A former newsman and talk show host for stations in the Northeast, Richards created and directs the Penn State Washington D.C. Program, along with the Pennsylvania Center for the First Amendment. He is a member of the Pennsylvania and U.S. Supreme Court bar. Penn State professor Richards has won teaching awards at the college and national levels, including the Scripps-Howard Foundation National Journalism Teacher of the Year Award in 2007. He is a certified as a sommelier by the Court of Master Sommeliers and often conducts wine education programs for the Smithsonian Institution. You’ve held a whole slew of jobs. Why teach?

It’s the thing I most wanted to do. There’s always new issues that are occupying the attention of the nation, and I like to bring that to students.