Sitting in his office situated on the sprawling, leafy green campus of the University of Richmond on a sunny fall afternoon, Dr. Ronald Crutcher, the institution’s new president, is looking quite fresh for a man of 68. After stepping down last year after 10 years as president of Wheaton College, Crutcher, an accomplished cellist, says he planned originally to go on to lead an arts organization. He even interviewed for the presidency of a top symphony orchestra. Yet his passion remained higher ed leadership.
“I realized it hadn’t seemed like work to me. There were ups and downs but I enjoyed” serving as president of Wheaton. “It really got me going. And so I said to my wife, ‘I think if I can find the right institution, I’m going to do this again,’” he relates.
Crutcher makes history as Richmond’s first African-American president; he was also the first African-American to lead Wheaton College. In fact, Crutcher’s been breaking barriers his whole career—he was also the first cellist to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Yale University.
Crutcher says the reception he and his wife, Dr. Betty Neal Crutcher, have received at Richmond has been tremendous. Yet when asked to reflect on the reception he received as the first African-American to lead Richmond compared to the reception he received as the first African-American to assume the presidency of Wheaton, he says he has observed a “distinct” difference.
“We were welcomed warmly by the [Wheaton] community. But there was one difference my wife and I have noted about our welcome there and our welcome here. In Massachusetts, I would say seven times out of 10, a person would say, ‘Oh, so happy to have you here,’ and they would always ask me about my background.
“Whereas, here, no one ever asked me about my background. In fact, you know what happens here? People have thanked us for coming here. It could be that’s a difference between a veteran president and a brand new president.” However, “it was more than that. It was almost as if you had to prove that you had the qualifications.”
Presidential path
