Alfred Balitzer ’72 is an internationally recognized advisor, political consultant, and scholar. For the last 20 years he has served as chairman of Pacific Research & Strategies, a company specializing in government affairs and public relations. A loyal alumnus and long-time supporter of Claremont Graduate University, Balitzer is a senior fellow at CGU and serves on the Board of Visitors of the Division of Politics and Economics. He recently retired from Claremont McKenna College, where he spent 34 years on the faculty.
For the last three decades, Balitzer has been actively involved in political campaigns throughout California and the nation. His campaign experience includes four presidential campaigns, U.S. Senate and gubernatorial campaigns, statewide initiative campaigns, and local elections.
In 1985, President Ronald Reagan appointed Balitzer to the board of the National Graduate Fellowship Program, where he served as vice chair. In 1996, California Governor Pete Wilson appointed him to the Boating and Waterways Commission of California, for which he also served as chair.
Among other prestigious government appointments, Balitzer served on the U.S. Court of Claims Bicentennial Commission and was a consultant to the secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior and a consultant to the administrator of the General Services Administration. In 1984, President Reagan appointed Balitzer special ambassador to Brunei.
Balitzer publishes and lectures across the world on the principles and practices of American politics, religion and politics in America, and on U.S.-Asia relations. He often appears on radio and television and is a frequent contributor to Asian newspapers and periodicals. For the last two decades, he has been a consultant to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, forging its programs in Washington, DC, and Asia. Since the mid-1980s, he has served as president of the John Brown Cook Association, directing initiatives to provide fellowships for CGU student internships.
Balitzer is a member of the board and treasurer of the American Academy of Liberal Education. He has also served on the boards of the Foundation for California, the Winston S. Churchill Association of America, the Japan America Symphony Association, the Korean American Museum, and the Private Sector Initiative Foundation.
Balitzer earned his BA at California State University, Los Angeles, and his MA from the University of Chicago. He completed his PhD in Government at CGU in 1972. He is also a recipient of CGU’s Distinguished Alumni Award (2006).
Balitzer joined the Claremont Graduate University Board of Trustees in 2007.