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Though Richard Leppert’s administrative responsibilities as the department dean are demanding, he never ceases to dedicate undivided attention to his students and their work. Leppert provides meaningful feedback that, according to his students, is "genuine, honest, thorough, and incisive." He shows his students that he cares about their success as much as they do.

Not only does Leppert provide feedback on students’ work, but he also continues to mentor them through their careers and subsequent works that they intend to publish. One of his colleagues writes, "it impresses me that Richard seems to consider his advising a life-long job."

A former student writes, "[I] came to recognize the deep compassion and humanity that underlie his exhaustive accomplishments as a scholar.…Never pedantic, almost self-effacing despite being staggeringly well-read and prodigiously productive, Professor Leppert is the kind of empowering, elevating teacher to whom subsequent generations of scholars and teachers will trace their inspiration."

Leppert’s scholarship and leadership are unsurpassed by others in his field. According to a former colleague, Leppert turned the Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature into one well-known and well-regarded around the world for "its innovative approaches to humanistic scholarship."