Plano, Jack C.
November 25, 1921 - November 21, 2002
Place of Birth: Merrill, WI
Place of Principle Residence: Kalamazoo, MI
Biography:
Jack C. Plano was born to Minna and Victor Plano in Merrill, WI. He received business training at Merrill Community College in 1940, and joined the US Army in the Corps of Engineers. Plano left the army in 1945 and earned his BA at Ripon College in 1949. In 1950 and 1954 he earned his MA and PhD consecutively in international relations. From 1953 to 1987 he served as a professor in the Political Science department at Western Michigan University, teaching courses in international relations, international organization, and American foreign policy on both undergraduate and graduate levels. In 1962 he co-authored a new type of encyclopedia-dictionary, The American Political Dictionary that has been widely adopted as a supplemental text for basic courses in American government. By the time of Plano’s death, the book had gone through eleven editions. Due to the success of his first dictionary, Plano co-authored a series of political dictionaries with his colleagues and in 1980 was chosen as the series editor for ABC-Clio Dictionaries in Political Science. Plano covered topics relating to international relations, political science, political analysis, Latin America, and Soviet and East European governments and politics. In 1971, Plano was invited to the University of Sussex to lecture and do research, and in addition he presented papers on sea pollution and seabed problems for the Institute for the Study of International Organization. He has published a number of monographs, and in 1974 founded the New Issues Press of Western Michigan University and served as its press-managing editor until his retirement. Plano received several awards, including the first ever recipient of the Outstanding Emeritus Scholar Award at Western Michigan University. During his retirement ,Plano published a series of memoirs relating to his life experience. He died in 2007 and was survived by his wife, Ellen, and his children Jay, Gregory, and Vicki.
Selected Works:
- American Political Dictionary (1962)
- Latin America Political Dictionary (1980)
- United Nations (1988)
Awards:
- 1997 Outstanding emeritus Scholar Award-Western Michigan University
- 1981 Phi Beta Kappa - Ripon College
- 1981 Hubert Herring Award for Best Reference Book on Latin America
- 1997 Outstanding Emeritus Scholar Award at Western Michigan University
Critical Reception:
Plano’s first book, The American Political Dictionary, is still used in classrooms across the U.S. as a basic supplemental text in American Government. He has received several awards for his work, including the Hubert Herring Award for Best Reference Book on Latin America.
Relevance of Place to Author’s Work:
Plano taught at Western Michigan University for thirty-five years where he taught and pursued his research on political science. He co-authored several dictionaries/encyclopedias on a variety of topics with his colleagues. During his retirement he published several memoirs on his experience as an educator.