Richard Griffin, Former ACUP President, Passes Away

It’s been a sad couple of weeks for the in-plant community. On Monday, Richard Griffin, former manager of Central Piedmont Community College’s in-plant and past president of the Association of College and University Printers (ACUP+) passed away at 71. He had been suffering from Multiple System Atrophy, which he revealed to his friends in a social media post two years ago.

Richard Griffin

“I'm astounded by the love I've received from everyone, everywhere,” he wrote. “You people are the absolute best.”

His passing follows that of another ACUP president, Bob Lane, former manager of Arizona State University’s in-plant, just two weeks ago.

Richard worked his way up from a press operator to eventually become director of Central Piedmont Community College Campus Printing, in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2005.

"During his seven-year tenure at Campus Printing, Richard upgraded Campus Printing with new equipment and ideas," remembers coworker and current director, Nancy Green. "He purchased a Roland wide-format printer and Konica Minolta high-volume printer to increase our revenues. We started printing posters, signage and installing lettering on the college fleet of vehicles. We changed the name from Campus Printing to Campus Printing & Signs."

Richard Griffin

She remembers him fondly for his genuine friendship and support. "He served the needs of every person he encountered at the college," she reflects. "I can truly say Richard was my friend, and I always had his back and will miss him dearly."

While at Central Piedmont Community College, Richard's flare for writing got him published in In-plant Printer magazine, a now defunct competitor of In-plant Impressions.

Because of his involvement with my competitor, I was a little wary of Richard when we met at ACUP 2005 in Boston. But his friendly nature soon melted my skepticism, and we became friends. I eventually even published several of his columns in IPI.

In the bio Richard submitted with his articles, he described his career like this: “Richard Griffin has been a flyboy, a press helper, a pressman, a shift supervisor, a pressroom manager and a plant manager. He's been a press mechanic and a press erector. He also sold printing, offset presses and Xerox machines, and founded Press Statistics, a consultancy for offset press acquisition and printing operations.”

Richard’s enthusiasm for ACUP and his fellow in-plant managers was so strong that he eagerly offered to host ACUP 2009 in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He lined up excellent speakers and brought in strong vendor support. But he didn’t count on the recession, which fueled travel bans at hundreds of schools around the country. Conference registrations were so low that he had to cancel ACUP for the first time ever.

Richard Griffin welcomes attendees of ACUP 2010.

This came at a great cost for him, since he had followed the tradition of past hosts and guaranteed room blocks at the hotel. He had to negotiate and plead with the hotel to avoid a large penalty. His experience changed the structure of ACUP, inspiring its rebirth as a nonprofit organization.

The next year, Richard shrugged off that setback and agreed to host ACUP 2010 in Charlotte. He put together an excellent program with a dinner boat cruise and a visit to the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The latter event inspired that year’s racecar-themed ACUP shirts, one of which is still presented by the outgoing ACUP president to the new president in tribute to Richard.

"The Charlotte ACUP conference was my first and I will never forget it," says Chuck Brantley, Mail Services manager at Ringling College of Art and Design. "Richard was always so kind and helpful."

The ACUP+ board of directors expressed its sadness over Richard Griffin's passing and issued this statement: "His kind and friendly spirit welcomed all whom interacted with him. He was always positive and willing to share experiences and advice and was very active in the organization until his retirement. His contributions to ACUP+ will not be forgotten. He will always be remembered with a smile by those who knew him well."

In 2012, Richard decided to look beyond Charlotte and took the job as director of Printing & Distribution Solutions at the University of North Texas. It did not go as planned, though, and he found himself back in North Carolina. He worked for a time at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools’ in-plant, but the first symptoms of the disease that would later claim him began to appear, and he eventually left the position.

In 2017, ACUP honored Richard by inducting him into its Hall of Fame. Though he couldn’t attend, I sent him a video of the ceremony, which he appreciated.

Richard Griffin (right) talked with fellow managers at ACUP 2012. From left: Rodney Brown (University of Delaware), Maury Kane (Temple University), Steve Dimond (MIT) and Richard Griffin (Central Piedmont Community College).

His articles in IPI were full of sage advice. “You must honor your people. You must respect them,” he wrote in this 2009 piece. “Empower them with the authority they need to make job-related decisions on the fly. You must listen attentively to their concerns and act on those concerns whenever feasible. Your people are much more likely to care about your customers if they know you care about them.”

Richard’s advice also flowed freely on a popular higher-ed in-plant listserv, where he frequently chimed in to help other managers with their problems.

"I always enjoyed talking with Richard and never heard him say anything negative about anyone," recalls Ken Johnson of Ball State University. "He just wrapped everything in that southern charm. He will be missed."

All who knew Richard will remember his smile and his good nature. He seemed to be always in a cheerful mood and put others at ease. Though it was years since I saw him last, I will miss him and remember him fondly for his support of ACUP and of in-plants everywhere.

And I will also miss, as will all who knew him, the cheerful way Richard always ended his emails: “Make it a grand day.”

Past ACUP President Richard Griffin (right) stands to address the crowd during a business lunch discussing the future of ACUP. With him are other members of the board and ACUP staff. From left: Jennifer Bowers, Ray Chambers, Steve Dimond, Maury Kane and Tom Tozier.