Richard Clinch, an expert in economic and workforce development issues who has been closely involved in analyses of Maryland's economic trends for several years, was named director of the Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore in 2015.
Clinch brings more than two decades of experience in economic and workforce development, in both an academic and consulting setting. He spent 20 years at the Jacob France Institute, where he served as director of economic research. Starting in 2013, he worked in Maryland for Battelle Memorial Institute's Technology Partnership Practice. Battelle, based in Columbus, Ohio, is one of the nation's leading providers of consulting and analysis in the field of technology-based economic development. He returned to The Jacob France Institute to impact in economic development and labor policies.
Clinch began his career as an analyst for the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress where he specialized in Science and Technology Policy. He earned a master's degree in Public Policy from Duke University in 1992, and a doctorate in Public Policy from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2008.