My relationship with Ted Lowi spans almost half a century.
I babysat for Angèle and Ted’s darling children when I was a college student at the University of Chicago.
I also took a course from [Ted] as an undergrad -- becoming part of an immense crowd of devoted students. He managed to hold our attention and help us think about the implications of our political structure despite the institutional preference at Chicago for small, intimate seminars.
When we both landed at Cornell, it was his advice that led me to get a PhD in Government. Ted served on my committee and encouraged me to attack my research from a broad-based institutional perspective. In that era of near-poverty, he once gave me a side job editing an introduction to his book.
When I went out on the job market, I credit Ted’s long recommendation letter with getting me tenure-track offers from four universities. He was graduate director at the time and somehow got all of us in our cohort lined up, non-competitively, with good options.
Throughout these years and afterwards, Ted was always so outgoing and fun-loving that it was easy to forget that he was also a famous and well-regarded scholar. I loved his soft, slightly southern accent and especially his intellectual curiosity, which bubbled to the top in every conversation. I always looked forward to seeing him at APSA meetings, though it was hard to catch him alone. He had fans everywhere I think.
I miss Ted. He was friend, mentor, employer (back in the day), and someone I will always admire.
Doris Marie Provine
PhD, Government, Cornell 1978
Professor Emerita, Justice & Social Inquiry, School of Social Transformation
Arizona State University
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