the Humboldt, Free and Technical Universities in
3Berlin, Germany; he was a guest lecturer in Ecuador, China,
4and Russia; he was also a visiting scholar at the Max Planck
5Institute for Foreign and International Social Law as well as
6the Brookings Institute and Johns Hopkins University; he was
7the commencement speaker at Johns Hopkins in 1994 for the
8School of Arts and Sciences; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Dr. Rich served as the director of the Institute
10of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois
11from 1986 until he retired in 2012; he valued every
12opportunity to mentor, engage with the community, and teach
13others; his community engagement included volunteer work with
14B'nai B'rith, the Urban League, the League of Women Voters,
15and the Kiwanis Club; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Dr. Rich's career highlights at the University of
17Illinois include holding the positions of director of the Jon
18David and Elizabeth Epstein Health Law and Policy Program at
19the College of Law and acting head of the Medical Humanities
20and Social Sciences Program; in addition to his appointments
21in the Colleges of Law, Medicine, and Political Science, he
22held appointments in the community health and environmental
23studies programs; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Dr. Rich received an award from the Miriam K.
2Mills Research Center for Super-Optimizing Analysis and
3Developing Nations in 1996 that best encapsulates his career,
4which reads as follows, "The Thomas Jefferson Award for
5outstanding contributions to promoting free speech, due
6process, and merit treatment, also democratic governance and
7ethical interaction to Robert Rich, political science
8superstar."; and
 
9    WHEREAS, As the inaugural recipient in 1993, Dr. Rich was
10most proud of receiving the Robert F. Rich Research Award from
11the World Federation for Mental Health Scientific Committee on
12Mental Health Needs of Victims; he also received the 2004
13University of Illinois Campus Faculty Award for Excellence in
14Public Engagement, the Emil Limbach Teaching Award from
15Carnegie Mellon University School of Urban and Public Affairs
16for "Excellence in the Classroom", and the Aaron Wildavsky
17Enduring Contribution Award from the American Political
18Science Association for the best publication in policy studies
19for "Utilization of Policy Research", a chapter in the
20Encyclopedia of Policy Studies (Second Edition) that he
21co-authored with Cheol H. Oh; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Dr. Rich enjoyed reading, fishing, games, going
23to the beach, and spending time with his family; he cheered on
24the Illini and the Chicago Cubs and was incredibly proud of his

 

 

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1children and grandchildren, bragging about their
2accomplishments at every opportunity; one of his favorite
3titles was grandpa or "Opa"; he loved engaging with his
4grandchildren in whatever way made them laugh, and his deep
5love for his family endures in the love they show each other;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Dr. Rich is survived by his wife of 48 years,
8Lucy; his children, Rebecca (Matthew), Rachel Zara (Mark), and
9Max (Elizabeth); his grandchildren, Joseph, Nelia, and Adele;
10and his brother, Dennis (Elizabeth); therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
12ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of
13Robert F. Rich, Ph.D and extend our sincere condolences to his
14family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it
15further
 
16    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17presented to the family of Dr. Rich as an expression of our
18deepest sympathy.