Perez said that Schlozman always ties class discussions back to Harvard, which makes the discussions relatable.
Despite the fact that Schlozman is a visiting professor, Perez said “she has an understanding of what goes on at Harvard” which has added to the experience of the class.
FROM MENTEE TO MENTOR
As a student at Wellesley College in the 1960’s, Schlozman once played former leader of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev in a cold war simulation. Across the table sat a young Hillary Rodham, playing the role of Mao Zedong, according to Schlozman’s son, Daniel.
Schlozman, who described herself as “a child of the [Chicago] suburbs,” said that Wellesley was the springboard for her academic career.
After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Wellesley in 1968 with a degree in Sociology, Schlozman enrolled at the University of Chicago, where she began her doctoral work in political science.
Professor emeritus Sidney Verba, former head of Harvard’s Government department who was an assistant professor at UChicago at the time, served as Schlozman’s dissertation advisor. The two followed separate paths to Boston, where they maintained a longstanding collaboration that has produced numerous articles and four books over the years, according to Verba.
Most recently, the pair published “The Unheavenly Chorus: Unequal Political Voice and the Broken Promise of American Democracy” with Henry E. Brady, Dean of the Goldman School of Public Policy at UC Berkeley. The 728-page book, which Schlozman called a “big, red doorstop,” is the most exhaustive examination of participatory inequality published yet, she said.
Just as Verba mentored Schlozman at the UChicago, Schlozman personally mentors a number of Boston College students, even this year as she maintains her full-time job at Harvard. Schlozman said that she has spent a great deal of time this fall writing letters of recommendation and advising students considering graduate school.
“One is hardly aware of her absence,” said Susan M. Shell, the chair of the political science department at Boston College.
AN ILLUSTRIOUS CAREER
At Boston College, Schlozman has been a “seminal force” in creating innovative teaching methods and researching prolifically, Shell said.
During her time at Boston College, Schlozman developed a sophomore tutorial program that won the Rowan and Littlefield Award in Innovative Teaching from the American Political Science Association.
“She’s a very significant figure [at Boston College],” said Verba, who described Schlozman as a leader in her field and a “superstar” in Boston College’s political science department.
Schlozman’s notable career has been characterized by her research regarding the inequalities of America’s political system.
“Her motivation is a civic one,” said Verba, who pointed to Schlozman as an academic who, without sacrificing objectivity, has contributed to the betterment of society.
Schlozman has moved through her career with “a commitment to understanding the way inequalities affect American life,” said her son Daniel, who is currently an assistant professor of American politics at Johns Hopkins University.
“She always gives 120 percent,” said Shell, who has worked with Schlozman on various administrative tasks at Boston College. In addition to her work ethic, Shell praised Schlozman’s “extremely gracious and cooperative” attitude.
While her professional life is filled with accomplishments, her daughter, Julia, described her as a mother who loved two things: reading the New York Times and cooking.
“The only books of hers that I’ve read have been her two compilations of family recipes,” said Julia, with a laugh.