The University of Massachusetts Amherst
Robert S. Cox Special Collections & University Archives Research Center
CredoResearch digital collections in Credo

Collecting area: UMass alumni

Feinberg, Kenneth R., 1945-

Kenneth R. Feinberg Papers

1980-2019
356 boxes 395 linear feet
Call no.: MS 755
Depiction of Ken Feinberg at JFK Library
Ken Feinberg at JFK Library

One of the most prominent and dedicated attorneys of our time, Kenneth R. Feinberg has assumed the important role of mediator in a number of complex legal disputes, often in the aftermath of public tragedies. Frequently these cases necessitate not only determining compensation to victims and survivors but also confronting the very question of the value of human life. A native of Brockton, Massachusetts, and a graduate of UMass Amherst (1967) and New York University School of Law (1970), Feinberg served as a clerk to Chief Judge Stanley H. Fuld, as a federal prosecutor, and as Chief of Staff for Senator Edward M. Kennedy. After acting as the mediator and special master of the high-profile Agent Orange settlement, he administered the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, Virginia Tech’s Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund, and the BP Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF). Feinberg has taught at several law schools; is the author of the books What is Life Worth? (the basis of the film Worth) and Who Gets What and numerous articles; and is a devotee of opera and classical music. He practices law in Washington, D.C., and continues to be guided by a commitment to public service.

The Feinberg Papers contain correspondence, memos, drafts, reports, research files, and memorabilia. The collection is arriving in stages and is being processed. Some materials will be restricted.

Gift of Kenneth R. Feinberg, 2012-2021

Subjects

Compensation (Law)--United StatesCompromise (Law)--United StatesDamages--United StatesProducts liability--Agent OrangePublic Policy (Law)--United StatesReparation (Criminal justice)--United StatesSeptember 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001

Contributors

Feinberg, Kenneth R., 1945-

Types of material

Correspondence (letters)Legal filesVideotapes
Feinberg, Kenneth R., 1945-

Kenneth R. Feinberg Collection of Classical Music Programs

1967-2024
24 boxes 10 linear feet
Call no.: MS 766
Depiction of Program, Metropolitan Opera, 1969
Program, Metropolitan Opera, 1969

Attorney and UMass alumnus Kenneth R. Feinberg, well known as a mediator, special master of compensation funds, and dedicated public servant, is a longtime devotee of opera and classical music. Since his days as a law student in New York in the late 1960s, continuing through his career practicing law in Washington, D.C., Feinberg has regularly attended operas, concerts, musical theater, and other musical performances. He has also served as president of the Washington National Opera and led a private opera appreciation group.
This extensive collection of more than 1,000 items encompasses a wide range of composers, productions, concerts, companies, and venues, mainly in the United States, with some European performances represented. Documenting more than five decades of concert- and opera-going, and arranged in rough chronological order according to Feinberg’s numbering system, many of the programs are searchable by composer in an accompanying card index created by Feinberg (more recent programs are simply filed chronologically). There is also a small amount of related ephemera, including some vintage programs. Additions to the collection are ongoing.

Gift of Kenneth R. Feinberg, Nov. 2012-2024

Subjects

MusicMusical theaterOperaSymphony orchestras

Contributors

Feinberg, Kenneth R., 1945-

Types of material

Card filesEphemeraPlaybills
Fitzgerald, John J., 1941-

John J. Fitzgerald Collection

1964-1975
1 box 1.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 938
John J. Fitzgerald, 1968
John J. Fitzgerald, 1968

A graduate of Holyoke High and UMass Amherst (BA 1963), John J. Fitzgerald entered the Army after graduation and served in Vietnam as a Captain in the 25th Infantry Division. He earned a Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his service, having been wounded at Cu Chi in June 1966, before leaving active duty in 1968. Returning home to Holyoke, Fitzgerald entered the master’s degree in political science at UMass (MA 1978) and renewed his longstanding interest in politics. Taking an interest in the progressive, antiwar candidate Eugene McCarthy, he became head of the McCarthy campaign in Holyoke and won election as a delegate to the Democratic national convention. Fitzgerald remained involved in local Democratic politics, and in addition to teaching history in local schools for many years, he wrote and lectured on topics ranging from nuclear power to his experiences in Vietnam.
The Fitzgerald collection contains four scrapbooks relating to his involvement in politics in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Two of the scrapbooks document national and local reaction to the McCarthy campaign and include some articles on Fitzgerald and some ephemera. The other scrapbooks document the McGovern campaign in 1972 and politics in Holyoke in mid-1970s. The collection also includes a copy of Fitzgerald’s commission as a Reserve Commissioned Officer in the Army (1964) and two posters: Jack Coughlin’s, Weapons often turn upon the wielder. . . (1968) and Viet-nam veterans speak out. . . Viet-nam Veterans for McCarthy (1968), an antiwar petition signed by Fitzgerald. Books that arrived with the collection have been transferred and catalogued into SCUA’s general collection.

