The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
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Collections: L

League of Women Voters of Amherst (Amherst, Mass.)

League of Women Voters of Amherst Records

1939-2001
60 boxes 33 linear feet
Call no.: MS 296

Non-partisan political organization based in Amherst, Massachusetts that influences public policy through education and advocacy by registering voters, organizing candidate forums, publishing voting guides, and disseminating general information on the legislative process and the functioning of government on the local, state, and federal levels.

Includes minutes, annual reports, financial records, publications, extensive files on specific programs, photographs, video- and audio-tapes, scrapbooks, and newspaper clippings. Also contains information on two league members who rose to national prominence: Lucy Wilson Benson (Under Secretary of State in the federal government in 1977) and Jane F. Garvey (Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration in 1997).

Subjects

Amherst (Mass.)--Politics and governmentEducation--Massachusetts--Amherst--HistoryHousing--Massachusetts--Amherst--HistoryMassachusetts--Politics and government--1951-

Contributors

Benson, Lucy WilsonGarvey, Jane FLeague of Women Voters of Amherst (Amherst, Mass.)

Types of material

Oral historiesPhotographsScrapbooks
League of Women Voters of Central Berkshire

League of Women Voters of Central Berkshire Records

1959-2001
9 boxes 4 linear feet
Call no.: MS 478

First founded as a chapter for Pittsfield and later for all of central Berkshire county, this local league is one of many Massachusetts chapters of the national non-partisan political organization, League of Women Voters, that influences public policy through education and advocacy by registering voters, organizing candidate forums, publishing voting guides, and disseminating general information on the legislative process and the functioning of government on the local, state, and federal levels.

The bulk of the collection documents the activities and topics of interest to members of the League of Women Voters of Central Berkshire during the last three decades of their work before disbanding in 2001. The chapter consistently served to educate the public on voter registration, the voting process, and on the functioning of local and state government. Other issues of importance included child care and rights, prison reform, clean water, and health care.

Subjects

Berkshire County (Mass.)--Politics and governmentDrinking water--MassachusettsMassachusetts--Politics and government--1951-Prisons--Massachusetts

Contributors

League of Women Voters of Central Berkshire
Lederer, Karen

Karen Lederer Papers

1986-2013
1 box 1.5 linear feet
Call no.: FS 167
Depiction of Karen Lederer (r) with Arlene Akavian in 1997
Karen Lederer (r) with Arlene Akavian in 1997

A graduate of the University of Massachusetts’ Social Thought and Political Economy program in 1981, Karen Lederer has held many important roles in the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies since she started in 1986, including, Undergraduate Advisor and Undergraduate Field Work Coordinator, and has taught courses women’s careers and life choices. In addition to her work at the University, Lederer has been an activist for peace, labor, and women’s movements.

This small collection consists of departmental administrative files, Lederer’s course materials, several issues of New Roots magazine and other publications, and memorabilia from the Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

Subjects

FeminismUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst--StaffUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Lederer, Regina Berger, 1895-1988

Regina Lederer Oral History

1984
1 envelope 0.1 linear feet
Call no.: MS 358 bd

Regina Berger Lederer was born in Vienna, Austria, in 1895 into the family of a successful manufacturing chemist. Her singing career was promising, but never fully realized. With the rise of the Nazi Party and increase in oppression of Jews, she and her husband escaped by leaving for Italy and the United States in 1939. Settling in New York, she worked as a skilled sweater repairer for many years. She died in Maryland in 1988, where she had gone to live near her son Paul.

Transcript of an oral history of Lederer.

Subjects

Jewish women--United States--InterviewsJews, Austrian--United States--InterviewsJews--Austria--History--20th century--SourcesKnit goods--Repairing--New York (State)--New YorkRefugees, Jewish--United States--InterviewsSweater industry--New York (State)--New York--Employees--Interviews

Contributors

Lederer, Regina Berger, 1895-1988

Types of material

Oral histories
Lederer, William J., 1912-

William Lederer Papers

ca. 1930-1985
91 boxes 61 linear feet
Call no.: MS 158
Depiction of William Lederer in naval uniform
William Lederer in naval uniform

William J. Lederer began his long career in the Navy in 1930. During his twenty-eight years of service he traveled throughout Asia on some 30 trips, acquiring several books worth of experience, criticisms, and insight. In 1948, Lederer attended the Bread Loaf Writer’s Conference in Vermont and met fellow author and political theorist Eugene Burdick. Disillusioned with the style and substance of America’s diplomatic efforts in Southeast Asia, Lederer and Burdick openly sought to demonstrate their belief that American officials and civilians could make a substantial difference in Southeast Asian politics if they were willing to learn local languages, follow local customs and employ regional military tactics. Together they co-authored two widely influential books, The Ugly American (1958) and Sarkhan (1965).

