A Knight in Shining Armor

I am saddened to read of the death of John Raisian but heartened that Tunku Varadarajan paid tribute in “John Raisian, a Guardian of Freedom” (op-ed, April 25). Not long after Raisian was appointed director of the Hoover Institution, I had the pleasure of meeting with him to present my recruitment plan for his chief development officer. In preparation, I endeavored to learn as much as I could about his leadership style and personality.

Perhaps one of the most telling tidbits I learned was about his first time in front of the Stanford faculty. He walked to the podium adorned in full body armor, reminiscent of the knights of the Round Table. Needless to say, even his harshest detractors had to smile. For me, this one antic spoke volumes about his boldness and sense of humor. That he guided a pre-eminent think tank for a quarter-century underscores his brilliance and resilience. May Stanford continue to appoint similar guardians of freedom.