Robert Putnam
We all know about Sid’s scholarship (one of the most important social scientists of the 20th century) and administrative leadership (repeatedly taking on the most difficult issues at Harvard, from sexual harassment to curriculum reform to ROTC), his dapper dress and his unfailing humor, so I’ll simply mention one anecdote among many that illustrate his extraordinary human sensitivity. When Sid recruited me to Harvard, I had never been in Cambridge in my life, and Rosemary and I were quite happy in Ann Arbor, so though we could not refuse a visit, we were strongly inclined against moving. Not knowing Sid at all at that point, I assumed that the chair of the Harvard Government Department would be smart, but slightly stuffy. But when Sid and Cynthia picked us up at the hotel, the first place they took us was to Mike’s Pastry in the North End to sample the extraordinary cannoli. He was saying in his signature gentle way, “if you are comfortable with the Catanesi, you’ll like us, too.” We were, we did, and we came. And we quickly came to love him.
