Richard Dittus, Sr., Ed.D.

Richard J. Dittus serves as the Chair of the Mathematics Department and Instructor of Mathematics. During his 22 years at Ave Maria University, Dr. Dittus has also served as the Director of Admissions, Director of the Student Success Program, and as the Director of the Sophomore Success QEP. He has been teaching mathematics courses at Ave Maria University since 2004.

After completing his bachelor’s degree at Fordham University, Dr. Dittus taught high school mathematics and coached tennis at St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows, New York for five years. He developed a senior-year elective mathematics course in Probability and Statistics in which students received four college credits.

Dr. Dittus spent 17 years in the financial services industry where he was able to gain experience while acquiring insights on how mathematics, statistics, and information systems are used in business-related applications. He was a presenter at several PriceWaterhouseCoopers Summit-D International Client Conferences and became a Leadership Strategies Certified Facilitator. Some business career highlights include:

• Developing the first actuarial-based expert system presented at the First World Congress on Expert Systems which assisted actuaries in analyzing $10 billion in pension reserves, reduced GAAP and STAT reserves, and increased funds available for corporate acquisitions.
• Reengineering a pension financial system which saved more than $100,000 annually and which received the MetLife Team of the 90’s Award.
• Analyzing requirements and recommending a departmental computer system for automating a corporate law department which resulted in quicker processing and improved productivity while reducing the support staff and was recognized through MetLife’s Presidential Quality Award Program.
• Initiating and implementing strategic approaches for improving corporate software engineering practices, including project management and methodology, metrics, quality assurance, and test planning and procedures which reduced development time, costs and maintenance effort.
• Planning and facilitating more than 90 work sessions to build consensus on major issues while developing business process reengineering plans and deliverables which improved the project business value while enhancing customer relations and managing their expectations.
• Proposing, planning, and developing the MetLife Project Management Facilitation team, which significantly reduced the effort required in strategic planning, project planning, requirements analysis and systems designing for major corporate initiatives.
• Marketing facilitation and process improvement services to various lines of business by developing, coordinating, and delivering seminars, presentations, training sessions and panel discussions which more than tripled the requests for services.

In 1999, Dr. Dittus transitioned back to teaching high school mathematics and coaching tennis for three years, including being among the founding faculty members of Blessed Trinity Catholic High School in Roswell, Georgia. Dr. Dittus joined Ave Maria College as the Director of Admissions at the Ypsilanti, Michigan campus in 2002 and was among the first employees to transition to the Naples campus. From 2006 through 2010, Dr. Dittus developed and led the High School Summer Program for prospective college students. In 2007, Dr. Dittus developed and directed the Student Success Program which provided academic advising and support particularly for students who were on academic, financial aid, or scholarship probation or who were considered at-risk academically. In 2013, Dr. Dittus instituted the College Algebra Club and the Fun with Functions learning communities to help students develop their math skills outside the classroom as well as provide first-year students with support in their college transition.

Dr. Dittus’ doctoral studies focused on Higher Education Leadership. His dissertation examined the impact of mentoring and developmental advising on the academic progress and retention of at-risk sophomore college students. Dr. Dittus was involved with the Sophomore Success QEP and continues to lead the Sophomore Success Program.

Sophomore Success provides students with the opportunity to grow in self-knowledge combined with a proactive approach to career development. Dr. Dittus enjoys getting to personally know his students by providing a strengths-based mentoring program using the CliftonStrengths for Students assessment to identify their top five themes of talent and working on developing these talents into strengths. He encourages students to confirm their academic direction and to seek internships to explore their career interests. Dr. Dittus also supports students through the First-Year Experience Program and the Founders Scholarship Program.

Dr. Dittus was a presenter and group facilitator at the National Small College Enrollment Conference. Presentation topics include:

• Strengths-Based Faculty Mentoring - Building Relationships that Matter (2016)
• A Practical Guide for Implementing a Strengths-Based Faculty Mentoring Program (2018)
• Improving Student Retention through Learning Communities: A Sense of Belonging (2021)

Dr. Dittus has been married to his wife Kathy for over 45 years. They have six children, who attended and graduated from Ave Maria University, as well as ten grandchildren.