Russell K. Osgood

Russell King Osgood
12th President of Grinnell College
In office August 1, 1998 – July 31, 2010
Preceded by	Pamela Ferguson (1991-1997) Charles L. Duke (acting)
Succeeded by	Raynard S. Kington (2010-
Personal details
Spouse(s)	Paula Osgood
Alma mater	Yale College, B.A. 1969 Yale Law School, J.D. 1974

Russell King Osgood was the twelfth president of Grinnell College (1998–2010) and a professor of history and political science. He is a legal scholar and holds a B.A. and J.D. from Yale University, formerly serving as the dean of Cornell Law School. In 2003, Russell Osgood was the highest paid liberal arts college president in the U.S.; he earned $509,130 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2004. Since 2010, he is currently serving as a Visiting Professor of Law at Washington University in St. Louis School of Law.

Osgood's present administrative actions at Grinnell revolved around a strategic plan approved by the trustees in Spring 2005. The five-year plan's goals included increasing the emphasis on inquiry-based learning and broadening the curriculum; fostering faculty, student, and staff sense of ambition, adventure, and well-being; advancing Grinnell College as a more diverse, robust intellectual community; improving the fiscal balance and stability of the college; contributing to the vitality of the city of Grinnell; and strengthening the public profile of Grinnell College, Grinnellians, and the value of a Grinnell education. The Grinnell campus has undergone much construction and renovation in the 2000s. Though the plans began during the tenure of the previous president, Pamela Ferguson, many of the projects have occurred under Osgood. World-renowned architect Cesar Pelli has designed several of the recent buildings.

Osgood stepped down from his post as president of Grinnell, effective July 31, 2010. The Board of Trustees later chose Raynard S. Kington as Osgood's successor. Reflecting on his experiences teaching both undergraduates and law students, Osgood said he "enjoyed interacting with law students as a teacher and dean, but he says he enjoys undergraduates more. 'I like law students,' he says, 'but they're much more developed and formed. Undergraduates are still making fundamental choices in their life. It’s more interesting to interact with them.'"

In January 2011, Osgood was named a semi-finalist for the position of Dean of the Boston College Law School.

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