Lewis C. Mainzer Papers
Since his arrival at UMass in 1953, Lewis Mainzer has been an affable, influential, and well-respected member of the university community. He joined the faculty of four that at the time made up the department of government, later the department of political science. A dedicated educator, he was instrumental in the expansion of that department and demonstrated a profound commitment to education reform and social engagement against the backdrop of campus upheaval during the 1960s and 1970s. Mainzer retired in 1997 and is now a professor emeritus and author of several books of poetry.
The Lewis C. Mainzer papers consist of personal notes, correspondence, meeting minutes, memoranda, and other materials documenting Mainzer’s activities as a member of numerous Faculty Senate and other committees, and the administrative responses to such events as the Vietnam War protests, the civil rights movement, the expansion of the UMass system, and higher education reform in Massachusetts. There are also materials relating to his interests as a poet, his professional work as an educator, and documents relating to various campus events of the late twentieth century.