Builder of a unique centre and research community

Harold Richman, founder of the Chapin Hall Center for Children at the University of Chicago, one of the Unit's partner organisations, has died at the age of 72.

Richman was a distinguished professor at the School for Social Administration at the University of Chicago when he was asked to review options for a residential centre that had been established as an orphanage in the nineteenth century. The potential for residential provision was limited. So Richman proposed diverting the endowment into the production of knowledge about helping disadvantaged children.
 
That radical idea translated into Chapin Hall. Under Richman's tutelage for the next decade, it forged a unique identity, specialising in the analysis of administrative data and – Richman's passion – the place of community in the well-being of children and families.
 
He was an unusual director of a research centre. He brought academic credentials but did not let narrow scientific interests get in the way of the need for policy-orientated investigation.
 
He was also remarkable among leaders of children's services research organisations for raising endowment funds to support his new enterprise. Arguably his greatest strength was to forge a strong community spirit within Chapin Hall, nurturing a long list of researchers who have made significant contributions to children's services and other fields. One such alumnus was Matt Stagner who in recent years returned to become Director, an appointment Richman hugely appreciated.
 
He was also a determined internationalist, forging strong links between Chapin Hall and centres in England, Israel, Ireland, Jordan and Spain.
 
The Social Research Unit has had strong links with Chapin Hall for over a decade since it provided the research base for the book Prevention and Early Intervention for Children in Need.
 
You can learn more about Harold Richman on Chapin Halls' website.