Richardson to Receive President's Medal at Maryland Commencement

John M. Richardson

John M. Richardson, a collegiate professor who has worked for UMUC since 1991, will receive the UMUC President's Medal at the University's Adelphi commencement ceremony. The medal honors Richardson for his role in helping UMUC attain excellence in serving adult students.

Richardson served for four years as chair of the UMUC Graduate School's Department of Information and Telecommunication Studies, directing graduate degree programs in telecommunications management, computer systems management, software engineering, and information technology. Previously, he served with the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, among others.

"John epitomizes UMUC's adeptness at 'skimming the cream off the top' of the uniquely abundant wealth of resources in the nation's capital," said UMUC President Gerald Heeger. "The flourishing IT program John has helped create is a very large jewel in our crown of expertise. I am honored to award the President's Medal to someone who serves as an extraordinary example to our students."

Richardson earned his bachelor's degree in physics at the University of Colorado and master's and doctoral degrees in electronics and physics, respectively, at Harvard University. In mid-career, he studied at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government and Graduate School of Business Administration for a year, concentrating in science and public policy.

In addition to UMUC, he taught at the University of Colorado and Harvard University, the University of Denver, the National Bureau of Standards Graduate School, and the U.S. Navy.

Richardson has frequently presented research papers to both scientific and lay audiences and delivered testimony at various congressional hearings on communications and information policy.