Born in New York City on June 2, 19825, Victor Gregory Rosenblum joined Reed College as president from 1968-1970. He received an A.B. and LL.B. from Columbia University (1945 and 1948, respectively) and a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley (1953).

Rosenblum was an assistant professor at UC Berkeley from 1953-1956, and served the U.S. House of Representatives 1957-1958 as associate counsel, Subcommittee on Executive and Legislative Reorganization, Committee on Government Operations. He then joined Northwestern University in 1958, teaching political science and law, until 1968 when he assumed the office of Reed College president. After his time at Reed, he returned to Northwestern, first as a professor of law and political science from 1970-1988, and additionally as the director of the Law School’s Graduate Studies Program from 1979-1992.

In December of 1968, during Rosenblum’s tenure at Reed, students occupied Eliot Hall to advocate for the development of a Black Studies program whose curriculum would be determined by the Black Student Union (BSU). However, in the years following the Velde Committee, the faculty were committed to an ideal of academic neutrality. In January of 1969, the trustees approved a resolution to create a Black Studies program to be governed by academic procedures rather than the BSU.

Rosenblum was active in civil rights movements during his career, particularly as a “pro-life” advocate. He held several positions in the American Bar Association and was involved with numerous legal organizations. He was awarded honorary degrees from Hebrew Union College (1970), Siena Heights College (1982), and Wabash College (1998).

Rosenblum was married to Louise Rosenblum and had eight children. He died on March 13, 2006 in Evanston, Illinois.

[Information from the “Presidents of Reed” webpage and from “Noted Legal Scholar Victor Rosenblum Dies at Age 80” published by Northwestern University]