Thanks, Roy

Just a few random thoughts and experiences with Prof. Rosenzweig (despite being older, I could never call him "Roy"):

Three years ago I took Clio I with Prof. R. and was totally lost on the web-design aspects of the class almost from day one. I made an appointment with him and, although I could see he was very busy, he spent almost an hour trying to get me up to speed. Needless to say I struggled immensely with the class but he was always readily available to provide assistance whenever I needed it (which was often).

A year ago I was attending a conference in Richmond when I saw Peter Henriques, a retired GMU history professor, who was at the conference delivering a lecture on George Washington. He told me how sorry he was to hear that Prof. R. had cancer. That was the first I had heard that news. Prof. Henriques also told me that one of his proudest achievements during his 25 years at GMU was that he had cast the deciding vote when they hired Prof. Rosenzweig. My response: "you mean it wasn't unanimous!"

Last spring I had asked Prof. R. if he would be willing to do an 803 Major Field Readings with me during the fall semester (2007). He said he would be happy to do so if his health did not become a problem. We met early in September to discuss a book list and establish a schedule for our meetings. After our first meeting, when we discussed Populism and the Progressive Era, I told Ben Huggins what a privilege it had been to sit with this world-class historian and talk about history. When it came time for our second meeting Prof. R. was in the hospital and he emailed me how sorry he was that we would probably not be able to continue with the sessions. Not fully appreciating the seriousness of his condition, I emailed back that I would be happy to meet whenever he felt well enough to come to work. His response was that I really needed to find another professor to help me with the readings. After I had done so, I emailed him that the problem was resolved. His final email expressed great relief that I had found a replacement because that was something he had been worrying about. That was five days before his death.