Retired Marine Maj. Gen. Ron Richard Shares Lessons on Leadership & Respect with LSU Students
September 25, 2026
About 75 students, including ROTC cadets and members of LSU's SHRM and NSLS chapters, heard the LSU alumnus speak on integrity, respect, and how to treat people.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana - Retired U.S. Marine Corps Major General Ronald "Ron" Richard came back to his alma mater on Tuesday, Sept. 22, to talk with LSU students about how leadership works in practice: how you earn respect, how you act when no one is watching, and how you treat the people around you.
About 75 students came to hear him in the Huey P. Long Fieldhouse Ballroom. The group included students in LHRD 3071: Principles of Human Resource Development, taught by Dr. Edward Gibbons, along with LSU ROTC cadets and members of LSU's student chapters of the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) and the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS).
The visit came about through Dave Lombardo, assistant director of LSU's Leadership Development Institute (LDI). Lombardo is a former U.S. Army lieutenant colonel, and he and Richard have something in common: both were artillery officers, one in the Army and one in the Marine Corps.
This semester Lombardo is working with Gibbons as the LDI liaison for consulting projects his LHRD 7571 students are completing, and he introduced Gibbons to Richard. Richard hopes to stay involved with LSU students, especially by helping students who are serving or have served in the military navigate their academic careers.
Respect over popularity.
Richard told students that leaders don't have to be liked. They aren't there to make friends, but they aren't there to make enemies either. What they need is respect, and that comes from how they behave, not from their title.
Integrity when no one is watching.
He described personal leadership as doing the right thing when there's no credit in it and no one would know the difference.
Looking after one another.
Richard told the story of a young private assigned to drive a general. The private made one request: if the vehicle was hit, don't let him burn. The general promised he wouldn't, and the private made the same promise back. From the bottom of an organization to the top, Richard said, people look after one another.
Maj. Gen. Richard closed with a simple standard: speak to the janitor in the same tone you use with your boss.
For Raz McRae, a junior in Leadership & Human Resource Development, the main point was that leadership is something you choose.
“ Being a leader is a choice, and it is one that a leader has to make every day," McRae said. "A leader must prioritize the mission and doing the best thing for the organization and the people instead of chasing glorification or recognition for oneself. ”
Gibbons put it more briefly: "Simple lessons. Hard to live. Worth hearing from someone who has."
The School of Leadership & Human Resource Development thanks Maj. Gen. Richard for his time and Dave Lombardo for helping make the visit happen. Geaux Lead!
About Maj. Gen. Richard
Richard grew up in Basile, Louisiana, and earned his bachelor's degree in history
from LSU in 1968. He then began a Marine Corps career that lasted more than 30 years.
He served in Vietnam as an artillery forward observer, and he later commanded the
10th Marine Regiment. During the Persian Gulf War he was the 2nd Marine Division's
operations officer (G-3). He went on to command the Recruit Training Regiment at Parris
Island and the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms, California.
His final assignment was Commanding General of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. His
decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service
Medal, and the Legion of Merit with valor device.
After he retired from the Marine Corps, Richard returned to LSU as chief executive officer of the Tiger Athletic Foundation, the private nonprofit that supports LSU Athletics. In 2010 the LSU Alumni Association inducted him into its Hall of Distinction.
About the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development
The School of Leadership & Human Resource Development (SLHRD) at LSU prepares students to lead people, organizations, and communities through evidence-based practice and applied research. The school offers a Bachelor of Science in Leadership & Human Resource Development, a Leadership Development Minor, a Graduate Minor in Global Leadership, a Master of Science available both on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus and through LSU Online, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Leadership & Human Resource Development on LSU’s Baton Rouge campus.
For more information, visit the School of Leadership & Human Resource Development