SR1164 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1164 LRB102 28858 MST 40747 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to learn of the death of Robert F. Rich, Ph.D, who passed away on August 7, 2022; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rich was born in Chicago on August 2, 1949; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rich's career included research, writing, teaching, and consulting in a variety of fields with an emphasis on health law, mental health policy, and law, as well as a pioneering role in the field of knowledge management and utilization; his career began in 1971 as a Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst Fullbright Scholar at the Freie Universität Berlin; he received the Marc Perry Galler Award from the University of Chicago for Best Doctoral Dissertation in the Graduate Social Science Division and the Leonard D. White Award from the American Political Science Association for Best Doctoral Dissertation in the Area of Public Administration; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rich was an internationally renowned scholar; his career included appointments at the University of Michigan, Princeton University, Carnegie Mellon University, and the University of Illinois; he was also a permanent fellow at the European Center for Comparative Government and Public Policy with the Humboldt, Free and Technical Universities in Berlin, Germany; he was a guest lecturer in Ecuador, China, and Russia; he was also a visiting scholar at the Max Planck Institute for Foreign and International Social Law as well as the Brookings Institute and Johns Hopkins University; he was the commencement speaker at Johns Hopkins in 1994 for the School of Arts and Sciences; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rich served as the director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois from 1986 until he retired in 2012; he valued every opportunity to mentor, engage with the community, and teach others; his community engagement included volunteer work with B'nai B'rith, the Urban League, the League of Women Voters, and the Kiwanis Club; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rich's career highlights at the University of Illinois include holding the positions of director of the Jon David and Elizabeth Epstein Health Law and Policy Program at the College of Law and acting head of the Medical Humanities and Social Sciences Program; in addition to his appointments in the Colleges of Law, Medicine, and Political Science, he held appointments in the community health and environmental studies programs; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rich received an award from the Miriam K. Mills Research Center for Super-Optimizing Analysis and Developing Nations in 1996 that best encapsulates his career, which reads as follows, "The Thomas Jefferson Award for outstanding contributions to promoting free speech, due process, and merit treatment, also democratic governance and ethical interaction to Robert Rich, political science superstar."; and

WHEREAS, As the inaugural recipient in 1993, Dr. Rich was most proud of receiving the Robert F. Rich Research Award from the World Federation for Mental Health Scientific Committee on Mental Health Needs of Victims; he also received the 2004 University of Illinois Campus Faculty Award for Excellence in Public Engagement, the Emil Limbach Teaching Award from Carnegie Mellon University School of Urban and Public Affairs for "Excellence in the Classroom", and the Aaron Wildavsky Enduring Contribution Award from the American Political Science Association for the best publication in policy studies for "Utilization of Policy Research", a chapter in the Encyclopedia of Policy Studies (Second Edition) that he co-authored with Cheol H. Oh; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rich enjoyed reading, fishing, games, going to the beach, and spending time with his family; he cheered on the Illini and the Chicago Cubs and was incredibly proud of his children and grandchildren, bragging about their accomplishments at every opportunity; one of his favorite titles was grandpa or "Opa"; he loved engaging with his grandchildren in whatever way made them laugh, and his deep love for his family endures in the love they show each other; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Rich is survived by his wife of 48 years, Lucy; his children, Rebecca (Matthew), Rachel Zara (Mark), and Max (Elizabeth); his grandchildren, Joseph, Nelia, and Adele; and his brother, Dennis (Elizabeth); therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Robert F. Rich, Ph.D and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dr. Rich as an expression of our deepest sympathy.