Visiting Professor of the Practice of Political Science
Senior Fellow in International and Public Affairs,
Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs
Director, Taubman Center for American Politics and Policy (2020-2021)
About Me
Richard Arenberg retired after more than thirty-four years on Capitol Hill in senior staff positions with Majority Leader George Mitchell (ME) and Senators Carl Levin (MI) and Paul Tsongas (MA). He served on the Senate Iran-Contra Committee and was a principal negotiator of the Alaska Lands Act, which President Carter called “the most important piece of conservation legislation passed in the 20th Century.”
He co-authored the award-winning Defending the Filibuster: Soul of the Senate, named “Book of the Year in Political Science” by Forewords Reviews in 2012. Richard A. Arenberg: Oral History Interviews was published by the Senate Historical Office in 2011. He is the author of Congressional Procedure: A Practical Guide to the Legislative Process in the U.S. Congress.
Since 2009, he has taught classes, including the American Presidency, Congress, Campaigns and Elections, and Polarized Politics at Brown University in the Political Science Department and the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. He serves on the Board of Directors of Social Security Works.
Tribute
"Rich has an encyclopedic knowledge of Senate history, procedure, and protocol. He has been a mentor to countless Hill staffers, as well as a thoughtful, reasonable, skilled adviser to the Members he has served. He is a gifted
storyteller who enlightens and entertains my office with anecdotes of his decades on the Hill. And above all, he is an incredibly decent human being, devoted to his work, loyal to the people around him, with a passion for life."
--Senator Carl Levin
Congressional Record
