Information for the Media
Bio of Richard A. Berman
Richard A. Berman became the tenth President of Manhattanville College in 1994. A former McKinsey management consultant with a successful career as a leader in the public and private sector fields of health care and community development, Berman applied his leadership and analytical skills to reinvigorate Manhattanville College by revitalizing its core values into a compelling and timely mission: “to educate students to become ethically and socially responsible leaders for the global community.”
Today, Manhattanville is thriving as a top-rated undergraduate liberal arts college committed to helping each member of its diverse student body discover his or her own potential to make the world a better place. The college’s strong graduate programs in Education, Business and the arts award as many degrees as the undergraduate school. Under Berman’s direction, the School of Education and graduate programs in Creative Writing and Sport Business Management have grown in prestige.
For almost forty years, Richard A. Berman has been dedicated to serving his community in the public and private sectors as well as at the federal, state and local levels. After working in Washington, DC and New York City, he was appointed by Governor Hugh Carey to two vital cabinet positions in health and housing for the State of New York.
Berman served as Executive Vice President of NYU Medical Center and then joined McKinsey & Company as a management consultant. Following that, he spent four years in various roles in the executive search field with Korn Ferry International and Howe-Lewis International, where he honed his leadership skills.
Upon coming to Manhattanville, President Berman utilized these skills to transform what was then an ailing private college. A non-traditional college president who believes in the importance of good business fundamentals, Berman helped develop a new value proposition for Manhattanville by employing a consumer - (student) driven approach. To accomplish this, he has upgraded the technology, increased the quality and scope of its sports teams, created new student facilities and expanded the faculty and course offerings at the college. These changes - along with the small class sizes, 24/7 library, innovative food service programs and a desirable location in beautiful Purchase, New York - have resulted in a doubling of the enrollment, a balancing of the budget and consistently higher ratings by outside college ranking organizations.
Manhattanville College now earns spots in the top tier of colleges and high marks in The Princeton Review, U.S. News and World Report, and other college guidebooks. A 2002 New York Times article titled “The Man Who Turned Manhattanville Around” noted that “though Mr. Berman did not wave a magic wand, it almost seems as if he did.”
In September of 2006, the College dedicated its new Environmental Park that includes a classroom designed by Maya Lin, a restored historic chapel and a “Living Machine” filtration pool. This exciting structure provides students with the opportunity to interact with the environment while utilizing the most up-to-date technologies and materials designed for sustainability.
During his years as President at Manhattanville, Richard Berman has reached out globally as well, making it possible for foreign, merit-based scholars to attain a college education in the United States and creating relationships with international organizations. In 2006, Berman was awarded a Fulbright Commission grant to travel to Uganda and provide strategic planning and leadership training to Kabale University, the only secular university in the Western Region of Uganda.