Despite disability, Seligman maintains scholarship

By Melissa Mitchell

Lester Seligman is a sort of postman of the academic world. Neither 
impairment of speech nor difficulty in writing can keep him from his 
appointed rounds - conducting research and publishing in his field.

When the 75-year-old professor emeritus of political science suffered a 
massive stroke 10 years ago, it slowed him considerably. But it did not 
prevent him from continuing to pursue his long-time research interest - 
the U.S. presidency.

For Seligman the most frustrating part of his disability is his inability
to communicate as well as he would like to. 

"Sometimes I try to speak and there's nothing there," he said. "Other 
times, I open my mouth and it all comes out."

Despite these frustrations, he remains upbeat and optimistic. And he 
continues to command the respect and admiration of his colleagues.

"He's a very dedicated person - very dedicated to the profession, and 
well-trained in the old-school, University of Chicago tradition," said 
Marvin Weinbaum, professor of political science and director of the 
Program in South and West Asian Studies. "He has a very fine, rich 
background in political science and culture."

The author of a number of books and articles on various aspects of 
political leadership, Seligman is a former head of the American Political
Science Association's presidential studies section. Among his career 
accomplishments, he is most proud of four invitations to share his 
knowledge of U.S. political processes with the international community. 
During the 1960s and '70s, he was a visiting professor at Hebrew 
University, Jerusalem; Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel; 
University of Umea, Sweden; and University of Aarhus, Denmark.

Weinbaum said he was "the person most instrumental in bringing him 
[Seligman] here in 1972." Weinbaum "knew him by reputation for many years"
and finally met him at a conference at the University of Iowa.

"I was so very impressed that when he mentioned that he 'could be moved,'
I was pretty persistent about getting him to come here," Weinbaum said. 
Before coming to Illinois, Seligman was director of politics studies at 
the University of Oregon for 10 years.

Weinbaum said he still encounters Seligman's former students - both from 
Oregon and Illinois - at professional meetings, and adds that "he's got 
some very loyal students."

Among them is Cary Covington, now a professor of political science at 
Iowa. Covington credits his former teacher as "one of the first persons in
political science" to develop the concept of "the coalitional 
presidency."
 
"The concept - which he came up with while still at Oregon - is in fairly
wide currency today," Covington said. In essence, Seligman's thesis 
maintains that as the presidency has become more important, the role of 
political parties in the electoral and governing processes has diminished.
As a result, modern presidents have been forced to build and nurture 
various coalitions of their own creation.

"In general, he studies the idea of leadership," Covington added. "What do
they do and what difference do they make?"

Covington said he continues to be amazed that his former professor - 
despite great adversity - remains so devoted to the pursuit of his 
scholarship.
 
"Ninety-nine-point-nine percent of us, if we had the intellectual 
processes and perceptions that he has, would give it up and go fishing," 
Covington said. "But he has a real burning desire to get his thoughts on 
paper and expressed. 

"When you meet him or work with him, what you come away with is his 
character - and determination and ambition and breadth of thought. On top
of that, what's so incredible is how good-natured he is about it all."

Covington's first contact with Seligman came in the mid-1970s.

"One of the early highlights of being a graduate student in a class with 
him was when he asked two of us to come to his house after class," 
Covington said. "He invited us into his study and asked us if we would 
work with him on a couple of projects. Of course, we were very intimidated
and nervous to be working with a full professor, but when we left, we were
walking 2 feet off the ground."

Covington initially worked with Seligman on some papers focusing on 
institutionalization in the presidency. Later, Seligman became Covington's
dissertation adviser. After Covington received his doctorate and joined 
the Iowa faculty, the pair kept in touch.

Meanwhile, Seligman continued work on a project he had begun in the late 
1970s - a study of the growing divergence between electoral and governing
coalitions in the presidency. The work was published in 1989 as a book, 
"The Coalitional Presidency," which Seligman co-wrote with Covington.

"What served as a catalyst for our working together again was his stroke,"
Covington said. "He had put a lot of work into the book. He had a contract
and drafts of several chapters. He approached me, in light of his 
difficulty with speaking and writing. But the book is really his baby, his
conception. I just tried to knit the pieces together and fill in the 
gaps." 

Covington's main role in the collaboration, he said, was to write or 
rewrite text, pass it by his former teacher and make comments or 
suggestions.
 
In the initial stages of their collaboration, Covington drove to Champaign
to meet with Seligman. Eventually, they worked out a plan to meet each 
other halfway - literally. A work space was graciously provided by Knox 
College in Galesburg. 

The pair is in the process of rekindling the collaboration. They are 
working on a paper to be presented at national meetings next fall. The 
paper is actually an update and reformulation of the material in "The 
Coalitional Presidency," which takes into account events of the past eight
years.

Meanwhile, when he's doing research, Seligman frequently visits the third
floor of Lincoln Hall, where he continues to participate in departmental 
meetings and activities. A large chunk of Seligman's time also is devoted
to his family - wife, Judith; a son; a daughter; and four grandchildren.