Rutgers mourns passing of professor Alan Rosenthal, redistricting tiebreaker

The Eagleton Institute of Politics reports, with great sadness, the death of Professor Alan Rosenthal on July 10, 2013.

A member of the Rutgers faculty at the Eagleton Institute of Politics from 1966 until his death, Professor Rosenthal served as director of the Institute from 1974-1993. He was a professor in the Department of Political Science and a member of the faculty for the Graduate Programs in Public Policy at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. Alan Rosenthal  graduated from Harvard College in 1953, and earned M.P.A.(1958) and Ph.D.(1961) degrees from Princeton University.

Author of more than a dozen books and hundreds of chapters, papers, articles and monographs, Professor Rosenthal was the nation’s leading scholar of state legislatures, renowned both for studying and teaching about their workings and for consulting in at least 35 states to improve their functioning. He established and directed Eagleton’s Center for State Legislative Research and Service, was instrumental in the development of the National Conference of State Legislatures, and worked closely with the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Council of State Governments. The recipient of many awards for his academic achievement and his public service, Rosenthal was honored with the American Political Science Association’s Charles E. Merriam Award, a career achievement award from the National Conference of State Legislatures, and the New Jersey Governor’s Award for Public Service.

In New Jersey, Rosenthal took on prominent public service roles, including serving as the tie-breaking member of the New Jersey Redistricting Commission (2011); chairing the New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission in both 1992 and 2001; and chairing the New Jersey Legislature’s Joint Committee on Ethical Standards.

Devoted to his students and to building Eagleton’s graduate and undergraduate programs, Rosenthal maintained lifelong relationships with many Institute alumni. He shared with them his love of politics and a faith in government as an institution. As a champion of representative democracy, he instilled in them a respect for government service.

All of us will miss Alan’s devotion to his students and to government service, his clear-sighted and original thinking, and his inimitable sense of humor.

Professor Michael R. Greenberg, Associate Dean of the Faculty at the Bloustein School, noted, “Alan was a wonderful, helpful, and creative scholar. If you had a question about any aspect of state politics, he knew the answer or could easily direct you to what you needed to know. He will be greatly missed at the Bloustein School.”

A resident of Princeton, Alan is survived by his wife, Lynda Kresge, two sons and two daughters by a previous marriage, eight grandchildren, and two stepsons. The family will hold a private service.

Our thoughts are with his family.

Messages may be sent to the family via:
Eagleton Institute of Politics
191 Ryders Lane
Rutgers University
New Brunswick, NJ 08901

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September Event Celebrating the Career of Alan Rosenthal
The Eagleton Institute will celebrate Alan Rosenthal’s career and life at a September gathering. UPDATED AUGUST 7: Details on this event now available here.