John Rensenbrink, 1928–2022: In Memoriam

Abstract

John Rensenbrink, a professor emeritus of political science at Bowdoin College, and a co-founder of the Green Party, passed away on July 30, 2022 at the age of 93. Rensenbrink’s life epitomized the values of scholar-activism as he was both an author of books on ecological politics and an influential political activist. Rensenbrink was born on August 30, 1928 in Pease, Minnesota, one of seven children born to a family of Dutch immigrant dairy farmers. He operated the family’s dairy farm after his father’s untimely death in 1943 and, as a result, John was not able to attend high school. Instead, he took correspondence courses, which allowed him to attend Calvin College (1946–1950) in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he graduated with a B.A. degree. In 1951, Rensenbrink earned a Master’s degree in political science from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. He subsequently accepted a Fulbright Scholarship to study at the University of Amsterdam (1951–1952) and, upon returning to the United States, Rensenbrink attended the University of Chicago, where he received his Ph.D. in political science (1956) with an emphasis on political philosophy, American politics, and U.S. Constitutional law. In 1956, Rensenbrink began his academic career at Coe College in Iowa, but after a year he accepted a position at Williams College (1957–1961) in Massachusetts. In 1961, Rensenbrink moved to Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine to teach political philosophy and history. He remained at Bowdoin College until 1989, when he took early retirement to concentrate on organizing the Green Party. Rensenbrink began his career as a member of the Republican Party but his disgust with the politics of Joseph McCarthy and the appeal of Democratic U.S. Presidential candidate Adlai Stevenson convinced him to join the Democratic Party. By 1968, however, Rensenbrink was becoming disillusioned with the Democratic Party so he helped organize the Reform Democrats of Maine (1968–1970) for the purpose of ending the Vietnam War and democratizing the Democratic Party. Later, while visiting Poland in 1983, Rensenbrink learned of the West German Green Party, which had recently won seats in the country’s Bundestag. He traveled to Munich and Frankfurt to visit members of the German Green Party and upon returning to Maine he co-founded the