"Fresh and relevant as ever"

I’m a former doctoral student in the Government Department (I graduated in 1992), and I very much regret that I won’t be able to be in Ithaca for the event in Ted’s honor on April 21. Please allow me to share the following thoughts, however.

It goes without saying that Ted Lowi’s retirement is a milestone in the history of the Government Department and, indeed, the discipline of political science. As befits the occasion, however, my reminiscences are rather more personal than institutional or professional.

I was a PhD student in international relations and political theory at Cornell; I was not one of Ted’s students, and in fact I never took a graduate class with him. But I got to know him as a teaching assistant for his Introduction to American Government. That was a memorable experience, and I learned a lot about holding the attention of a room -- a very large room -- from watching him in that class.

When I later set to work on a dissertation examining American foreign policy, he again made himself available to me, not only offering helpful advice, but also contacts with other specialists on the American presidency whose help I needed.

As the years have passed, I naturally think less and less about my experiences in graduate school, but I think about Ted Lowi all the time. His work remains as fresh and relevant as ever. And when I do think about him, it is always with fondness, gratitude and respect -- not just for his work, but for his kindness.

Paul Kowert

Associate Professor, Political Science, and

Director, BA and MA International Relations Program

University of Massachusetts, Boston