Driven by a passion for leadership and a bold vision for the power of higher education, President Andrew Rich propels F&M into an exciting future.

Early morning light streams through the windows of Old Main. Already a few hours into his day, President Andrew Rich leans forward, his second coffee in hand, brimming with enthusiasm and energy as he thinks about the College’s future.

“F&M provides one of the highest-quality liberal arts experiences in the country, and I’ve seen that from afar for a long time,” says the College’s 17th president. “Now, I see it every day. Our faculty and staff believe in our mission, our purpose, our students, and work every day to have an impact on this campus and our society. And that inspires me.”

President Rich’s excitement is palpable, complementing a strong belief in what’s possible and a commitment to transforming ideas into action. Those qualities and others help define a leadership style that his former colleagues believe will unite the F&M community and help the College thrive in the competitive—and often complicated—landscape of higher education.

A Visionary Leader and Doer

“Andy is a rare combination of a visionary leader and hands-on doer with an extraordinary ability to think big,” says Debbie Cheng, director of fellowship programs and Office of Student Success at the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership, which President Rich led prior to arriving in Lancaster.

“His record of expanding opportunity, fostering civic engagement and cultivating future leaders reflects his lifelong dedication to using education as a force for constructive good,” says Terry Babcock-Lumish, executive director of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation, which President Rich oversaw for nearly a decade.

In Rich’s first few months as F&M President, the College community has already witnessed those abilities in action—from the announcement of historic gifts supporting infrastructure and programming to new enrollment initiatives and strategies. In November, President Rich announced a $7.5 million gift from Trustee Ken Mehlman ’88, the College’s largest gift in support of athletics and wellness, and launched the Commonwealth Commitment, a bold new affordability initiative for Pennsylvania residents. (Read about those initiatives and others in this issue).

Although Rich grew up in Delaware and remembers visits to Pennsylvania fondly (including Dutch Wonderland as a child), he is enjoying getting to know today’s City of Lancaster, through the lens of F&M President and of a new resident. He and Joel (his husband and partner of 30 years, who is a professor of history and classics at the City University of New York) created a Lancaster restaurant bucket list upon their move and are working their way through the City’s many global flavors.

“One of the most striking observations I’ve had is what an exceptional home Lancaster is for F&M. We’re the right size for each other, the right levels of complexity for each other. And there are so many opportunities, some of which we’ve taken advantage of, for our students and faculty to be fully engaged in the Lancaster community as problem solvers, as an intellectual force, and as leaders.”

Since starting at F&M, Rich has also joined several boards in the Lancaster community, including the Lancaster County STEM Alliance, EDC Lancaster, the Lancaster Community Foundation and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. These new memberships are in addition to his roles on several others. Rich is currently chair of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Truman Foundation and vice president on the Board of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. He is also a member of the Board of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and Macaulay Honors College Foundation at the City University of New York.

“They will be ready for all that comes next, and so will we. Franklin & Marshall College was made for this moment.”

F&M President Andrew Rich

His current Board roles are further proof that when Rich joins a community, he is all-in. His former institutions understand this especially well. In the heart of New York City, the Colin Powell School is the largest student division of the City College of New York (CCNY). President Rich served as the school’s Richard J. Henley and Susan L. Davis Dean, helping it grow by 40 percent and launching numerous initiatives, including eight new student fellowship programs and a new Office of Student Success. In 2019, he hired Cheng to lead the office.

“Andy brings out the best in everyone,” Cheng says. “We had an incredible transformation and growth of our program. He has an ability to get things done quickly. Progress often moves slowly in higher education, but Andy helped the Colin Powell School become a campus hub in City College. His mentorship of students and faculty made us believe in robust opportunities. We were so lucky.”

Prior to his leadership role at CCNY, President Rich – a 1991 Truman Scholar – was CEO and executive secretary of the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. Babcock-Lumish believes the foundation is stronger and more effective because of Rich’s leadership.

“Andy was named executive secretary at a time when our program, while recognized as the premier graduate scholarship for aspiring public service leaders, faced significant financial challenges,” she says. “He grew the reputation and impact of President Truman's ‘living legacy’ across geographies, issues, and party lines. He expanded the value of the award through programming, partnerships, and meaningful community engagement.”

Beyond these standard success metrics, President Rich believes true success is rooted in the success of students. “They’re at the core of our mission. Their abilities to achieve their academic dreams, personal and professional dreams—that’s what we’re here for.”

F&M graduates go on to secure jobs with industry-leading employers, gain admission to top graduate school programs, and win prestigious fellowships across the country and around the world. Recent graduates have launched their careers at high-impact organizations such as Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Deutsche Bank, Public Interest Research Group, Goldman Sachs, Peace Corps, Teach For America, Campbell’s Company, and Vanguard, among many other employers.

