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Dr. Richard Leitch earned his BA in East Asian Studies from Colby College in 1985, and went on to earn an MA in Asian Studies from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign after a two-year career on Wall Street. He earned his Ph.D. in Political Science from Illinois in 1995, where he was the recipient of the Harriet and Charles Luckman Award for Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching, and the College of Liberal Arts Award for Distinguished Teaching by a Graduate Assistant. He has been a member of the Political Science Department since 1996, where he teaches courses in International Relations, Comparative Politics, Asian Politics, Environmental Politics, and the Politics of Poverty. In 2000 he received the Swenson-Bunn Award for Teaching Excellence at Gustavus, and in 2008 the Edgar M. Carlson Award for Distinguished Teaching. In 2012 he was included in The Princeton Review's The Best 300 Professors. He was recognized as an Honorary Gustie by the Gustavus Alumni Association in 2024. His research interests include Japanese domestic politics and foreign policy, and he is the co-author of Japan's Role in the Post-Cold War World. A frequent speaker to off-campus groups, Leitch has given numerous presentations focused on US foreign policy, US-China relations, and geopolitical issues.