Dr. Leonard S. Robins died on November 9, 2009, at the age of 71, from complications following major surgery. Lenny, as he was known to his friends and colleagues, received his undergraduate degree in political science at the University of Minnesota and went on to study public affairs at the University of Michigan. After several years working in public service and research organizations, he returned to the University of Minnesota for his Ph.D., which was awarded in 1975. In 1982, he took a position in public administration at Roosevelt University in Chicago, where he stayed until his retirement in 2003.
Lenny was enamored by politics. He carefully followed political events at the local, state, and national level and never tired of analyzing and discussing them whenever the opportunity arose. He was also a careful and devoted scholar of public policy. His major interest throughout his academic life was health policy. This began with his Ph.D. dissertation, in which he analyzed the Partnership for Health Act (PL 89-749, 1966). He was an editor and a prime mover of Health Politics and Policy, which went through four revised editions, the last appearing after his retirement. Up until his final sickness, he was hoping that a major health reform act would pass, and that he could add a chapter on it to his book.
Lenny was also very involved in the Jewish community. Until recently, he served on the Board of Directors of the Shari Chesaed Congregation in Minnetonka, Minnesota.
Lenny will be missed by his colleagues, friends, and students, to whom he was a mentor who challenged them to realize their full potential. I personally feel a particular loss. I was his undergraduate advisor, his dissertation advisor, and co-author of his last article, which appeared in print just days before his death.
