Richard A. Swanson

Richard A. Swanson (born 1942) is an American organizational theorist and Distinguished Research Professor of Human Resource Development and the Sam Lindsey Chair at the University of Texas at Tyler (UTT), known for his synthesis work on the financial research related to human resource development.

Biography Swanson was born in 1942. He received a B.A. at The College of New Jersey in 1964 and a M.A. in 1966. In 1968 he received an Ed.D. from the University of Illinois.

Swanson has worked at the University of Minnesota from 1979 until 2005, and since 2005 as professor emeritus of Human Resource Development and Adult Education at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. He is also professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Since 2006 Swanson is a Distinguished Research Professor of Human Resource Development and the Sam Lindsey Chair at the College of Business and Technology at the University of Texas at Tyler.

Swanson has been organizationally active for a long time. In 1968 he initiated and directed an effort by the Department of Industrial Education in recruiting disadvantaged undergraduates from Ohio's center cities. Among three dozen other activities, he has been president of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), and at the end of 2007 he chaired UTT's HRD Faculty Search Committee.

Publications Swanson has written and co-authored some seven books and more than 200 articles and other publications. A selection: 1988. Forecasting Financial Benefits of Human Resource Development 1990. Performance appraisal : perspectives on a quality management approach. With Gary N. McLean, and Susan R. Damme, editors. 1996. Analysis for Improving Performance: Tools for Diagnosing Organizations and Documenting Workplace Expertise. 1999. Results: How to Assess Performance, Learning, and Perceptions in Organizations 2001. Foundations of Human Resource Development 2001. Assessing the Financial Benefits of Human Resource Development 2005. The Adult Learner 2005. Research in Organizations. 2007. Analysis for improving performance : tools for diagnosing organizations and documenting workplace expertise