Rob Reich is the McGregor-Girand Professor of Social Ethics of Science and Technology at Stanford University and Professor of Political Science, with courtesy appointments in Philosophy, Law, and Education. He received a Ph.D. in Education from Stanford University in 1998, an M.A. in Philosophy from Stanford University in 1998, and a B.A. in Philosophy from Yale University in 1991. Before pursuing graduate studies, Reich taught sixth grade at Rusk Elementary School in Houston, Texas.

Reich has been a faculty member at Stanford since 1998, beginning as Assistant Professor of Political Science and advancing to Associate Professor in 2008 and Professor in 2015. He held key leadership positions including Faculty Director of the McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society from 2015 to 2023, Faculty Co-Director of the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society since 2008, and Associate Director of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence from 2018 to 2023. In 2024-25, he was on public service leave as Senior Advisor to the United States Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute. His research examines political philosophy, governance of frontier science and technology, philanthropy in democratic societies, and education policy. Prominent publications include System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot (2021, with Mehran Sahami and Jeremy M. Weinstein), Just Giving: Why Philanthropy is Failing Democracy and How It Can Do Better (2018), Bridging Liberalism and Multiculturalism in American Education (2002), and edited volumes Digital Technology and Democratic Theory (2021) and Philanthropy in Democratic Societies (2016). Reich has received the Walter J. Gores Award for Teaching (2001), Phi Beta Kappa Undergraduate Teaching Prize (2008), and PROSE Award for best book in education (2013). He serves on the boards of Boston Review and the Spencer Foundation, was inaugural board chair of #GivingTuesday, and has testified before Congress while contributing to outlets such as The New York Times and The Atlantic.

Professional Email: reich@stanford.edu