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The political science discipline lost one of its sharpest intellects and many of us lost a cherished dear friend when George Rabinowitz passed away, on March 18, 2011. George's death was entirely unexpected. He suffered a sudden cardiac arrest in Trondheim, Norway, where he was on leave from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill with a research fellowship.
George Burt Rabinowitz was born on April 27, 1943 in New York City. He was the second son for his parents, Dr. Samuel J. Rabinowitz and Mrs. Rose Rabinowitz. George spent his childhood in the Bronx and he received his undergraduate education at Hobart College in upstate New York. After considering a career in medicine, George went on to graduate school at the University of Michigan. There, he earned an MA in Mathematics in 1971 and a PhD in Political Science in 1973.
Michigan was a particularly exciting place for political scientists in the late 1960s and George took full advantage of this stimulating environment. He worked with such giants as Philip Converse (who Chaired George's dissertation committee), Clyde Coombs, and Donald Stokes. George was a very prominent member of the large, interdisciplinary community of graduate students who were affiliated with the Institute for Social Research during this period, many of whom have gone on to become highly visible and influential social scientists on their own. One fellow student, in particular, played an especially important role in George's life: Stuart Elaine Macdonald was also enrolled in the political science PhD program at Michigan; she and George were married in 1970. They maintained not only a loving personal relationship but also a highly successful professional collaboration throughout all of the ensuing years.
George spent his academic career in the Department of Political Science at the University of North Carolina. He arrived in Chapel Hill as an instructor in 1971 and advanced steadily through the ranks from assistant professor (1973-1978), through associate professor (1978-1986), to full Professor (1986-2002). In 2002, he was named Burton Craige Distinguished Professor, a title he held until his passing. In addition to his positions at UNC, George was also an influential instructor during the early years of the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR) Summer...