Michael P. Riccards
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Michael P. Riccards (born October 2, 1944 in
Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
) is an American
political scientist Political science is the science, scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of politics, political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated c ...
,
writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, p ...
, administrator, and
professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...
. Riccards has been the president of three American colleges and has written extensively on
public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...
, the American political process, the papacy as a leadership problem, and the history of the
American presidency The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
. His book ''The Ferocious Engine of Democracy'' was praised by
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
.Publisher's synopsis: "I very much enjoyed reading The Ferocious Engine of Democracy, and I'm grateful to know of Riccards' perspective on the presidency.--Bill Clinton" He was the founding executive director of the Hall Institute of Public Policy – New Jersey. He now is president of the American Public Policy Institute on YouTube. Riccards grew up in New Jersey and received his bachelor's, master's, and Ph.D. in political science from
Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...
; he finished his formal studies in 1970. He was one of the youngest Ph.D.s in the university's longest history. Riccards was named a
Fulbright Fellow The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...
to
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
in 1973 and a Henry Huntington Fellow in
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
in 1974. In 1975, he joined
Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...
as a
National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...
Fellow in religion. His main interests were
political socialization Political socialization is the process by which individuals learn and frequently internalize a political lens framing their perceptions of how power is arranged and how the world around them is (and should be) organized; those perceptions, in turn ...
and
political behavior Theories of political behavior, as an aspect of political science, attempt to quantify and explain the influences that define a person's political views, ideology, and levels of political participation. Political behavior is the subset of hu ...
; he used stage theory in his research to learn how children get their political and later religious values. From that work, he authored the monograph, ''The Making of the American Citizenry'' (1973) and an article in the bilingual Belgian journal, ''Lumen Vitae''. In 1976, at the age of 32, he was named the dean of the merged college of Arts and Sciences at the
University of Massachusetts Boston The University of Massachusetts Boston (stylized as UMass Boston) is a Public university, public research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the only public research university in Boston and the third-largest campus in the five-campus Un ...
. As an administrator, he increased the numbers of minority students in the arts and sciences, and helped create a minority pre-med program. Riccards created the first Ph.D. at UMB in biological sciences; UMass Boston now has 34 doctorates. Five years later, he became provost and academic vice president at
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
of the
City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...
. Riccards worked to re-establish
sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...
s for faculty, which had been abolished systemwide during the 1970s. He revamped the school-deaconal structure, and created the college's first doctoral programs. He also taught political science for three years. He cohosted the
WUMB WUMB-FM (91.9 FM) in Boston, Massachusetts, is the radio station of the University of Massachusetts Boston. It broadcasts an Americana/Blues/Roots/Folk mix hosted by its staff weekdays. On weekends the station concentrates on traditional folk, ...
campus affairs weekly radio show "Backtalk". Riccards became president of St. John's College in Santa Fe,
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
in 1986. He worked to build a new library for the school, and served on the New Mexico Council for Humanities and the New Mexico Educational Assistance Program. He increased the number of Black, Hispanic, and Native American students there. In 1989, he left for the presidency of
Shepherd College Shepherd University is a public university in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, the university enrolled 3,159 students in Fall 2020. History Shepherd University began when the county seat of Jefferson ...
(now Shepherd University), a
liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term ''art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically the ...
college in the eastern panhandle of
West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the Bur ...
. Riccards secured funding for a new science and technology building and planned the
Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
Robert C. Byrd Robert Carlyle Byrd (born Cornelius Calvin Sale Jr.; November 20, 1917 – June 28, 2010) was an American politician and musician who served as a United States senator from West Virginia for over 51 years, from 1959 until his death in 2010. A ...
