Penn State Penn State: College of the Liberal Arts

Prof. Ray Block Appointed Michael D. Rich Chair with RAND Corp.

Prof. Ray Block Appointed Michael D. Rich Chair with RAND Corp.

The RAND Corp. has announced that Ray Block, associate professor of political science and African American studies and the Laurence and Lynne Brown-McCourtney Career Development Professor in Penn State’s McCourtney Institute for Democracy, will join the organization as its inaugural Michael D. Rich Chair for Countering Truth Decay, effective Feb. 27.

Block will remain a member of Penn State’s faculty once his appointment with RAND begins.

RAND is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization that seeks to make communities throughout the world safer and more secure, healthier and more prosperous. The Rich Chair for Countering Truth Decay was established in 2022 to honor Michael D. Rich, RAND’s former president and CEO, who initiated the organization’s work to study and restore the role of facts and analysis in public life.  See full story