Longtime political scientist, former Letters and Science Dean Leon Epstein dies at 86

Leon Epstein, a political science professor for 40 years for the University of Wisconsin–Madison and dean of the College of Letters and Science in the tumultuous late 1960s, died on Aug. 1 in Madison following a recent injury. He was 86.

Colleagues of Epstein, a native of Beaver Dam, say he was an influential figure in the political science department, where he was a faculty member from 1948-88 and a department chair from 1960-63. His research expertise was in comparative politics and British politics, and he conducted a great deal of influential work on the political party system in America and other Western democracies. He also wrote books on governing the university and on Wisconsin politics.

Longtime colleague and friend Bernard Cohen, a professor emeritus of political science, notes that Epstein first came to Madison in 1936 as an undergraduate, earning his bachelor’s degree in 1940. He fought in World War II, and upon returning completed his Ph.D. in 1948 at the University of Chicago.

Cohen says that Epstein handled the deanship well during the rise of student activism. The early 1960s expansion of the university was drawing to a close as well, leading to a financial crunch.

“He handled it well, but he didn’t really enjoy it,” says Cohen, who notes that the South Hall Letters and Science dean’s office placed him in the middle of the Vietnam War protest fray on Bascom Hill. “He had more than a few meetings drowned out by shouting protesters on the hill.”

Cohen describes Epstein as an “outstanding person” who was well-respected in the department and had a strong rapport with people. “He kept up with absolutely everybody and everything right up to his last days,” Cohen says, adding that the two of them met for lunch every Monday for years at University Club.

No funeral will be held, following Epstein’s wishes, Cohen says.

Epstein’s academic contributions figure prominently in a 2006 book about the centennial history of the department, written by longtime political scientist M. Crawford Young.

“Nominally a scholar of British and European politics, Epstein has been critically important in developing the American government and politics program at UW,” writes Young. “His comparative studies of political parties are standard works in the field and have been influential in work on American politics.”

Young adds that that Epstein was highly regarded as a teacher. “(Epstein) directed the dissertations of some of the most outstanding American graduate students,” Young writes. “I can testify that graduate students relied heavily on him for advice, whether or not he was directing their dissertations.

“Few, if any, faculty have contributed more to the development of the department and the collegial relationships characterizing it,” Young concludes.

Phillip Certain, who served as Letters and Science dean from 1993-2004, says, “As a former dean, Leon was always a source of wisdom and counsel to me. He was from an era when faculty served as deans for a short time and then returned to the faculty, so as a teacher and researcher he never lost his touch.”

Certain says Epstein was also a model for staying active in his retirement years. He lived at Attic Angels in Madison and frequently visited and shared time with the residents in the assisted care unit. He was a long-time member of the Madison Literary Club, a century-old reading group that recently began having meetings at Attic Angels, Certain says.

Certain says that Epstein sustained a head injury from a fall at his home during the weekend and was unable to recover. Epstein was a devoted husband and caregiver to his wife of more than 50 years, Shirley, who died a few years ago. The couple had no children.