Bloomington Herald-Times
October 13, 2009
IU community describes Ostrom as humble, hard-working
By Chris Fyall
October 12, 2009, last update: 10/13 @ 12:05 am
Elinor Ostrom has been in Bloomington since 1965, an energetic professor, a willing mentor and, according to those who know her, a humble friend and co-worker.
Like any brilliant intellectual, "Lin" can be argumentative, her friends say.
But the 76-year-old who won the Nobel Prize in economics on Monday is never bombastic, or dominating, or rude.
MORE: Bio, CV, video, photo gallery, archived stories on Ostrom
The snootiness one might expect from somebody in the running for a Nobel Prize? Entirely absent, according to friends, co-workers, neighbors and even the family's housekeeper and caretaker.
It has taken "aha!" moments for many people to realize that, though unassuming, Lin Ostrom is also a big deal.
Take Jacob Bower-Bir, a Ph.D. student who has worked with Ostrom for three years in the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis. Ostrom co-founded the center with her husband, Vincent, in 1973 and still co-directs it.
Bower-Bir specifically sought work with Ostrom, but "I had no idea how big a deal she was," he said.
He was thrown off because she is so easy to talk to and always happy to chat, he said.
Reminders of Ostrom's intellectual heft eventually broke through to him. Every year, people travel from all around the world to work with her. Last year, the president of Liberia came. Right now, there are scholars from Brazil, Sweden, Germany and more.
"It's not until you learn about the others, and understand her impact on them, that you understand," Bower-Bir said.
Part of what makes Ostrom tick is her passion, said Burney Fischer, a clinical professor and director of undergraduate programs at IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The two are friends, he said.
Ostrom's dogged pursuit of the then-state forester of Indiana brought the former Purdue University student and professor to Bloomington.
Fischer was also attracted by Ostrom's "Workshop," which is the informal name for the political theory center. Although Ostrom runs the place, work there is collaborative and involves everybody, he said.
"Take 'Workshop,' put up an equal sign, and think 'Laboratory,'" he said. "She's the senior person, but she listens to us, and thinks about what we say."
"I know about nothing like it in the country," Fischer said.
For all her brilliance, Ostrom's never forgotten to respect everybody, said David Price, a Workshop office worker.
"It is kind of strange," Price said after the Nobel was announced. "Because to me, she's just been a good boss, just a person I work with."
People come to work in the Workshop and they never leave, he said. One employee has been at the center for 30 years, after starting in a work study position as an undergraduate.
Even at home, Ostrom's kindness shows through, said Katie Manning. Manning works at Ostrom's house, helping to take care of Vincent, who is now almost completely deaf, and tending house.
The Ostrom home is packed with burdened bookcases. Native American art rings small rooms, and leafy plants dominate upstairs.
It's a neat home with a welcoming feel, Manning said. Ostrom fits there perfectly.
"She's like a grandmother," Manning said. "She's a really, really down-to-earth person."
Syifa Amin, a 31-year-old Indonesian religious studies Ph.D. student, lives in a separate building with his family on Ostrom's property. The Amins rent the house free of charge, as other IU students have before them.
Amin helps out around the house and acts as Ostrom's driver to and from the airport when she travels.
When Ostrom is out of town, the two exchange e-mails every day — tracking Vincent's health, the weather here and Ostrom's activities abroad.
For his part, Vincent Ostrom praised his wife Monday afternoon.
"She is a wonderful person, she is wonderful," he said. "She is my life."
Lin Ostrom is an inspiration to everybody, said Mike McGinnis, who co-directs the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis.
"She is the hardest working person I know," he said. "She's in her 70s, and she works harder than anybody at the college."
He expects that to continue.
So does Bower-Bir, the Ph.D. student. He doesn't expect Ostrom to be changed by the Nobel Prize, either. Others become defined by their Nobel, Bower-Bir said. That's a trap he imagines Ostrom will avoid.
"She's going to be Lin Ostrom, who just happens to have a Nobel Prize," he said.
On Ostrom herself
"She is the hardest working person I know. She's in her 70s, and she works harder than anybody at the college."
Mike McGinnis, co-director, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis
"She's going to be Lin Ostrom, who just happens to have a Nobel Prize."
Jacob Bower-Bir, a Ph.D. student who has worked with Ostrom for three years
"She is a wonderful person, she is wonderful. She is my life."
Vincent Ostrom, talking about his wife, Elinor Ostrom. Together they co-founded the Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis at Indiana University in 1973.
