Richard P. Keeling, MD

Chairman & Senior Executive Consultant

Dr. Keeling founded K&A in 1999 and still leads the company. His leadership and work are grounded in a strong belief that learning, higher education, and students matter; he further believes that securing a thriving future for our society, our planet, and democracy itself demands investments in and advocacy for higher learning. Rich celebrates the transformative potential of higher learning for students, and of sound processes of institutional renewal for colleges and universities. He sees K&A as a catalyst and thought partner dedicated to improving learning in its broadest sense.

Rich has worked with more than 350 institutions and organizations across North America over nearly 25 years of practice. He serves as a Public Director for the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (CAS) and has been president of four professional organizations in higher education. He has published more than 125 articles, monographs, and books, including Learning Reconsidered, Learning Reconsidered II, Assessment Reconsidered, and We’re Losing our Minds: Rethinking American Higher Education. He served as Editor of the Journal of American College Health and has received the highest awards of both the American College Health Association (ACHA) and NASPA-Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

Before founding K&A, Rich taught medicine, directed comprehensive health programs and services, and explored innovative, cross-institutional approaches to advancing student learning during 20 years on campus at the University of Virginia and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He took his bachelor’s degree in English with highest honors from the University of Virginia and his MD from Tufts University School of Medicine. An accomplished pianist and organist who wishes he had more time with those instruments, he is the proud father of three liberally educated children and the grandfather of seven future college students.

Areas of Expertise

  • Academic Affairs
  • Health, Counseling, and Well-being
  • Institutional Governance
  • Strategic & Sustainability Planning

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