The collection includes materials related to most of his major publications including, A Nation of Sheep, The Ugly American, Sarkhan, Our Own Worst Enemy, I, Giorghos, Mirages of Marriage, and Martial Choices. A substantial series of correspondence traces Lederer’s associations and communications throughout his entire career. Area files, research materials, and photographs are also include, but not yet fully processed.

Subjects

Southeast Asia--Economic conditionsSoutheast Asia--Politics and government--1945-United States--Foreign relationsUnited States--Politics and government--1945-Vietnam War, 1961-1975

Contributors

Burdick, EugeneLederer, William J., 1912-

Types of material

Photographs
Lederle, John William, 1912-

John W. Lederle Papers

1947-1983 Bulk: 1960-1970
32.5 linear feet
Call no.: RG 003/1 L43
Depiction of John W. Lederle
John W. Lederle

John Lederle played a large role in shaping the Amherst campus as it looks today, transforming UMass Amherst into a nationally respected research university and “great public center for excellence in higher education.” Born in Royal Oak, Michigan, Lederle received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1942. Admitted to the Michigan Bar in 1936, he worked with a Detroit law firm from 1936 to 1940 before joining the political science department at Brown University from 1941 to 1944. He returned to the University of Michigan in 1944, filling a number of positions until 1960, when the University of Massachusetts elected him President. Under Lederle’s leadership, the Amherst campus enjoyed its greatest period of growth. From 1960 to 1970, student enrollment more than tripled and faculty salaries nearly doubled. The academic program expanded greatly, particularly at the graduate level, and under his watch, the university instituted an academic press, a public radio station, and collaborative arrangements between the local colleges. The University system also evolved in the Lederle years, with the establishment of the Boston campus in 1964 and the medical school in Worcester in 1962.

The Lederle Papers include professional correspondence, administrative records, subject files, committee notes, reports, and clippings; Extra-University records that document Lederle’s involvement and interactions with governmental and non-governmental organizations at the state, regional, and national levels; personal correspondence, speeches, bibliographies of his writings, biographical information, a transcript of an oral history describing his administration, and materials relating to his professional activities that followed his presidency; and a series of confidential records.

Subjects

University of Massachusetts Amherst. President

Contributors

Lederle, John William, 1912-
Leff, David K.

David K. Leff Papers

1955-2018 Bulk: 1980-2018
11 boxes 10.75 linear feet
Call no.: MS 907
Depiction of David K. Leff
David K. Leff

A writer, poet, and environmental and historic preservation advocate, David K. Leff worked for many years as an agricultural and environmental policy adviser to the Connecticut legislature and as deputy commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). A graduate of UMass Amherst (BA 1975) and the University of Connecticut School of Law (1978), Leff began writing and lecturing from early in his career and in addition to publishing dozens of magazine articles and serving as a regular contributor to the Hartford Courant, he has written nonfiction, including The Last Undiscovered Place (2004), Deep Travel: In Thoreau’s Wake on the Concord and Merrimack (2009), Hidden in Plain Sight (2012), Maple Sugaring (2015), Canoeing Maine’s Legendary Allagash (2016), and Doppelganger: A Memoir of Mirrored Selves (2020); poetry, including The Price of Water (2008), Depth of Field (2010), Tinker’s Damn (2013), The Breach: Voices Haunting a New England Mill Town (2019), and The Blue Marble Gazetteer (2022); and a novel in verse, Finding the Last Hungry Heart (2014). Leff was active as a lecturer and instructor on various topics, ranging from the environment to local history and writing. In 2016, he was named the first Poet-in-Residence of the New England Trail. He passed away in 2022 at the age of 67.

In addition to containing a nearly comprehensive collection of the published writings of David Leff, the collection includes selected correspondence, unpublished poetry and short stories, a draft of an unpublished novel (Hungry Heart), talks, interviews, notes, newsclippings, more than 400 pages of interviews with sugarmakers that Leff conducted for his book on maple sugaring, and selected materials relating to Leff’s work with the DEP in Connecticut and other endeavors. The collection also includes several thousand photographs (mostly digital) taken by Leff and used to illustrate his publications and lectures. Leff’s extensive daily journals are closed for five years after his death.

