Former professor and Political Science Department chair Norman W. Provizer, Ph.D., whose broad interests and unwavering desire to educate students and engage the public invigorated Metropolitan State University of Denver for decades, has died at the age of 80.
He was perhaps as well-known beyond campus as he was within it. A tireless voice representing the University in the public arena, he also found time to share his seemingly limitless knowledge of and love for jazz with readers of the Rocky Mountain News and DownBeat. He also hosted “Jazz Notes” on Denver’s KUVO-FM.
“He was truly unbelievable,” said Robert Hazan, Ph.D., professor emeritus and former chair of the Political Science Department, who acknowledged that it is highly likely that Provizer never slept.
Those who knew him recalled Provizer as a man who carried a pocket version of the U.S. Constitution with him but was as deeply curious about the rest of the world.