Seeing the doors an F&M education opens for our graduates – that, for Rich, is one of the greatest joys of leading the College. 

The Power of Pride and Service

When hundreds of alumni returned to campus to celebrate True Blue Weekend in late September, President Rich had his first opportunity to meet and greet every generation of the F&M family. Part of what was so noticeable, he says, was the pride everyone has in F&M—and how much love they have for it.

“Many of our alumni met their spouses and partners here,” he says. “Many have sent kids here, or their parents went here. The deep roots people have here are really quite palpable. And the pride they have is inspiring.”

He spent the weekend spreading a clear message to alumni: “Your pride in F&M is infectious, and we want you to be involved.”

“Our alumni should be exceptionally proud of F&M today,” he says. “You are a central part of the current F&M experience. And we want to know how we can support you—you’re always part of this community.”

President Rich has known one F&M alumnus for more than a decade: Akbar Hossain ’13, who received F&M’s first Truman Scholarship in 2012 and later worked for President Rich at the Truman Foundation. Now secretary of policy and planning for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and a member of F&M’s Board of Trustees, Hossain got firsthand fundraising experience when he worked with President Rich at Truman a decade ago.

“He reminds you of your power and in the process, the power of service,” says Hossain. “He treats young leaders not as protégés to be lectured, but as partners in a shared commitment to public good. That dynamic makes you feel both valued and accountable—he believes in you, so you’d better rise to the moment. That type of energy and humility is especially important as we embark on a new strategic vision for the College.”

The president knows bolstering the College’s endowment and raising funds for initiatives will play a key role in advancing that strategic vision. He has a breadth of fundraising success under his belt; at CCNY, he mobilized a successful campaign to generate more than $85 million in new investments in scholarships, student services, faculty positions and academic initiatives.

“I love fundraising. I love the project of getting to know people and introducing them to the College, or re-introducing them to the College today, and finding out what they’re passionate about,” he says. “I see it as a huge part of what I have to do.”

Shaping The Future

For President Rich, it’s all about meeting the moment and building a future for F&M. Rich believes the College will best meet the moment by leaning into its strengths: developing leaders and promoting a holistic education committed to hands-on experiences and creative collisions that spark innovation. F&M will shape a strong future by preparing students to excel in a society and economy being disrupted by artificial intelligence and a new technological frontier.

“There are so many possibilities for how we do that,” he says. “We must lift up things happening already on this campus. Half of our students participate in research, and much of that research has bearing on issues facing Lancaster County.”

In fact, F&M was recently recognized by the Carnegie Classification as a leading national institution that prioritizes research activity. Out of more than 200 liberal arts colleges in the United States, only 40 have the distinction of being Carnegie “Research Colleges and Universities.”

“That’s different and unique to F&M. That’s something that places us in a different category among liberal arts colleges.”

Rich is also passionate about F&M’s development of leaders, having launched two new programs in his first few months: the Leadership & Performance Lab thanks to a generous gift from Ken Mehlman ’88, and Leadership Fellows, distinctive fellowship programs for students who are eager to make a positive and immediate impact in the fields of climate and sustainability, creative writing, entrepreneurship, and public service. Every Fellow receives a four-year merit scholarship ($15,000 annually), deep mentorship from tenured faculty who are experts in their fields, and membership in a community focused on their specific area of intellectual and leadership development.

“We need young people who are excellent communicators, critical thinkers, agile people who can adapt on their feet, people who have the kind of leadership talents that allow them to move from one sector to another, one job to another, with great facility,” he says. “And that’s what we produce at F&M. We develop and launch leaders, and engaged citizens in society.”

At a time when powerful technological, economic, and societal changes are reshaping how we live and work, leading employers are looking for people who can navigate uncertainty with confidence, bring people together across differences, and think critically to solve problems, he says.

According to the AAC&U’s 2025 national survey of employers, confidence in higher education remains strong, with most employers saying colleges are effectively preparing students for the workforce and citizenship. They place the greatest value on qualities like curiosity, motivation, leadership, and emotional intelligence—and are especially likely to hire graduates who have completed internships, held leadership roles, or engaged in hands-on, community-based work. 

What does this mean for F&M? In Rich’s words: “We’re poised for great success going forward. There is extraordinary work happening on our campus now. We’re preparing young people to cope and thrive in a complicated world, be open minded, have confidence, and have character to navigate difficult questions. All of them will encounter a more complicated world than my generation.”

He settles back in his chair and pauses as he looks out the window.

“They will be ready for all that comes next, and so will we. Franklin & Marshall College was made for this moment.”