Gift of John J. Fitzgerald, 2016

Subjects

Holyoke (Mass.)--History--20th centuryMcCarthy, Eugene J., 1916-2005Presidents--United States--Election--1968Vietnam War, 1961-1965

Types of material

PostersScrapbooks
Gardner, Leonard F.

Gardner/Wilson Collection of the USS Reid 369

ca. 1936-2015
1 box, 1 website 1.5 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1047
Depiction of Postcard featuring the USS Reid
Postcard featuring the USS Reid

A destroyer commissioned in 1936, the USS Reid was assigned to the Pacific Fleet and in 1939 was moved to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The Reid was being serviced in port on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor occurred. The Reid survived and was re-assembled so quickly it was out patrolling later that morning. Between 1941 and 1944, the Reid served on numerous patrol and escort missions, including in the Aleutian Islands and Solomon Islands and joined forces fighting in Guadalcanal. During the Reid’s involvement in the battle of Leyte Gulf, it was attacked by twelve kamikaze fighters, several of which made contact with the Reid, including one that crashed into the port quarter and exploded, blowing the ship apart and killing 103 of the 268 aboard.

The Gardner/Wilson Collection represents the efforts of Leonard F. Gardner (BA ’49), Pearl Harbor survivor, who served on the Reid from 1941-1944. Gardner collected photographs and documents from former shipmates and produced a newsletter from 1997 to 2015 that recorded the lives of shipmates and included photographs and information about the USS Reid. In addition to the original materials Gardner collected, a full run of the newsletter and other documents related to the Reid’s service in World War II, the Gardner/Wilson collection includes a website curated by Gardner and designed, created, and maintained by James M. Wilson III (MBA ’86, MS ’86, PhD ’00), whose father, James M. Wilson, Jr., served on the USS Reid from 1940 and survived its sinking in 1944. Wilson also conducted oral histories of remaining USS Reid 369 members in 2006. The original website can be found at http://ussreid369.org. SCUA also maintains an archived version of the site. Several documents and photographs relating to the sinking of the Reid were added to the collection by Gordon Seastrom, a Pearl Harbor survivor and Reid shipmate.

Gift of Leonard F. Gardner and James M. Wilson III, 2018

Subjects

Destroyer escorts--United StatesKamikaze pilotsPearl Harbor (Hawaii), Attack on, 1941Warships--United StatesWorld War, 1939-1945 -- Naval operations

Contributors

Gardner, Leonard F.
Hagar, Joseph A. (Joseph Archibald), 1896-1989

Joseph A. Hagar Papers

1897-1976 Bulk: 1930-1965
6 boxes 7.92 linear feet
Call no.: MS 743
Depiction of Hudsonian godwit hatchlings
Hudsonian godwit hatchlings

An ornithologist and conservationist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Joseph A. “Archie” Hagar’s career was rooted in the generation of naturalists such as William Brewster, Edward Howe Forbush, and Arthur Cleveland Bent. Born in Lawrence, Mass., on May 13, 1896, Hagar’s undergraduate career at Harvard was interrupted by service in the First World War, after which he completed his studies at the Massachusetts Agricultural College, graduating with the class of 1921. An expert field biologist and ecologist, he was appointed State Ornithologist in the Department of Fish and Game in November 1934 serving in that position for almost twenty-five years. A specialist in waterfowl and raptors, Hagar was deeply involved in early conservation efforts in New England, noted for his work on wetland conservation and for linking the use of DDT with eggshell thinning in peregrine falcons, and he was famously at the center of a dispute with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over the design of the Parker River Wildlife Refuge. Never a prolific writer, he was an active member of the American Ornithological Union, the Nuttall Ornithological Club, the Wildlife Society, and other professional organizations, and after retirement, he was specially cited for his work in waterfowl conservation by Ducks Unlimited. Active until late in life, he died at home in Marshfield Hills on Dec. 17, 1989.