Center as part of a renovation of the library. Riccards also was appointed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the National Skill Standards Board. His other accomplishments during his tenure there included the creation of the Contemporary American Theater Festival, the Center for the Study of the Civil War, and the establishment of a community college which went on to become the Blue Ridge Community and Technical College in Martinsburg, WV. In 1995, Riccards became president of
Fitchburg State College Fitchburg State University (Fitchburg State) is a public university in Fitchburg, Massachusetts. It has 3,421 undergraduate and 1,238 graduate/continuing education students, for a total student body enrollment of 4,659. The university offers und ...
(now Fitchburg State University) in
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
, which had difficulties with low academic standards and low dormitory occupancy rates. He raised academic standards in the school's much-criticized teacher education program and started a leadership program for students, including classes in leadership. Riccards convinced then-Governor
William Weld William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...
to support construction of a new
physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...
building and committed it to community use. He also backed a new science complex to help re-develop the city of Fitchburg. The college named its baseball field for Riccards in 2007. After leaving Fitchburg State in 2002, Riccards became the first
College Board The College Board is an American nonprofit organization that was formed in December 1899 as the College Entrance Examination Board (CEEB) to expand access to higher education. While the College Board is not an association of colleges, it runs a ...
Public Policy Scholar in Residence in
Washington, D. C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, and was the College Board's representative to both the
National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...
and the National State Legislatures Association. He backed the creation of an
Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...
course to celebrate the anniversary of ''
Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the segrega ...
''; the course was put on the Board’s website. Riccards also visited the assistant superintendent of the
District of Columbia Public Schools The District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) is the local public school system for the District of Columbia, in the United States. It is distinct from the District of Columbia Public Charter Schools (DCPCS), which governs public charter ...
to advocate Board programs aimed at high school predation; prior to Riccards' visit, the College Board had little patience and no success with the school bureaucracy. By 2020, 3,000 students were taking AP courses in the DC public schools. Riccards wrote a history of the College Board, and successfully lobbied Congress to increase its Advanced Placement subsidy to $25 million. Riccards' efforts with Congress and the
Department of Veterans Affairs The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...
to help veterans enroll in
CLEP The College Level Examination Program is a group of standardized tests created and administered by the College Board. These tests assess college-level knowledge in thirty-six subject areas and provide a mechanism for earning college credits wi ...
courses were also successful. After three years at the College Board, Riccards moved back to his native New Jersey and became the founding executive director of the Hall Institute of Public Policy - New Jersey in Trenton. At the Hall Institute, he worked on creating a website, Hallnj.org, established a television forum, a radio show, and published four volumes of essays from the website. He was named the New Jersey representative on the national Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission and headed up the state commission. He published a volume of his collected plays, and one of them on Lincoln became a musical produced by Genevieve Fraser on behalf of the Drama Circle in Massachusetts (2012). He has written four volumes of fiction on Italian American life, later compressed into ''The Ordinary Duties of the Day'' and ''Growing Up Jersey'', generally set in his hometown of Madison, NJ. He is also the author of books on papal leadership. One of his books on the early presidency was cited in an opinion by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist. Riccards was on the board of the Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress for five years. In 2019, he co-authored ''Woodrow Wilson as Commander in Chief: The Presidency and the Great War''. He currently is co-writing ''Party Politics in the Age of FDR: Making America a Global Power''. He is married and has three children and five grandchildren. His wife Barbara was a master English teacher in urban and rural high schools. His youngest daughter, Abigail, is a professional jazz singer in Chicago and his daughter Catherine was a corporate lawyer for Saks Fifth Avenue and is now with Barnes & Noble. His son, Patrick, is an education reform advocate and CEO of the Driving Force Institute, having formerly served as an aide to three U.S. senators and one U.S. representative. Dr. Riccards has won the Luigi Pirandello Award and is the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Medicine from Tie-in University. He lives in Hamilton, NJ.


