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Rick O'Donnell
President
Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence
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Policy Expert - Rick O'Donnell
Senior Fellow Rick O’Donnell is president of the Acton Foundation for Entrepreneurial Excellence. The Foundation trains and equips entrepreneurs to become master teachers to prepare talented and dedicated students for extraordinary lives as the next generation of principled entrepreneurs.
Previously, Mr. O’Donnell served in the Cabinet of Colorado’s Governor as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. The Department oversees all 29 public institutions of higher education in the state that cumulatively enroll nearly 270,000 students. Mr. O’Donnell’s accomplishments included implementing the first voucher of higher education funding in the country, establishing the nation’s leading performance accountability contracts for colleges and universities, and launching the largest effort in state history to expand college access for under-served and under-represented students.
Mr. O’Donnell also served as Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies, where he oversaw more than 500,000 licensed professionals in the banking, insurance, securities, telecommunications, and energy industries. While at the Department, he established the Office of Economic Competitiveness and Regulatory Reform that helps the private sector keep track of regulations via the Internet and get involved in the regulatory process; this system is also the first of its kind in nation.
O'Donnell's Publications
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| Is Academic Research a Good Investment for Texas? | December 31, 2008 |
| By Rick O'Donnell
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The key to preparing the next generation of Texans for more productive and meaningful lives is not to pour billions of additional dollars into higher education research, but to
return our colleges and universities to their original mission—teaching students. |
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| Let's Not Forget the Liberal Arts | December 31, 2008 |
| The Collapse of Undergraduate Teaching | By Rick O'Donnell
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Traditional liberal arts programs are disappearing from higher education in America. The curriculum of most large American universities is a mish-mash of courses that reflect the research interests of the faculty, rather than a program designed to teach students to read, write, or think critically.
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| Denied Access: Fewer Texans Attend College Because There Are Fewer Options | October 17, 2007 |
| By Rick O'Donnell
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Texas lags other states in higher education enrollment. While lawmakers traditionally focus on state funding for higher education, data shows a major source of the Texas gap is enrollment at private, for-profit colleges that is less than half of the national average. To close the gap, regulatory barriers to entry for new for-profit institutions, campuses, and degree programs must be reexamined with the goals of enhancing access, affordability, and competition. |
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| What the Securities & Exchange Commission Can Teach Us About College Accreditation | June 18, 2007 |
| By Rick O'Donnell
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The current accreditation process for colleges and universities is costly, lengthy, and bureaucratic. This paper proposes an alternative college accreditation process involving incentives, greater transparency, and less regulation.
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Austin, TX 78701
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