Name Robert Goldwin | ||
Died January 12, 2010, Rockville, Maryland, United States Education University of Chicago (1963) Books From Parchment to Power: How James Madison Used the Bill of Rights to Save the Constitution Awards Guggenheim Fellowship for Social Sciences, US & Canada | ||
Robert Allen Goldwin (1922 – January 12, 2010) was an American political scientist specializing in the study of the Constitution, who left academia to enter government at the invitation of his friend Donald Rumsfeld, serving as adviser and "intellectual-in-residence" for the presidential administration of Gerald Ford. He was subsequently a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.
Life
Goldwin was born in New York City to restaurateurs, and served in the United States Army during World War II. He performed undergraduate studies at St. John's College in Annapolis, Maryland, graduating in 1950.
Goldwin was a student of Leo Strauss at the University of Chicago, attaining his PhD in 1963 but continuing as lecturer there until 1966. It was there that he became friends with Donald Rumsfeld. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1966, and he subsequently taught at Kenyon College in Ohio and became Dean at St. John's College.
Goldwin entered government at the invitation of then United States Ambassador to NATO Donald Rumsfeld, working initially as a special adviser. When Rumsfeld became White House Chief of Staff, Goldwin followed him. At the White House, Goldwin organized dinners with intellectuals for the president and conducted seminars in the solarium.
Following his time in government, Goldwin became a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, where he wrote extensively on the constitution. He remained interested in current affairs, inviting political figures to seminars. He was credited by Rumsfeld with a significant contributions to ongoing public debates, including the Law of the Sea treaty and the drafting of a constitution for Iraq in 2003.