Rick Bailey

Richard J. Bailey, Jr. (Rick) and his wife Diana joined the Southern Oregon University family in January 2022 as President, after five-and-a-half years as the president of Northern New Mexico College and a twenty-four-year career in the United States Air Force.  Dr. Bailey received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Sciences from the United States Air Force Academy, a master’s degree in International Affairs from Washington University in St. Louis, and a doctorate in Government from Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Dr. Bailey’s Air Force career included service as an aircraft commander, instructor pilot, and flight examiner. He retired from the Air Force as a full colonel and command pilot with over 3,500 flying hours.  After completing his PhD in 2006, Dr. Bailey served as a military liaison and defense trade analyst at the U.S. State Department. He later served as Chief Air Operations Officer at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Joint Force Command Brunssum in The Netherlands, where he oversaw air operations efforts for the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) mission in Afghanistan.  He also served as associate professor of strategy and security studies at the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies at Air University, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, and served as the school’s first-ever Dean of Students.  In 2014, Dr. Bailey was elected the first-ever President of the Air University Faculty Senate, advising senior leaders on all issues pertinent to the university’s 600+ faculty members. He is the only faculty member in the university’s history to receive both the Faculty Excellence Award, given annually to the highest rated faculty member at the university, and the Muir S. Fairchild Award, for the most outstanding contributions to Air Force Education.

In addition to his presidential duties at SOU, and his involvement with the SOREDI Board, Dr. Bailey serves on the Rogue Workforce Partnership Board, the Council of State Representatives at the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), the Council of Presidents for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), and the Board of Visitors for Air University.