Archdiocese taps former CPS, charter schools official as new superintendent

The Archdiocese of Chicago is tapping a former Chicago Public Schools official and charter schools leader to serve as its new superintendent of its schools.

Greg A. Richmond will begin as the diocese's superintendent Aug. 16, overseeing 162 schools that education about 45,000 students in Cook and Lake counties.

"We are committed to building on our legacy of preparing our students for life through an education that is wholistic and marked by a strong Catholic identity," Cardinal Blase J. Cupich said in an announcement of the hire Monday. "This has been the success of our school system over many generations. Greg's experience here and around the world will give us a creative, best practice-based approach to achieving that goal."

Richmond replaces Jim Rigg, who stepped down in March after more than five years as superintendent and has gone on to take a similar role with the Archdiocese of Miami.

Richmond worked for the Chicago Public Schools from 1994 to 2005, leading efforts to partner with educators and community organizations to create new schools, according to the archdiocese. He founded the district's Charter Schools Office in 1997 and later led all new school development activities in CPS

From 2005 through 2019, he was the chief executive officer of the National Association of Charter School Authorizers, which under his leadership established the nation's professional standards for authorizing charter schools. In 2017, he was inducted into the National Charter Schools Hall of Fame.

He also served as the founding chairman of the Illinois State Charter School Commission from 2011 to 2015, working with educators and communities throughout the state to evaluate proposals for new charter schools and monitor existing charter.

Richmond most recently was founder of the Richmond Strategy Group and is a senior fellow at the Future Ed think tank at Georgetown University and a Pahara Fellow at the Aspen Institute. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin and a master's degree from the University of Minnesota.