Glenn Altschuler

Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies Emeritus

Overview

Glenn Altschuler received his PhD in American history from Cornell in 1976 and has been an administrator and teacher at the university since 1981.

He served as dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions from 1991-2020. From 2009-2013, Professor Altschuler also served as vice president for university relations, with responsibilities for articulating and overseeing strategies related to communications, government relations, and land grant affairs.

Professor Altschuler has been an animating force in the American Studies Program and has been a strong advocate on campus for high-quality teaching and advising. In 1998, he became the Thomas and Dorothy Litwin Professor of American Studies. For many years, his two-semester survey, Popular Culture in the United States 1900-Present, was one of the most popular courses at Cornell.

Professor Altschuler has won several awards for teaching and undergraduate advising at Cornell. He is the recipient of the Clark Teaching Award, the Donna and Robert Paul Award for Excellence in Faculty Advising, the Kendall S. Carpenter Memorial Award for Outstanding Advising, and the Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellowship for effective, inspiring, and distinguished teaching of undergraduate students.

Research Focus

Glenn Altschuler is the author or coauthor of 12 books and about two thousand essays and reviews. In addition to his books and scholarly articles, he has written for American Heritage Magazine, The Australian, The Baltimore Sun, Barron’s Financial Weekly, The Boston Globe, The Chronicle of Higher Education, The Conversation US, The Forward, The Florida Courier, The Huffington Post, Inside Higher Education, The Jerusalem Post, The Kansas City Star, The Los Angeles Times, The Minneapolis Star Tribune, The Moscow Times, The New York Observer, The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Portland Oregonian, The San Francisco Chronicle, Tulsa World, The Wall Street Journal, NPR’s Books We Like, CNN.com, and Forbes.com.

He is a regular contributor to The Hill and Psychology Today. The National Book Critics Circle has cited his work as "exemplary." Psychology Today has featured it as "essential reading." For four years he wrote a column for the Education Life section of The New York Times. From 2002 to 2005 he was a regular panelist on national and international affairs for the WCNY television program The Ivory Tower Half Hour. His political commentary appears on websites and newspapers in the United States and abroad.

Publications

Books

  • The Rise and Fall of Protestant Brooklyn: An American Story (co-authored with Stuart M. Blumin, Cornell University Press 2022)
  • Ten Great American Trials: Lessons in Advocacy. Faust Rossi, co-author. (ABA Book Publishing, 2016)
  • Cornell: A History, 1940-2015. Isaac Kramnick, co-author. (Cornell University Press, 2014)
  • The GI Bill: A New Deal for Veterans. Stuart M. Blumin, co-author. (Oxford University Press, 2009)
  • The 100 Most Notable Cornellians. Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore, co-authors. (Cornell University Press, 2003)
  • All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America. (Oxford University Press, 2003)
  • Rude Republic: Americans and Their Politics in the 19th Century. Stuart M. Blumin, co-author. (Princeton University Press, 2000)
  • Changing Channels: America In TV Guide. David I. Grossvogel, co-author. (University of Illinois Press, 1992)
  • Better Than Second Best: Love and Work in the Life of Helen Magill. (University of Illinois Press, 1990)
  • Revivalism, Social Conscience, and Community in the Burned-Over District. Jan M. Saltzgaber, co-author. (Cornell University Press, 1983)
  • Race, Ethnicity, and Class in American Social Thought, 1865-1919. (Harlan Davidson, Inc., 1982)
  •  Andrew D. White—Educator, Historian, Diplomat. (Cornell University Press, 1979)

In the news

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gca1@cornell.edu
607/2553709

Education

  • Ph.D., Cornell University 1976

Departments and programs

  • American Studies Program
  • History
  • Jewish Studies Program

Affiliated Colleges

  • College of Arts and Sciences