Harold J. Raveché

Harold Joseph Raveché (born March 18, 1943) was the sixth President of Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey. He is the founder and president of Innovation Strategies International, a global education-innovation consulting firm.

Education and early career Raveché was born in Brooklyn, New York. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at Hofstra University in 1963. He then earned a PhD in physical chemistry and statistical mechanics from the University of California at San Diego, where his research was in statistical mechanics.

Following his PhD work at UCSD, Raveché was awarded a research fellowship working with Melville S. Green at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and then accepted a research chemist position. At the NIST, he founded the thermodynamics division and conducted a federal study on supercomputing.

In 1985 Raveché was named Dean of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he helped restructure their Science Initiatives Program to advance science education and helped increase the program’s federal research grants to $9 million. He also attracted 27 new faculty members from institutions such as the National Academy of Sciences and Duke and Columbia Universities.

Raveché also emphasized the importance of a well-rounded student experience at Stevens. He expanded the Scholar-Athlete program and oversaw the renovation of student dormitories and the construction of new buildings, including the Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr. Center for Technology Management and the Rocco Technology Center.

As president of the Stevens Institute of Technology, Raveché led the foundation of a private university in the Dominican Republic, called Stevens Institute of Technology International.

Political prospects A self-described pro-business moderate Republican, Raveché was mentioned as a possible contender in the Republican primary elections for the New Jersey governor’s race as early as 2005, and again in 2009. Also in 2009, he was asked to run for the seat of retiring New Jersey Senior Congressman, and Republican stalwart, H. James Saxton. A resident of Saxton’s 3rd Congressional District, Raveché respectfully declined to enter the race in order to continue in his role as president of Stevens.

Allegations by New Jersey Attorney General On September 17, 2009, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram announced charges against Raveché and the Stevens board of trustees chairman Lawrence T. Babbio, Jr. According to the state's 16-count lawsuit, Stevens' leaders allegedly kept several trustees in the dark about the school's financial condition.

The lawsuit alleged that Raveché and Babbio misrepresented the finances of the school and caused the endowment to fall by $42 million from $157 million in 2000 to $115 million in 2009.

The school denied the allegations, brought a preemptive lawsuit against the State of New Jersey, and contended that the state attorney general had overstepped her legal authority. The Stevens trustees also sought unsuccessfully to keep the Attorney General's lawsuit confidential. Raveché was succeeded by Nariman Farvardin.

Innovation Strategies International After leaving Stevens, Raveché founded Innovation Strategies International, a consulting firm which assists universities, corporations and government agencies with entrepreneurship and innovation. Raveché was the longtime science and technology adviser to President Leonel Fernandez of the Dominican Republic. Raveché also served as entrepreneur-in-residence at the National University of Malaysia, and lectures on innovation in Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Vietnam, Taiwan and Korea. Raveché also occasionally writes on topics of geopolitics, technology, military preparedness and national security. In 2014 Raveché was appointed by Beneficial Holdings, Inc., as an independent member of its board of directors. He has been on the board of directors of several electronics, power-generation and financial organizations.