Bibliography


Books

* Riccards, Michael P. and Cheryl A. Flagg. (forthcoming) ''Party Politics in the Age of FDR: Making America a Global Superpower''. Lexington Books. * Riccards, Michael P. and Cheryl A. Flagg. (2019) ''Woodrow Wilson as Commander in Chief: The Presidency and the Great War''. McFarland Publishing. * Riccards, Michael P. (2015) ''A Hero of My Own Life: Living in Post-War America''. CreateSpace. * Riccards, Michael P. (2012). ''Destiny’s Consul: America’s Ten Greatest Presidents''. Rowman & Littlefield. * Riccards, Michael P. (2012). ''Faith and Leadership: The Papacy and the Roman Catholic Church''. Lexington Books, . * Riccards, Michael P. (2010). ''The College Board and American Higher Education''. Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. . * Riccards, Michael P., ed. (2011). ''Into the New Millennium: New Jersey and the Nation''. iUniverse. * Riccards, Michael P., ed (2007) ''Reaction and Reform in New Jersey''. Walsworth Publishers. * Riccards, Michael P., ed (2006). ''The State of the Garden State''. Walsworth Publishers. * Riccards, Michael P. (2004).
The Myth of American Mis-education
'. Global Publications, New York. . * Riccards, Michael P. (2003). ''The Ferocious Engine of Democracy, Updated: From Theodore Roosevelt through George W. Bush''. Cooper Square Press, New York. . * Riccards, Michael P. (2002). ''The Papacy and the End of Christendom: The Leadership Crises in the Church from 1500 to 1850'' (Binghamton, N.Y.: Global Publications, Binghamton, NY. . * Riccards, Michael P. (2001).
The Odes of DiMaggio: Sports, Myth, and Manhood in Contemporary America
'. Global Publications, Binghamton, NY. * Riccards, Michael P. (1998).
The Presidency and the Middle Kingdom: China, the United States and Executive Leadership
'. Lexington Books, Lanham, MD. . * Riccards, Michael P. (1998).
Vicars of Christ: Faith, Leadership, and the Papacy in Modern Times
'. Crossroad Publishing Company, New York. . * Riccards, Michael P. (1995). The Ferocious Engine of Democracy: From Origins to William McKinley. Madison Books. . * Riccards, Michael P. (1987).
A republic, if you can keep it: the foundation of the American presidency, 1700-1800
'. Greenwood Press, New York. . * Riccards, Michael P. (1973).
The Making of the American Citizenry: An Introduction to Political Socialization
'. Chandler Publishing Company, San Francisco. . * Byron W. Daynes, Byron W., Pederson, William D., and Riccards, Michael P. (eds.) (1998). ''The New Deal and public policy''. St. Martin's Press, New York. .


