"He's a natural administrator....He is wise,he's evenhanded and he's fairminded," says AmyGutmann, an university professor at Princeton.Thompson served several terms as chair of thepolitics department there.

Gutmann and Thompson edited a casebook,Ethics and Politics: Cases and Comments,that is a one of the most widely used texts in thefield. Thompson has also written four books andpublished dozens of articles.

"He's not only a respected scholar," Gutmannsays, "he's someone who almost singlehandedlycreated a new area of scholarship, ethics inpublic policy."

Thompson graduated summa cum laude fromWilliam and Mary College in 1962, studies atOxford on a Fulbright scholarship, where hereceived a first-class honors degree inphilosophy, politics and economics, and received aPh.D. from Harvard in political science in 1968.

He then moved on to Princeton with a juniorfaculty appointment in the politics department. Hereceived tenure in 1972 and began his first termas department chair that year at the age of 32.

Thompson is currently teaching oneundergraduate course, Government 1095, "PoliticalEthics and Public Policy."

Colleagues say he is effective at mixingpractical application with abstract moral theory,and students say he is a good lecturer and tellsfine jokes.

His son David adds that Thompson has a passionfor music, especially classical and jazz. Hisfavorite jazz artist is Branford Marsalis, but"he's been known to put on a Dire Straits disc ortwo," says David.

Thompson doesn't just listen to music, though.He likes to play the jazz piano for his family--heplayed semi-professionally while in college--andused to get together with David and his other son,Eric, for jam sessions in their basement.

Thompson's most avid interest is wine. He has awine cellar in the basement and often goes towine-tastings with Assistant Professor of Law B.David Wilkins.

"I don't know of any other faculty member onHarvard campus or elsewhere who is more of anexpert than Dennis on wine," says Putnam. "Theonly thing he spends more time and energy on thanHarvard is wine.