The Hagar Papers are a deep and valuable resource for the study of New England birds and the growth of modern conservation biology. With abundant professional correspondence, field notes on shorebirds and raptors, and drafts of articles, the collection documents the full range of Hagar’s activities as State Ornithologist, including a particularly thick run of material for the controversy over the Parker River Wildlife Refuge. Hagar also acquired a set of field notes, 1897-1921, from the Harvard ornithologist John E. Thayer.

Subjects

Birds--MassachusettsBlack duckConservationists--MassachusettsMassachusetts Agricultural College--Alumni and alumnaeOrnithologists--MassachusettsParker River National Wildlife Refuge

Contributors

Hagar, Joseph A. (Joseph Archibald), 1896-1989

Types of material

Field notesLetters (Correspondence)Photographs
Haley, Michael

Michael Haley Papers

1968-2003
18 boxes 27 linear feet
Call no.: MS 670
Depiction of Mike Haley
Mike Haley

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

An actor and motion picture assistant director and producer, Michael Haley was born in Pittsfield, Mass., in 1942. While an undergraduate student at UMass Amherst, Haley became involved in theater, joining the avant garde Buffalo Meat Company that performed original works in Massachusetts and New York City. Following a chance call from a producer looking for local help in 1969, Haley worked on his first film, the low-budget crime drama Honeymoon Killers. After work on several other film and television productions, Haley was among ten people selected for the Directors Guild of America’s Assistant Directors Training Program. During his forty year career, Haley’s credits have included work with a number of noted directors, including Sidney Lumet, Barry Levinson, and Penny Marshall, and he has enjoyed a particularly long and productive association with Mike Nichols. His films have included The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Stepford Wives, Biloxi Blues, True Colors, A League of Their Own, Groundhog Day, Primary Colors, and Closer. He was the recipient of two Humanitas Prizes (for Wit and Angels in America), and among others awards, the Christopher Award (for Wit), the Directors Guild of America award, Producers Guild of America award, and an Emmy (for Angels in America), a Directors Guild of America plaque (Working Girl), and the Berkshire International Film Festival Life-Time Achievement Award. He was named Artist of the Year at UMass and has been selected for a Bateman Fellowship.

Reflecting a diverse career in film, the Haley collection consists of scripts, photographs, memorabilia, and diaries, with a small quantity of notes and correspondence. The scripts, approximately 110 of them, are from films ranging from The Godfather Part II to Charlie Wilson’s War and Angels in America, may include several drafts. The photographs are both numerous and particularly rich, including some particularly interesting candid shots taken on film sets, as well as official shots taken by photographers such as Mary Ellen Mark.

Subjects

ActorsMotion picture producers and directorsMotion picturesNichols, Mike

Contributors

Haley, Michael

Types of material

PhotographsScreenplays
Horrigan, Leonta G.

Leonta G. Horrigan Papers

ca.1936-1986
37 boxes 55.5 linear feet
Call no.: FS 114

A member of the Massachusetts State College Class of 1936, Leonta Gertrude Horrigan was affiliated with UMass Amherst throughout her long career in academia. After receiving he MA from Smith College in 1942 for a thesis on DeQuincy and Milton, Horrigan taught creative writing, composition, among writing classes, to UMass undergraduates, and was frequently singled out as a favorite instructor on campus. In 1964, she was appointed Assistant Dean in the College of Arts and Sciences, and retired to emeritus status in 1986.

The Horrigan Papers contain nearly a half century record of instruction in writing education at UMass, with a wide array of other materials relating to Horrigan’s varied interest, events on campus, and to the evolution of the university in the post-war years.

Subjects

University of Massachusetts Amherst--FacultyUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. Department of English

Contributors

Horrigan, Leonta G
Jones, Gerald Denison

Gerald Denison Jones Papers

1897-1968 Bulk: 1897-1926
2 boxes 1 linear feet
Call no.: RG 050 J6647
Depiction of Chet Whitaker, Bill Munson, Chick Lewis (football players)
Chet Whitaker, Bill Munson, Chick Lewis (football players)

Known among his peers for his wit, “Gerry” Jones was an active presence on campus as Secretary and Treasurer for the class of 1903, and as a member of the QTV Fraternity, the staff of the Index, and the class football and baseball teams. Jones went on to become a well-respected figure in the Amherst community, serving on the board of investment for the Amherst Savings Bank during the mid-1930s and as a representative to the General Court from Hampshire County.

