Faculty Awards 2021: Richard Harknett

College of Arts and Sciences cyber security expert honored with Provost Faculty Career Award

As the recipient of UC’s Provost Career Award, Richard J. Harknett — with his 30 years on faculty at the University of Cincinnati — has proved himself a distinguish scholar and researcher in the field of political science and an effective administrator in a number of roles.

Harknett has excelled at representing both UC and his field by undertaking an academic journey that led to his current position as professor and head of the Department of Political Science and status as an international expert in cyber strategy.

Not surprisingly, Harknett’s receipt of the provost award is not his first UC accolade; he holds a trifecta of UC faculty awards by already receiving recognition for distinguished teaching, distinguished service and research. Of note, he has been involved in 20 completed doctoral dissertations and chaired nine, with five former students already receiving tenure and promotion, while his research pursuits have garnered over $19 million in external funding.

“Anyone who reads Dr. Harknett’s curriculum vitae cannot but marvel at the amount of service he has provided to the university and the College of Arts and Sciences,” says Valerio Ferme, professor and dean of the college.

Richard Harknett, professor and chair of UC's Department of Political Science.

During the past three decades of Harknett’s achievements — to include two Fulbright Scholar appointments: one in Cyber Studies at Oxford University in the United Kingdom and one in International Relations at the Diplomatic Academy in Vienna, Austria — he became recognized as an institution builder at UC. He facilitated the creation of the Charles Phelps Taft Research Center; was instrumental in establishing the Ohio Cyber Range Institute for the state of Ohio of which he is currently co-director and the Center for Cyber Strategy and Policy, which he currently chairs; and was the lead writer of the strategic plan for the Institute for Global Affairs that became UC International. Harknett helped lead the conversation in UC’s conversion to semesters with a focus on rethinking the curriculum through the original e-curriculum process and served as Chair of the University Faculty.

On a national policy level, Harknett played a key intellectual and analytical role in the development of the new U.S. doctrine of cyber persistent engagement in 2016 and shifts in U.S. national security strategy relative to cyberspace in 2018. He has testified on Capitol Hill and presented abroad countless times in 11 different countries, while authoring more than 60 publications in the areas of international relations theory, security and cyber security studies.

His passion for scholarship and learning at UC is only matched by his love and gratitude for his wife and daughter without whom the successes of his career would not have been possible.

Featured image at top of Richard Harknett. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand