Richard A. Stafford
 | |
Distinguished Service Professor |
Professional Background
Rick Stafford has been a Distinguished Service Professor of Public Policy at the Heinz School of Carnegie Mellon University since June 2005. He holds a B.S. in mathematics and M.S. in Public Management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Prior to his Heinz appointment, he served as Chief Executive Officer for the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and its affiliated regional development organizations, the Pennsylvania Economy League-Western Division, Greater Pittsburgh Chamber of Commerce, and Pittsburgh Regional Alliance.
Most of his career has been dedicated to public service and public policy. He served as Secretary of Legislative Affairs in the cabinet of Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh during the governor’s first term and as chief of staff for the last year and one-half of his second term. Mr. Stafford was Director of Research and Issues for the Thornburgh for Governor Committee and served as the Director of Transition between the administrations of Governor Shapp and Governor Thornburgh.
His experience prior to state government included Special Assistant to the Executive Director of the Port Authority of Allegheny County; Research Associate with the Urban Systems Institute of Carnegie Mellon University; and Systems Analyst with Westinghouse Research Laboratories. He authored and co-authored numerous reports and articles during his tenure in these positions.
He has done extensive consulting in the public policy arena, including work for the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, the U.S. Department of Justice, the Pennsylvania Manufacturer’s Association, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation, the Institute of Politics at the University of Pittsburgh, and the Progress Fund.
Mr. Stafford has also been active in business, working as Director of Corporate Finance at the Pittsburgh investment banking firm of Russell, Rea, Zappala and launching two family businesses. FARR Communications, Inc. owned, operated and divested an AM/FM radio station. Laurel Vista, Inc. owns and operates a produce farm where the family resides.
Honors
Stafford is a recipient of Carnegie Mellon University’s Alumni Merit Award, the Heinz School’s Public Service Award, and an inductee to the Junior Achievement of Southwest Pennsylvania Hall of Fame.
Research and Teaching
Stafford’s research and teaching are focused on the area of “engineering public policy change,” that is, the skills and techniques necessary for successfully influencing the enactment of legislation at the local, state and federal level.
He is the CMU faculty advisor on the Pennsylvania Policy Database Project. The Project is a two-year effort of five Pennsylvania Universities – Temple (the lead), Penn, Penn State, Pitt and CMU – to establish the first comprehensive state policy database. See http://www.temple.edu/papolicy/ for more information.
Community Service
Stafford currently serves as Chair of the Funding Oversight Committee of the Flight 93 National Memorial Project dedicated to the development and implementation of a federally mandated plan to recognize and remember the heroes of United Airlines Flight 93 which crashed in Somerset County, Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001. He has served on a variety of public boards and commissions including the Independent Regulatory Review Commission of Pennsylvania; the Commission on Financing Higher Education in Pennsylvania; the Pennsylvania Public Television Network; Three Rivers Shakespeare Festival; Regional Industrial Development Corporation; and Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.