Richard Michael Cyert (July 22, 1921 – October 7, 1998) was an American economist, statistician and organizational theorist, who served as the sixth President of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.
He taught briefly at City College of New York, then took a position in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Institute of Technology in 1948 to teach statistics in accounting and auditing.
The number of departments and programs ranked in the Top 10 nationally by deans' surveys rose from three—computer science, drama, and industrial administration—to twelve.
His administration initiated new program areas in urban and public policy, engineering, architecture, art, cognitive psychology, social history, philosophy, and applied math.
[4] After retiring from CMU, Cyert served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Institute of Statistical Sciences at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina.