Lives of Consequence
Richard M. Rosenbaum '52, P'86
Attorney, Author, Honorary Trustee
Born in 1931 to a Jewish immigrant family in upstate New York, Richard M. Rosenbaum went from being a college boxing star to Gov. Nelson Rockefeller’s right-hand man and an integral part of the national Republican Party.
At Hobart, Rosenbaum majored in history and political science and was an outstanding athlete, winning the College’s heavyweight boxing championship two years in a row as well as playing on both the football and lacrosse teams. He was a member of Phi Phi Delta fraternity. He went on to earn his law degree from Cornell University, where he was elected president of the law student association.
Rosenbaum developed a long and distinguished legal and political career in Rochester, N.Y, where he served in the County Legislature and later as chair of the Monroe County Republican Committee. Quickly advancing to the pinnacle of state politics, he became one of the youngest justices to be elected with bipartisan support to the New York State Supreme Court. He was later appointed chair of the New York Republican Party by Rockefeller, to whom Rosenbaum was a top confidant. His tenure as state party chair lasted until 1977, when he returned to Rochester to join the law firm of Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle (now Nixon Peabody) where he became a partner and later served as senior counsel.
In 1982, Rosenbaum ran for New York governor and again 1994, as he put it, “to make New York a better place for my children and grandchildren.” Though unsuccessful in both races, he was later named chair of the New York State Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board by his 1994 primary rival, Gov. George Pataki. When Rosenbaum returned to the Colleges in 2008 for a President’s Forum lecture coinciding with the release of his political memoir, No Room for Democracy: The Triumph of Ego Over Common Sense, he lamented the rise of “acrimony and hard feelings between politicians. In my day, we got along. We could be on opposite sides, but we still got along…Why? I’m smart enough to know that there’s no point in fighting with or insulting my opponents.”
The author of several major political and public affairs treatises, Rosenbaum wrote extensively on Middle Eastern policy, publishing articles in a variety of newspapers. His professionalism and commitment to the ideals of public service earned him numerous honors and awards. Notably, Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush both appointed him to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council. Rosenbaum was also awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, given to individuals who, by their conduct, have distinguished themselves through service to country and by enhancing the highest ideals and accomplishments of their ethnic backgrounds. Recipients include several Presidents of the United States, members of Congress, Nobel Prize winners and military heroes.
Rosenbaum served as a member of the HWS Board of Trustees from 1971 to 1989, including a term as vice chair, and in 1990, was named an honorary board member. In 1992, he received a Hobart Alumni Citation in recognition of his ongoing dedication to his alma mater. In 2002, he led the establishment of the Phi Phi Delta Scholarship, which is awarded to one outstanding Hobart student in his third year of study. He was a steadfast supporter of the Annual Fund and the Statesmen Athletic Association.
Rosenbaum passed away in 2019.