The Syracuse University School of Education will induct advisory board member Raphael T. Richard G'12 into the Class of 2024 Convocation Ceremony to be held at the John A. Lally Athletics Complex on May 13 at 4:30 p.m. announced that he would give a speech.
Rafael T. Richard
Richard is Head of Emerging Talent Recruitment for University Partnerships at technology giant Cisco, where he drives recruiting strategies and engaging programs that connect emerging and academic talent with career opportunities at Fortune 100 companies.
Richard experienced the educational and career benefits created by student leadership while earning a bachelor's degree in urban studies and public policy from Dillard University, a historically black college in New Orleans. Inspired by his experiences during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Richard began his professional career as a diversity education specialist at Syracuse University, earning a master's degree in higher education from the School of Education. did.
Richard continued his career in higher education at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (as coordinator of the Multicultural and Diversity Program) and Columbia University (as assistant director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs), where he focused on social justice, intercultural and designed, branded, and expanded social justice. Dialogue initiatives.
Richard then transferred his passion for diversity recruitment to the nonprofit sector, spending four years managing a national internship program for college students at the T. Howard Foundation, which is dedicated to promoting diversity in the media industry. At the Foundation, Richard has helped more than 700 of his students obtain internships at more than 40 media, entertainment, and technology companies, including Paramount, NBCUniversal, Snap Inc., The New York Times, and ABC/ESPN.
In 2021, Richard earned a Diversity and Inclusion certificate through Cornell University's School of Industrial and Labor Relations and joined Cisco in the same year, initially as an Entry Talent and Campus Channel Manager.
In addition to advising the School of Education, Richard is committed to furthering his impact through service, serving on the advisory board of Pell Scholas Metropolitan Area, senior fellow at the Melton Foundation, and Alpha Phi Foundation. He is also a member of Alpha Fraternity.
