Jane Junn
If I were to identify one thing about Sidney that I have tried to emulate it is how he treated others: everyone was deserving of respect and kindness. I experienced this first-hand from him. Indeed, he expressed it in his own hand, writing me little notes on half-size Harvard stationary and signing them "SV." This was many years ago, and I am hoping I saved some of those notes. I was lowest on the academic totem pole: an unremarkable grad student at another university whose future was far from certain, and who appeared to be most likely to spin her wheels before going nowhere academically. And yet Sidney would read what I sent to him (in those days, on paper), and he would write me a note of encouragement with suggestions for improvement. Sidney Verba was one of the most important scholars in all of political science. But still, the little notes came. I repeat many of the things he said to me over the years: a dissertation gets written a page at a time; the Ph.D. is just your union card; the task expands to the amount of time you have available to do it; and, about having young children, the days crawl but the years fly. Mostly, I try and emulate the respect and kindness he taught me. He was a giant in so many ways, and yet what I remember most about him was his humanity.
