William Richards (college administrator)


William Richards was a president of SUNY Orange, located in Orange County, New York. When he retired from SUNY Orange as its seventh president in June 2015, Dr. William Richards had completed the second-longest presidential tenure in the College’s 65-year history, trailing only the 17-year stint of Dr. Robert Novak. Dr. Richards died on October 16, 2016.
In total, Richards’ 36-year academic career featured 18 years in executive leadership roles on college campuses, including three years as chief executive officer of the Westminster campus of Front Range Community College in Denver, Colo., and three years as president of Otero Junior College in La Junta Colo.. He was also president of the Higher Education and Advanced Technologies Center, a long-range strategic planning group headquartered in Denver, during the 1999-2000 academic year.
Significant highlights from Richards’ SUNY Orange presidency include: completion of the Defining Moments capital campaign that generated $25.1 million in private gifts to the College; approval, development and expansion of the Newburgh campus, which had previously been an extension center; and construction and expansion of facilities on the Middletown campus, including the campus’ crown jewel, the Rowley Center.

Education