In Memoriam: Professor H. Douglas Price

The foremost education of one's lifetime results from a series of encounters with role models whom either inspire us or reaffirm our most cherished goals. This weekend the entire Harvard community suffered the loss of an inspiring role model with the passing of Markham Professor of Government Hugh Douglas Price. To both his colleagues and his students, Professor Price's death leaves a great void in Littauer Hall M-28 where once a charming, warm professor could be found with his door open to all. His presence will be sorely missed by those faculty and students who built bonds of respect and friendship with him during his many years in academia.

News of Professor Price's unfortunate death reached me this week during a regular conversation with a former roommate. It came as a great surprise to learn of the sudden passing of a man whom I had come to know so well during my recent time as a Harvard undergraduate. Contact with professors was not something that I regularly sought from my Harvard experience. But with Professor Price, I cherished it. And I enjoyed getting to know the gentlemanly character of this distinguished professor.

At first, I knew Professor Price solely as a lecturer and seminar leader. Early in junior year, I came to know him as an active discussion partner and debater. Sometime junior spring, I came to rely upon him as a mentor. Senior year, he served as my thesis advisor. And quite naturally, during that capstone academic experience, Professor Price became my friend. An invitation to his home for Thanksgiving was extended, as an offer to advise an independent private-sector research proposal I sought to help finance my way through college. He served as a fountain of advice on entering and living in the political world. He took a keen interest in my career plans, wisely pushing me in the direction of the political job that I now hold. In short, he was a role model eager to impart unto others both his basic humanity and his clear enthusiasm for his chosen field. I was altogether fortunate to have been taken under his wing.

In running through my warm memories of Professor Price, I am struck by the fact that when one considers the qualities of the ideal Harvard professor, one has invariably described the very nature of the late H. Douglas Price. Professor Price was a thorough scholar, a thoughtful mentor, a patient teacher, a sterling role model and a compassionate friend. He authored groundbreaking scholarship in the field of American political participation which has been cited in academic journals for decades. Yet he also placed a high priority on close contact with undergraduate students.

Ultimately, much of what I hope to accomplish with my life has been reaffirmed by my experiences--as both a student and a friend--with H. Douglas Price. For his scholarship, his mentorship and his humanity, Professor Price will be warmly remembered by all those in the Harvard community whose lives he greatly enriched. He leaves an undying legacy in each of us. --Nick Buford '97-'96