Honoring Our Colleague Dr. Barbara Rich

This week marks the one year anniversary of the loss of our colleague and friend, Barbara Rich, Ed.D., who led our communications department for more than twenty years. To honor her memory, we are pleased to announce that we are joining her daughter, Marla Hassner, in the endowment of a new “Barbara Rich Award for Social Justice” at her alma mater, the City College of New York (CCNY). This award will be given every spring to “an outstanding graduating senior at CCNY who (1) has demonstrated talent in the study and practical pursuit of social justice and (2) has demonstrated the potential to be a social justice leader in their career.”

A plaque bearing the names of the recipients will be displayed at the college’s Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership. It will read:

Barbara Rich was a proud alumna of the City College of New York who, beginning as a student activist and continuing throughout her life, fought for social justice and equality, and defended the civil rights of all people. At CCNY she worked on the college newspaper and challenged those who would limit free speech and restrict personal freedom. She went on to earn her doctorate from Columbia University, but always considered herself first a City College graduate. After a lengthy career in academia, Dr. Rich served as Executive Vice President at the Dana Foundation. She was an educator, a communicator, a leader, and an unyielding advocate for a more equal and just society.