Dr. Lawrence Ziring

Died peacefully on July 17th, 2015 at the age of 86. Lawrence was born in New York City Brooklyn in December 1928 to Israel and Anna Ziring. He leaves behind his wife of 52 years, Raye, two daughters, Leona and Sarah Tim and two grandchildren, Anya and Leif Ziring. His extended family includes Dorothy Abram Kagan both deceased, Marshall Ziring Mary, deceased and Philip Ziring Phyllis, sister-in-law Leslie Ralph Sipes deceased and husband Mike, and Janis Ralph Katz, and nieces and nephews. Known as Larry to his friends and colleagues, he was dedicated to his family and his scholarly pursuits in equal measure. He took great pride in his children and grandchildren, and was often found drawing pictures in pen and ink for their pleasure. In earlier years he enjoyed drawing reproductions of political cartoons. Larry was a lifelong aficionado of classical music and opera, and enjoyed season tickets at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra and WMU student productions. Larry had a great love of animals, and a deep affection for the special dogs in his life.
Before being drafted into the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Larry was working towards a career in commercial art. Instead he found himself in basic training in Fort Custer, MI, and then served as a Chief Radar Operator, Anti-Aircraft Artillery, 1951-1953. Following discharge, Larry took advantage of the G.I. Bill as offered to veterans to enroll at Columbia University, NYC, where he completed B.S., M.I.A. and Ph. D. degrees, majoring in political science and international affairs. Influenced by teachers and mentors at Columbia, he became interested in Pakistan and remained a scholar and researcher of that country for the remainder of his life. His teaching positions included Lecturer at Dacca Dhaka University, East Pakistan, and Columbia University; Assistant Professor at Lafayette College and Syracuse University; Advisor/Lecturer at Dhaka University Bangladesh; and Associate and Full Professor at Western Michigan University, retiring as The Arnold E. Schneider Professor Emeritus of Political Science in 2004. In addition, he was a Fellow of the American Council of Learned Societies and a Fellow of the Institute of Oriental Studies, Academy of Sciences USSR. He served as Director of the Institute of Government and Politics as well as Director of Development Administration Programs at WMU. Larry's academic accomplishments included the publication of twelve single and co-authored books, plus nine publications including textbooks, edited books, team reports and political dictionaries. He wrote over 90 articles and chapters published in a variety of professional journals and books, had more than 50 published book reviews, prepared the Encyclopaedia Britannica Book of the Year report on Pakistan for many years, and had books translated into both Urdu Pakistan and Bangla Bangladesh. Professional recognition included being named Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Western Michigan University and serving on the Board of Editors of seven professional journals. He served as External Examiner for Ph.D. dissertations completed at various universities until recently, and was a consultant or lecturer for many institutes and research centers. He served on the faculty of the International Education Program, Semester at Sea, twice, and on one cruise served as Core Program Director. The family will greet friends on Monday, July 20, 2015 from 10 - 11 am at Langeland Family Funeral Homes, Westside Chapel, 3926 S. 9th Street, where a funeral service will begin at 11:00 am. Interment will follow at Mt. Home Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Hospice Care of Southwest Michigan, Loaves and Fishes, or the charity of your choice.