Richard A. Swanson (born 1942) is an American organizational theorist and Distinguished Research Professor of Human Resource Development and the Sam Lindsey Chair at the University of Texas at Tyler (UTT), known for his synthesis work on the financial research related to human resource development.
Since 2006 Swanson is a Distinguished Research Professor of Human Resource Development and the Sam Lindsey Chair at the College of Business and Technology at the University of Texas at Tyler.
In 1968 he initiated and directed an effort by the Department of Industrial Education in recruiting disadvantaged undergraduates from Ohio's center cities.
Among three dozen other activities, he has been president of the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), and at the end of 2007 he chaired UTT's HRD Faculty Search Committee.
In 1995 the Society named their annual award for the outstanding manuscript in each volume of the HRDQ after Swanson.