Richard Senese, Ph.D., L.P., is president of Capella University. His work has expanded the university’s FlexPath offerings, which provide one of the country’s foremost direct assessment, competency-based learning formats, providing students the ability to have greater control setting their pace. Richard has been a leader in academic innovation, including establishing the Capella Fellows program that helps participants build the talent and leadership skills required to mitigate social and economic inequities in the communities it serves.

Active nationally in higher education leadership, Richard serves on the Presidents Forum board and is treasurer of LGBTQ Presidents in Higher Education. He is a board member and past board chair of the Center for Victims of Torture and has served as a member of the Foundation’s development committee. In 2019 the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal recognized Richard for his commitment to the LGBTQ community. A former professor at St. Olaf College, Metropolitan State University and the College of St. Scholastica, Richard has held leadership roles at the University of Minnesota Extension and was associate dean of Capella University’s Harold Abel School of Psychology.