Richard H. Mullins

Richard Harbert Mullins, a retired economist, died peacefully at his home in Annapolis on Friday, May 1, 2015. In July 1996, Richard retired from the U. S. Department of Commerce (USDOC) where he served as Deputy Director for Federal Technology Management in the Technology Administration for ten years and was responsible for implementing legislation which encouraged the private sector to commercialize technology developed by federal laboratories. Richard served as the Executive Director of the Interagency Committee on Federal Technology Transfer, directing an interagency task force to draft policies on potential conflict of interest guidelines for federal scientists seeking to transfer their inventions and he prepared reports for Congress and the President. For his work, Richard was honored with the USDOC Secretary’s Bronze Award for Outstanding Service during the Reagan Administration. Other posts included serving as an Economist for the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and he worked with the Bureau of Labor Statistics to develop procedures for measuring productivity in federal agencies. Further he served at the Office of Productivity, Technology and Innovation, USDOC, and the U.S. Council on Wage and Price Stability. Earlier in his career, Richard served at the Brookings Institute and for the USDOC Bureau of International Commerce. Richard earned his Bachelor’s degree from Oberlin College and did his graduate studies in economics at the University of Maryland. In retirement, Richard worked for H & R Block where he enjoyed assisting his clients in tax preparations. His interests included traveling with wife, Karen. He could talk about any subject, had a playfulness that friends enjoyed, a fabulous sense of humor and a wonderful smile. Richard adored dogs, his beloved Chicago cubs and he had a deep connection to his family farm in Illinois. Richard is survived by his loving wife, Karen E. Olscamp, his sister Mary Louise Sedlak and brother, Leslie Mullins, Jr., mother-in-law, Mildred Olscamp, brother and sister-in-law Keith and Pamela Olscamp, and four nieces and one nephew. Richard is predeceased by his parents, Leslie Edwin Mullins and Elizabeth Harbert Mullins, in addition to sister-in-law, Jane Mullins and one nephew. The family will be receiving friends and colleagues on Thursday, May 7 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. at the John M. Taylor Funeral Home, 147 Duke of Gloucester Street, Annapolis, MD 21401. A memorial celebration will be held on Friday, May 8th at 9:00 a.m. at the St. John Newman Catholic Church in Annapolis, Maryland. The burial will be in Illinois. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Baltimore Washington Medical Center Foundation at www.bwmcfoundation.org where donations will be used to support the Tate Cancer Center.