RICHARD F. BLEWITT

Rich Blewitt, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of The Blewitt Foundation, is a leader and major supporter of programs helping the U.S. military and their families worldwide.  He is also co-founder of Rowan & Blewitt Incorporated, a recognized premier issue and crisis management consulting firm that has worked for the top management of many of the world's leading corporations, including 30 of the Fortune 100 companies.

He is a founding member of the University of Maryland University College Board of Visitors and served as its chair from 1999 to 2003. UMUC is the leading global adult education institution, with a 60-year history of serving the U.S. military and their families around the world. He is Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Josephson Institute of Ethics, best known for its Character Counts! programs serving millions of youngsters including those at U.S. Army bases globally.

As a former corporate officer and vice president of public affairs for Velsicol Chemical Corporation, Rich received national recognition for his role in leading the company's turnaround efforts.

Rich is a former reporter for The Scranton (PA) Times and also served as a Navy journalist in Japan, where he began his course work with UMUC in 1969. He earned his UMUC Bachelor's degree in Government and Politics in 1973. Rich holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago and is a graduate of Harvard Business School's Owner/President Management Program.

Rich has held several leadership positions in the University's Alumni Association. He served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors from 1990 to 1997 and was its president from 1993 to 1994, at which time he traveled to Asia and Europe to establish UMUC's first overseas alumni chapters. In 1998, he was named UMUC's Distinguished Alumnus of the Year and in 2003, he was presented the University's Edward A. Parnell Outstanding Alumnus Award. Rich served as chair of UMUC's 50^th Anniversary Coordinating Council in 1997.

He recently established The Blewitt Foundation, which focuses on supporting U.S. military families through a caring environment that offers recreational and educational programs. The Foundation is partnering with UMUC and JIE to provide a unique program and to give a special priority to families dealing with loss, serious injuries and the anxiety involving family members serving our nation. Participants in the Foundation programs will be eligible for part-time scholarships at UMUC in a program established in the name of Rich’s parents.

He is a member of the Board of Directors of the University of Maryland Foundation and previously served on the Board of Trustees of the National Parks and Conservation Association. Rich and his wife Elizabeth have a son and Rich is the parent of two daughters as well.