Our thoughts are with the family of Professor Alan Rosenthal, who passed yesterday, July 10, 2013.
Professor Rosenthal’s near-50 years of scholarship and leadership at the Eagleton Institute of Politics helped make Rutgers a better place to learn and New Jersey a better place to live.
He will be sorely missed by all who knew him, but the lessons he instilled in the Eagleton Fellows will continue to shape state policy for decades to come.
Professor Rosenthal was member of the Rutgers faculty at the Eagleton Institute of Politics from 1966 until his death, and served as director of the institute from 1974 to 1994. He was also a professor in the Department of Political Science and on the graduate faculty of the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy.
A graduate of Harvard College who also earned M.P.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Princeton University, Professor Rosenthal became 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.
Professor Rosenthal took on prominent public service roles, including serving as the tie-breaking member of the New Jersey Redistricting Commission in 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. He was also instrumental in the development of the National Conference of State Legislatures and received many awards for his academic achievement and public service, including a career achievement award from the American Political Science Association and the New Jersey Governor's Award for Public Service.
Professor Rosenthal was devoted to his students, and to building Eagleton’s graduate and undergraduate programs. He maintained lifelong relationships with many Eagleton alumni.
Professor Rosenthal is survived by his wife, Lynda Kresge, four children and eight grandchildren. He will be remembered for his love of politics, his faith in government as an institution, his sense of humor and his devotion to his students.