"Truly, he was a whirlwind of activity"

I was a Government major at Cornell in the late 1980s, and I took one class with Professor Lowi. It was a small class for upperclassmen, but it was like a post-graduate course, such was his brilliance and mastery of political science, along of course with his enthusiasm for teaching it. I have a story about him and a personal memory.

First, the story. One day Professor Lowi told us the story about how he got interested in political science. He was a football player ([in] Alabama, I think), and he broke his leg. And he was kind of a jock and not really a great student, but he was stuck in bed with this broken leg, and he couldn’t do anything except read. So he read. And what he read about was political science. And lo and behold, he discovered that he really enjoyed it. He read everything. He couldn’t stop. He loved it. And that’s how Ted Lowi fell in love with political science in bed.

Now, the personal memory. Everything about Ted Lowi was sped up -- his mind, his gestures, the excited way he talked. Even just how fast he walked to class. I found that out one day when I tried following him to class. Now, I always knew he walked fast, but you don’t realize how fast until you try keeping up with him. Even though I was a lot younger than he was, I could barely keep up! His body moved as fast as his mind did. Truly, he was a whirlwind of activity, in and out of the classroom. And that’s what I’ll remember most about Ted Lowi.

Joel Shapiro

College of Arts and Sciences

Cornell Class of 1990