Articles, papers, and opinions

* Riccards, Michael P. (2017) “Private Emotions on the Public State; The Case of Envy and the American Presidency.” Public Voices, 3. * Riccards, Michael P. (2007-09-20). "A Report on Education - 2006" (PDF). Hall Institute of Public Policy. * Riccards, Michael P. (2006-12-04). "The Myth of American Mis-education" (PDF). Hall Institute of Public Policy. * Riccards, Michael P. (2006) “Myth and Manhood: Ruth, DiMaggio and American Baseball,” in Baseball and the “Sultan of Swat”: Babe Ruth at 100. AMS Press. * Flippo, Rona and Riccards, Michael P. (2000) “Initial Teacher Certification Testing in Massachusetts: A Case of the Tail Wagging the Dog.” Phi Delta Kappan, 82 (September), pp. 23–37. * Riccards, Michael P. (1999) “Economics, Culture behind North-South Split,” September 4, 1999 and “Nation’s Bondage to Slavery Issue Led to Conflict,” September 11, 1999. The Washington Times. * Riccards, Michael P. (1999) “Whitelaw Reid,” in American National Biography, ed. by John A. Garraty. Columbia University Press. * Riccards, Michael P. (1997) “Lincoln and the Political Question: The Creation of the State of West Virginia. Presidential Studies Quarterly, XXVIII, pp. 549-64. * Riccards, Michael P. (1997) “Rendezvous with Destiny: The Impact of Franklin D. Roosevelt on the Life and Presidency of Ronald Reagan,” in Ronald Reagan’s America, ed. by Eric J. Schmitz. (Greenwood Press). * Riccards, Michael P. (1994) “Ty Cobb and the Great American Pastime. Elysian Fields, Summer. * Riccards, Michael P. (1994). “Watchman on the Wall of Freedom: John F. Kennedy and His China Policy,” Asian Culture Quarterly, XXII, Spring, pp. 47–68. * Riccards, Michael P. (1993) “Richard Nixon and the American Political Tradition,” Presidential Studies Quarterly, XXIII, Fall, pp. 739–46. * Riccards, Michael P. (1989) “The Failure of Nerve: How the Liberals Killed Liberalism,” in Lyndon B. Johnson and the Uses of Power, ed. by Bernard J. Firestone and Robert Vogt. Greenwood Press. * Riccards, Michael P. (1989) “James Otis,” in American Orators Before 1900: Critical Studies and Sources, ed. by Bernard K. Duffy and Halford Ross Ryan. Greenwood Press. * Riccards, Michael P. (1988) “Dangerous Legacy: John F. Kennedy and the Cuban Missile Crisis,’” in The Presidency of John F. Kennedy, ed. by Paul F. Harper. (Greenwood). * Riccards, Michael P. (1987) “Robert F. Kennedy,” in American orators of the Twentieth Century: Critical Studies and Sources, ed. by Bernard K. Duffy, Halford Ross. Greenwood Press. * Riccards, Michael P. (1986) “Waging the Last War: Winston Churchill and the Presidential Imagination.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, XVI, Spring, pp. 213–23. * Riccards, Michael P. (1981) “Rare Counsel: Kennedy, Johnson and the Civil Rights Bill of 1963.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, XI, Summer, pp. 395–98. * Riccards, Michael P. (1981) “Philip Mazzei: The Jeffersonian as an Internationalist,” Italian Americana, VI, Spring/Summer, pp. 210–221. * Riccards, Michael P. (1978) “The Structure of Religious Development, Lumen Vitae, pp. 97-123. * Riccards, Michael. (1977) “The Presidency in Sickness and Health.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, VII, Summer, pp. 215–31. Results reported in Parade Magazine, February 13, 1977. * Riccards, Michael P. (1977) “The Presidency and the Ratification Controversy.” Presidential Studies Quarterly, VII, Winter, pp. 37–46. * Riccards, Michael P. (1976) “Six Fallacies of the Nixon-Kissinger Foreign Policy,” International Behavioral Scientist, VIII, September, pp. 16–25. * Riccards, Michael P. (1973) “The Socialization of Civic Virtue,” in Reflections on American Political Thought: Readings from Past and Present, ed. by
Philip Abbott Philip Abbott (March 20, 1924 – February 23, 1998) was an American character actor. He appeared in several films and numerous television series, including a lead role as Arthur Ward in the crime series ''The F.B.I.'' Abbott was also the founder ...
and Michael P. Riccards. (Chandler) p. 279-91. * Riccards, Michael P. (1972) “Civics Books and Civic Virtue.” Child Study Journal, II, Winter, pp. 67–74. * Riccards, Michael P. (1971) “Children and the Politics of Trust.” Child Study Journal, I, Summer, pp. 227–32. * Riccards, Michael P. (1968) “Patriots and Plunders: The Confiscation of Loyalist Lands in New Jersey,” New Jersey History (formerly The Proceedings of the New Jersey Historical Society), LXXXVI, Spring, pp. 14–28.


See also

*
Jean Piaget Jean William Fritz Piaget (, , ; 9 August 1896 – 16 September 1980) was a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development. Piaget's theory of cognitive development and epistemological view are together called " genetic epistemolog ...


References


External links


Hall Institute of Public Policy

Michael P. Riccards' blog
at PoliticsNJ.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Riccards, Michael P. 1944 births Living people American political scientists Writers from Elizabeth, New Jersey Rutgers University alumni Shepherd University faculty Hunter College faculty