Rob Reich (born 1969) is an American political scientist. He is a professor of political science at Stanford University, the director of Stanford's McCoy Center for Ethics in Society, co-director of Stanford's Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (PACS), and associate director of Stanford's institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI). A political theorist, Reich's work focuses primarily on applied ethics, educational inequality and the role of philanthropy in the public sector, along with other topics in liberal democratic theory.

Academic career

Reich teaches courses on

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

, philanthropy,

practical ethics ''Practical Ethics'', a 1979 book by the moral philosopher Peter Singer, is an introduction to applied ethics. The book has been translated into a number of languages. Summary Singer analyzes, in detail, why and how beings' interests should be ...

, and political theory at Stanford. He has received numerous awards for his teaching, including the Walter J. Gores award (Stanford's highest teaching honor) and the Phi Beta Kappa Undergraduate Teaching Prize. He is also a Bass Fellow in Undergraduate Education for "extraordinary contributions to undergraduate education". In Fall 2016, Reich will co-teach "Election 2016" at Stanford University. The course will attempt, with the help of experts, to make sense of an election that defies all historical precedent and to take stock of the health of American democracy. "Election 2016" will host a number of guest speakers including

David Plouffe David Plouffe (; born May 27, 1967) is an American political and business strategist best known as the campaign manager for Barack Obama's successful 2008 presidential campaign. A long-time Democratic Party campaign consultant, he was a partn ...

and David Axelrod. It will be the centerpiece of a campus-wide campaign of events around the 2016 presidential elections. Reich's research has explored a range of topics in political theory, with his most recent work focusing primarily on the role of philanthropy in democratic societies. Reich's scholarship on the charitable tax deduction, Teach for America, and non-profit status is frequently cited in the ''New York Times'', the ''Chronicle of Higher Education'', and the ''Chronicle of Philanthropy''. He is a contributor to the ''

Boston Review ''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...

'', a magazine co-edited by former Stanford political science professor Joshua Cohen. Reich was the lead author of their 2013 forum on foundations and democracy, and wrote the essay titled, "What are Foundations For?". In 2018,

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financia ...

published Reich's book, ''Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better'', which purports to offer a political theory for philanthropy. Beginning in 2018, with Stanford Professors Mehran Sahami an
Jeremy Weinstein
Reich has begun teaching a large introductory course on technology, policy, and ethics, which has been featured in the ''New York Times'' and ''The Nation''.

Selected publications

Books

* ''Bridging Liberalism and Multiculturalism in Education'' (2003) * ''Toward a Humanist Justice: The Political Philosophy of Susan Moller Okin'' (2009), co-edited with Debra Satz * ''Education, Justice, and Democracy'' (2013), co-edited with

Danielle Allen Danielle Susan Allen (born November 3, 1971) is the James Bryant Conant University Professor at Harvard University. She is also the Director of the Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Ethics. Prior to joining the faculty at Harvard in 2015, Allen ...

, won the 2013 PROSE Award for the best book in education. * ''Occupy the Future'' (2013), co-edited with David Grusky,

Doug McAdam Doug McAdam (born August 31, 1951) is Professor of Sociology at Stanford University. He is the author or co-author of over a dozen books and over fifty articles, and is widely credited as one of the pioneers of the political process model in socia ...

, and Debra Satz * ''Philanthropy in Democratic Societies: History, Institutions, Values'' (2016) contributor and co-editor with Lucy Berholz and Chiara Cordelli. * ''Just Giving: Why Philanthropy Is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better''(2018). * ''Digital Technology and Democratic Theory'' (2021) contributor and co-editor with Lucy Berholz and

Hélène Landemore Hélène Landemore is Professor of Political Science at Yale University. She has a PhD from Harvard University. Her subfield is political theory and she is known for her works on democratic theory. Biography After a childhood spent in Normandy, ...

. * ''System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong And How We Can Reboot'' (2021).

Articles

* “Repugnant to the Whole Idea of Democracy? On the Role of Foundations in Democratic Societies,” PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 49, July 2016. * “Gift Giving and Philanthropy in Market Democracy,” in ''Critical Review'', Vol. 26, Nos. 3-4. * "Philanthropy and Caring for the Needs of Strangers," Social Research, Vol. 80, No. 2, Summer 2013. * "Equality, Adequacy, and K-12 Education," in ''Education, Justice, and Democracy'', Danielle Allen and Rob Reich, eds., University of Chicago Press. * "Not Very Giving." ''New York Times'', September 5, 2013. * "Toward a Political Theory of Philanthropy," in ''Giving Well: The Ethics of Philanthropy'', Patricia Illingworth, Thomas Pogge, Leif Wenar, eds., Oxford University Press.

Service

In 2001, Reich and Debra Satz founded the non-profi
Hope House Scholars Program
to teach humanities to women in Hope House, a substance abuse treatment center for women in Redwood City, California. The pair received the Roland Prize from Stanford for their work on the program. He is also involved with several committees for evaluating undergraduate education, faculty diversity, admission and student life at Stanford. Reich has worked as a researcher and moderator at the Aspen Institute, and has served on various committees for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. He is a co-founder and advisor to the #GivingTuesday campaign, and is currently a board member for the

. He was a board member for

GiveWell GiveWell is an American non-profit charity assessment and effective altruism-focused organization. GiveWell focuses primarily on the cost-effectiveness of the organizations that it evaluates, rather than traditional metrics such as the percentag ...

, a nonprofit that evaluates charities for donors, between 2013 and March, 2019.

Personal life and education

Reich received his B.A. in philosophy from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

and his Ph.D. in philosophy of education from Stanford University. He is often confused with

Robert Reich Robert Bernard Reich (; born June 24, 1946) is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. He worked in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and served as Secretary of Labor from 1993 to 1997 in ...

, professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley and former U.S. Secretary of Labor. They are not related.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reich, Rob 1969 births Living people American political scientists Stanford University faculty Yale University alumni Stanford University alumni