Professor Richard McGinity joined the University of Wyoming faculty in 2007 when the Dean of the College of Business invited him to teach Business Ethics to apply for the Bill Daniels Chair of Business Ethics.
He got his undergraduate as a history major from Princeton and his MBA from the Harvard Business School in 1973 and his Ph.D. in 1980. He achieved many things in his career before he joined UW.
“After Princeton I joined flight school as a navy pilot, I was deployed to Vietnam 3 times and I left in 1971 to go to Harvard,” McGinity said.
He worked for a Consulting Company in New York City in 1978. Then he moved back to Boston in 1983 where he was a partner in a venture capital fund. He also started his own Boutique Investment Banking in Boston in 1986 until 2007. His clients were technology companies in New England. He has also been a member of board of directors in many public and private companies.
He first came to Wyoming in 1982 where he fell in love with the wilderness and was involved with a dude ranch, later purchasing it.
McGinity held the position of the President of the University from 2013 to 2016.
“I am honored to have been invited to teach here at UW and was also much honored to have been asked to be the President of the University in 2013,” McGinity said.
He also talked about why he chose to be a part of this university and work here with our students.
“University of Wyoming is a land grant university, which means it was created to enable people from the states to have an opportunity to better themselves by getting an education, that they would not have otherwise,” McGinity said. “So, seeing that this university works for the betterment of lives, I am very proud of its mission and very happy to be a part of it.”
McGinity believes this university works for the growth and diversification of the economy. He also added that a student in this university can get every bit of an education that they can get studying at an Ivy League school.
“I really like teaching here at UW, the students here don’t have the sense of entitlement that many private universities do,” McGinity said. “Their work ethics are also great. The faculty here also care more about students individually and in groups.”
Students at the university also share respect for their professor.
“His classes are definitely fun and interesting and I really like interacting with him even after classes,” mechanical engineering student, Ahmed Elthouky said.
Business Management student, Gab Pisid said, “I liked the class I took with him. He has a lot of knowledge and experience to share and he cares for his students a lot.”
McGinity is proud of his history prior to UW.
“I am proud of having served in the military at a time in our nation’s history when it was really unpopular,” McGinity said.
McGinity also co-authored a book regarding agricultural development. He is still active in the field of venture capital, and eager to assist owners of growing businesses in the building and financing of their businesses.
Professionally he would like to continue to work with students and assisting in the growth and diversification of the state’s economy.
“I really like Wyoming,” McGinity said. “I also really like to be on a horseback in the wilderness.”
