Jack C. Plano

Jack C. Plano, professor emeritus of political science at Western Michigan University, the best known academic political lexicographer in the United States, died on November 21, 2002 from complications of Parkinson's disease. He was born in Merrill, Wisconsin on November 25, 1921 and died four days short of his 81st birthday.

Plano received business training at Merrill Commercial College in 1940, and worked at the Rock Island Arsenal in 1941–1942, assigning and shipping armaments to U.S. forces in different zones. He joined the U.S. army in 1942 and was assigned to the Corps of Engineers. During the war, he served in the European Theater of Operations and participated in the Normandy and Northern France campaigns. Following his discharge, he attended Ripon College, where he was granted a B.A. in 1949, and the University of Wisconsin, where he received an M.A. in 1950 and a Ph.D. in 1954, majoring in international relations.

He came to Western Michigan University in 1952, where he served with distinction for 35 years in a variety of positions. He was chair of the political science department from 1979 to 1984. He taught international relations, international organization, and American foreign policy courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He was also deeply involved in the American government area of the department. In that connection, in 1962 he designed a new type of encyclopedia-dictionary, The American Political Dictionary, which was widely adopted as a supplemental text for basic courses in American government. Entries in the dictionary were organized in topical chapters similar to texts, beginning with a tightly constructed definition paragraph and followed by a paragraph, labeled “significance,” that laid out the importance of the term. At Plano's passing in 2002, this book was in its 11th edition and still the basic supplemental text in American government.

As a consequence of the success of his first dictionary, written with a co-author, Plano launched a series of political dictionaries with colleagues. In 1980, he was chosen as series editor for the ABC-Clio Dictionaries in Political Science. This series was published in 23 volumes, six of which Plano wrote with co-authors. His volumes included topics on international relations, political science, political analysis, Latin America, and Soviet and East European government and politics.

A specialist in international relations and organization, Plano published a number of monographs in this field, including The United Nations and the India-Pakistan Dispute, 1966, and with co-authors, Forging World Order: The Politics of International Organization, 2nd ed., 1971, and The United Nations: International Organization and World Politics, 3rd ed., 2000, a standard text in the field. In 1974, he founded the New Issues Press of Western Michigan University, and served as its editor until he retired. In this role, he edited and supervised the publication of 15 books and monographs, which included studies in the fields of politics, economics, public policy, and black history.

His writing was always marked by clarity and exactness. As author, editor, and teacher, he encouraged others to follow the principle that governed his writing and editing: “Precision in the use of language is the primary scientific tool of every intellectual discipline.” He was generous with his time and talent, mentoring students, helping younger faculty break into the publishing world, and collaborating with colleagues in publishing professional books.

In 1971–1972, he was invited to the University of Sussex, England, to lecture and do research. He presented papers on sea pollution and seabed problems at the Institute for the Study of International Organisation and at other sites. He also helped organize and participated in conferences on NATO, and the Final Preparatory Conference for the U. N. Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, Sweden. He received a number of awards over his career, including Phi Beta Kappa at Ripon College, and shared with a co-author the Hubert Herring Award for Best Reference Book on Latin America in 1981. In 1997, Western Michigan University chose him as the first recipient of the Outstanding Emeritus Scholar Award.

In retirement, Plano published a three-volume set of memoirs: Fishhooks, Apples, and Outhouses (growing up in Wisconsin and military experiences); Life in the Educational Trenches (memories of college and university days), and Pulling the Weeds and Watering the Flowers (professional life and retirement). Believing that people from all walks of life had interesting lives, he gave talks and instructions to inspire other retired persons to write their memoirs.

Jack Plano was a lover of music and the outdoors; he was an avid tennis player and won tournaments for his age group until Parkinson's disease curtailed his eyesight and coordination. He had a keen sense of humor and was addicted to story telling, and his friends appreciated his wit, jokes, and satiric observations.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen, his companion for almost 50 years, and three children. At Western Michigan University, the Jack C. Plano Common Room was named in his honor, and a bench and plaque memorial has been established on campus near a pond which he loved. Jack Plano lived a full life, as scholar, educator, author, editor, and family man. His death saddened his family, friends, and colleagues, all who looked to him for professional leadership and convivial companionship.