Ronald A. Crutcher, president emeritus and university professor at the University of Richmond in Virginia, has received the President’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Education from the American Association of Colleges and Universities.
The award honors individuals who have provided dedicated service, consistent advocacy, and outstanding leadership to the higher education community nationally or internationally.
“My liberal arts education and career have taught me that learning happens through both speaking up and actively listening,” said Dr. Crutcher. “This award affirms my belief that the ultimate goals of education are about fostering connection, fueling curiosity, and engaging thoughtfully.”
Dr. Crutcher served as the tenth president of the University of Richmond from 2015 to 2021. A longtime professor of music and professional cellist, he previously served as president of Wheaton College in Massachusetts, provost at Miami University in Ohio, and co-chair of Liberal Education and America’s Promise (LEAP). Dr. Crutcher has also held leadership roles with the Cleveland Institute of Music and the Butler School of Music at the University of Texas at Austin.
In 2021, Dr. Crutcher published his memoir, I Had No Idea You Were Back: Navigating Race on the Road to Leadership (Clyde Hill Publishing). He continues to write and speak on the value of and democratic purposes of higher education, diversity and inclusion, and free expression on campus. He also serves as a senior fellow with the Aspen Institute. Dr. Crutcher’s next book, a collection of essays on inequity in education as a threat to democracy, is under review at the University of Virginia Press.
Dr. Crutcher earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami University and a master’s degree and a doctorate from Yale University, where he was the university’s first cellist to receive a doctor of musical arts degree.