The papers of Gerry Jones contain a mix of ephemera dating from his days as one an active member of the MAC Class of 1903. Beginning with a fine record book documenting meetings of the class from their freshman year through graduation, the collection includes menus, programs, and dance cards related to class events. Of particular interest is a menu from the first football banquet in 1902, celebrating one of the most successful teams of the MAC era, the one-loss team of 1901.

Acquired from Paul C. Jones, May 2001

Subjects

Demonstrations--Massachusetts--Amherst--PhotographsFootball--PhotographsLewis, ChickMassachusetts Agricultural College--AlumniMassachusetts Agricultural College--StudentsMunson, BillWhitaker, Chet

Contributors

Jones, Gerald Denison

Types of material

BannersMenusPhotographsPrograms
Kerewsky-Halpern, Barbara

Barbara Kerewsky-Halpern Papers

ca. 1942-2000
8 boxes 12 linear feet
Call no.: MS 1067
Depiction of Kerewsky-Halpern teaching ca. 1980
Kerewsky-Halpern teaching ca. 1980

Barbara Kerewsky Halpern was an adjunct professor of anthropology at the University of Massachusetts. She was also a prodigious writer, researcher, and lecturer. After earning a bachelors in geography from Barnard College (1953), she accompanied her new husband, Joel M. Halpern, to Serbia, helping him with his field project which would later result in his Ph.D. thesis and book, A Serbian Village (1958). She continued to work with her husband on numerous projects. After her youngest daughter was school age, she went back to college, earning a Master of Arts degree in Linguistics from the University of Massachusetts, followed by a Ph.D. in Anthropology in 1979. In 1983, she published a book entitled “These Are Your Neighbors” published by the Cambridge Book Company. She was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis in the mid-1970’s, which motivated her to investigate various medical issues within Anthropology, eventually becoming a medical anthropologist. She became a certified practitioner of the Feldenkrais method, establishing her own practice under the name, “Mind Over Movement”. She gave presentations throughout her life, lecturing on various topics. In 1992, she served as an expert witness in the trial of Sadri Krasniqi, an Albanian man falsely accused of sexually molesting his daughter. In 1995, she was interviewed on the television program 20/20 by Hugh Downs about the case.

The Barbara Halpern Papers consists of many letters received from her childhood pen pals, college friends and family members. Documents from her early schooling as well as those of college and professional work as a lecturer and Feldenkrais practitioner form the bulk of the collection. Correspondence with Ethel (nee Russell) Breen, a young British girl, began in 1942 and continued to Breen’s death in 1996. The bulk of these letters, dated from 1942 to 1952, mention World War II, and other elements of daily life at that period.

Subjects

Feldenkrais methodMedical anthropologyMultiple sclerosisWorld War, 1939-1945--Children
Kraner, Doug

Doug Kraner Collection

1978-2014
3 boxes, 7 tubes 4 linear feet
Call no.: MS 942
Depiction of Doug Kraner (right)<br />Photo By <a href='http://www.mylesaronowitz.com/'>Myles Aronowitz</a>
Doug Kraner (right)
Photo By Myles Aronowitz

With an MFA in theater from UMass Amherst (1979), Doug Kraner built a career of thirty five years that grew from scenic design for the stage into production design for feature films and television. After his time in Amherst, Kraner taught at SUNY Stonybrook and worked on and off-Broadway, but by 1981, he moved to Hollywood and began a film career as set decorator for My Dinner With Andre (1981). Among dozens of credits as art director or production designer, Kraner worked on commercially successful films such as Uncle Buck, Lean on Me, Sleeping with the Enemy (which was the start of a long and productive working relationship with the director Danny Cannon), Extreme Measures, and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. He received an Emmy nomination in 1983 for Little Gloria… Happy at Last, and in his work on the television show Gotham in 2014-2015 earned both Emmy and Art Directors Guild Award nominations. After a lengthy struggle with cancer, Kraner died on April 4, 2016.

Organized project by project, the Kraner collection includes a cross-section of work from a production designer in the film and television industries from the 1980s to 2010s. Although the depth of coverage and contents vary from film to film, the files may contain anything from rough concept sketches to finished designs, photographs of three-dimensional models, and schematics for the construction of sets, and in the aggregate, the work documents the transition from paper-based to purely digital production techniques. Kraner retained a small number of sketches from his time as a graduate student at UMass Amherst, two sketchbooks, and a portfolio of his work for film.

Gift of Ron Duby, Sept. 2016