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The following memorials to Stuart Nagel attempt to recount his life and works and place these in context. As will be shown, he was highly productive and has left a legacy in policy studies, public administration, public laws, and a number of other areas that is extraordinarily impressive.
Stuart S. Nagel, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, died unexpectedly on November 18, 2001, in Champaign. He was 67 years old. His wife of 44 years, and a partner in many of his academic and volunteer undertakings, Joyce Nagel, as well as his children, Brenda and Robert, and three grandchildren survive him. His mother, Florence Howard, also survives.
Stuart came from West Rogers Park in Chicago, attended Senn High School, and then Central YMCA High School in Chicago where he graduated as valedictorian of his class. One of the hallmarks of his distinguished career was a continued excellence in academics. He entered Northwestern University and upon graduation accepted a scholarship to attend Northwestern University Law School. While there, he met Joyce, a Northwestern undergraduate from the same Chicago neighborhood. They married in 1957.
Stuart had a restless energy and academic (and personal) interests that took him in many directions. The law profession was a dream of his parents. For Stuart, it was too restrictive. He entered the Ph.D. program in Political Science at Northwestern University. In all he received, in addition to his B.A., a J.D. from Northwestern University in 1958, and a Ph.D. in Political Science in 1961. He then spent one year as a visiting professor at Pennsylvania State University before moving on to the University of Arizona as an Assistant Professor. In 1962, he was offered a faculty position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he was to teach until his retirement in 1998.
The outlines of his career barely do justice to his contributions. He published more than 125 books and literally hundreds of articles, book chapters, and papers (700 by my best estimate). Less well known, he worked quietly to help others in his department and outside to find publishable outlets for their work-selflessness and contributions to knowledge being other distinguishing characteristics of his career. He was the recipient of the most...