Gift of David K. Leff, 2016

Subjects

Maple sugar industry--ConnecticutNewspaper columnists--ConnecticutPoets--Connecticut

Types of material

Photographs
LeftRoots Collection

LeftRoots Collection

2013-2023 Bulk: 2016-2023
21 gigabytes
Call no.: MS 1218
logo of LeftRoots

Recognizing deficiencies in the U.S. Left due to external assaults and internal weakneses, LeftRoots was formed in 2013 as a national formation of Left social movement organizers and activists whose goal was to connect disparate grassroots struggles in an effort to build socialism. Using the concept of “cadres”, (small non-hierarchical collectives of organizers and activists), to strengthen the Left, LeftRoots developed resources in the form of workshops, resources, and analysis for activists. Membership consisted of two modes, Cadre & Compa. Cadres were active, dues-paying, voting members of LeftRoots branches, while Compas were committed supporters and friends of LeftRoots who agreed with the LeftRoots Points of Unity statement, and made annual/monthly financial contributions. At its height, there were Cadres in over 30 cities.

This all-digital collection documents LeftRoots meetings, agendas, political education curriculum, programs, gatherings, and campaigns from its founding in 2013, through the Trump presidency, the COVID pandemic, and the Black Lives Matter uprisings of 2014 and 2020. The 21 gigabytes of data includes their website, recordings of webinars, handbooks, slide presentations and materials from their General Baker Boot Camp gatherings, strategy documents, meeting agendas, and more.

Gift of LeftRoots, 2023
Language(s): Spanish

Subjects

Revolutionaries--United StatesSocialist parties--United States

Types of material

Electronic documentsPDF
Restrictions: CC-BY-NC none
Leland, James

James Leland Daybook

1854-1855
1 vol. 0.25 linear feet
Call no.: MS 094

Owner of a general store in Enfield, Massachusetts. Includes notations for the sale of a wide variety of goods (notably Know Nothing hats), names of customers (both individuals, particularly Irish, and businesses), and types of payment (cash, barter, and services).

Subjects

Barter--Massachusetts--Enfield--History--19th centuryConsumers--Massachusetts--Enfield--History--19th centuryEnfield (Mass.)--Economic conditions--19th centuryEnfield (Mass.)--Ethnic relations--19th centuryGeneral stores--Massachusetts--EnfieldIrish American Catholics--Massachusetts--Enfield--History--19th centuryJ.M. Crosby (Firm)Leonard Woods (Firm)Minot Manufacturing CompanyNativism--History--19th centuryShopping--Massachusetts--Enfield--History--19th centurySwift River Company

Contributors

Leland and Smith Co.Leland, James

Types of material

Daybooks
Lenn, Marjorie Peace

Marjorie Peace Lenn Papers

ca.1980-2010
40 boxes 60 linear feet
Call no.: MS 838
Depiction of Marjorie Peace Lenn
Marjorie Peace Lenn

Temporarily stored offsite; contact SCUA to request materials from this collection.

A leader in the global quality assurance movement in higher education, Marjorie Peace Lenn was founding president of the Center for Quality Assurance in International Education (CQAIE). Born in Bowling Green, Ohio, in 1946, and educated at Transylvania University (BA, 1968), Yale (MAR, 1970), and UMass Amherst (MEd and EdD, 1978), Lenn began her career in education as as assistant area director of student life at UMass Amherst, rising over the course of twelve years (1970-1982) to become the Director of Residential Life. From UMass, Lenn went on to senior positions with the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation (1982-1992) before founding the CQAIE in 1991. Throughout her career, Lenn was in high demand internationally as a consultant on quality assurance and accreditation systems. Working with dozens of governments, ministries of education, universities, and intergovernmental agencies such as the World Bank, UNESCO, OECD, Organization of American States, United Nations Development Program, and the Asia Development Bank, she also became an official advisor to the U.S. government on trade in education services as a member of the International Trade Advisory Commission, influencing the development of accreditation infrastructure in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. After a long battle with cancer, Lenn died at home in Alexandria, Va., on Oct. 16, 2010.

The Lenn Papers offer rich documentation of the international development of accreditation systems in higher education and the impact of Lenn’s ideas on quality assurance. The bulk of the records stem from Lenn’s work with the Center for Quality Assurance in International Education and Council on Postsecondary Accreditation, but also reflect her role as advisor to the US government and her varied consultancies.

Subjects

Center for Quality Assurance in International EducationCouncil on Postsecondary AccreditationEducation, Higher--EvaluationQuality assurance