Richard A. Lee, Ph.D., is a writer who has worked in journalism, government and academia during a career that spans more than 40 years.
As a journalist, Rich held a variety of jobs ranging from political reporter to rock music critic. He worked at daily and weekly newspapers as well as an entertainment news-magazine, and his freelance articles appeared in a variety of publications, including The New York Times. While working as State House Correspondent for The News Tribune of Woodbridge, he was awarded first place in the New Jersey Press Association’s 1987 Better News Contest in the Interpretive Writing Category.
In government, Rich held communications positions at the Mayor’s Office in Woodbridge, N.J., the New Jersey General Assembly and the Office of the Governor in New Jersey. He began teaching public relations as an adjunct instructor at Mercer County Community College in 1996 and taught a media and government class at Rutgers University from 2006 to 2011. In the summer of 2010, he served as a visiting professor at John Cabot University in Rome, Italy, where he taught a class on media and elections.
Rich was a founding member of the Hall Institute of Public Policy – New Jersey and served as its Communications Director from 2005 to 2011. While at the Institute, he provided commentary and analysis for a number of media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, WNBC-TV and the Fox News Channel. When Barack Obama was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2009, he provided an American perspective for Times of India television.
Rich wrote a chapter on the impact of protest music during the Vietnam War era for War and the Media: Essays on News Reporting, Propaganda and Popular Culture, a book published by McFarland & Company in September 2009. He also authored chapters in two books published by the Hall Institute.
In 2011, Rich returned to his alma mater, St. Bonaventure University, as an Assistant Professor in the Jandoli School of Communication. Rich has taught numerous journalism, strategic communication and integrated marketing communication courses. He teaches the Jandoli School’s Media and Democracy course, and he has taught honors classes on the 2016 presidential election and New York State’s 2014 and 2018 gubernatorial elections. He was promoted to Associate Professor and received tenure in 2015.
In April of 2021, a research project conducted by students in Rich’s Media and Democracy class was featured on CNN and C-SPAN.
Rich served as director of the Jandoli School’s graduate program in Integrated Marketing Communications from 2014 to 2018, when he stepped down to devote more time to media research. He continued to teach in the IMC program, teaching a graduate public relations seminar in St. Bonaventure’s summer program at Oxford University in Great Britain.
Rich and his wife Anne team-teach Jandoli School’s Journalists’ Workshop course in which journalism students staff a news site that covers the communities near St. Bonaventure. Under their leadership, the site, TAPinto Greater Olean, has grown into a leading source for news and information for the Greater Olean community.
Rich and Anne speak regularly at academic conferences devoted to journalism, communication and pop culture. They often work with students on research and bring them to conferences, so they can participate in presentations.
Rich holds a B.A. in English from Saint Bonaventure and an M.A. in Public Media Arts from Montclair State University. In October of 2013, he received his Ph.D. in Media Studies from Rutgers University. He is a graduate of St. Benedict’s Prep in Newark, N.J.
He and Anne live in Olean, N.Y. They have two grown daughters, Meredith and Jessi.
richleeonline 