Born: November 25, 1921

Died: November 21, 2002

Ripon Class Year:

1949

Other education

A.A. - 1940, Merrill Commercial College, Merrill, WI

M.A. - 1950, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Ph.D. - 1954, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI

Military service:

1942 - 1945 - Technical Sergeant, US Army,

Served two years in the European Theatre during World War II

Honors: Northern France Battle Star

Career and Employer:

Professor emeritus of Political Science at Western Michigan University

Managing editor - Personality Press

About me	Details	Memorium

Details about Jack

Survived by:

Ellen L. (Ruehlow) Plano (wife)

Jay Charles (son)

Gregory Victor (son)

Vicki Lynn (daughter)

Grants and Awards:

• Ford Foundation grant for teaching of international politics
• Hubert Herring Award for best reference book in Latin American studies, Pacific Coast Council on Latin American Studies, 1981
• Service Award, Department of Political Science, Western Michigan University, 1984
• Western Michigan University Outstanding Emeritus Scholar Award, 1998

Publications:

• The Content of the Introductory International Politics Course: Basic Framework and Concepts, Emory University Press, 1958.
• The American Political Dictionary (with Milton Greenberg), Holt, 1962; 8th edition, 1989.
• Instructor's Manual: Governing America, Dodd, Mead & Co., 1962; 2nd edition, 1964.
• Michigan State Government (with Leo C. Stine), Associated Educators, 1963.
• The United Nations and the India-Pakistan Dispute, University of Manila Press, 1966.
• Forging World Order--The Politics of International Organization (with Ray Olton), Holt, 1967; 2nd edition, Macmillan, 1971.
• The International Relations Dictionary (with Olton), Holt, 1969; 4th edition, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press, 1988.
• Political Science Dictionary (with Greenberg, Olton and Robert E. Riggs), Dryden, 1973.
• Dictionary of Political Analysis (with Riggs), Dryden, 1973; 2nd edition, American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press, 1982.
• United Nations Capital Development Fund -- Poor and Rich Worlds in Collision (with Marjon Vashti Kamara), New Issues Press, 1974.
• Experiments in Undergraduate Teaching (co-author), Michigan Conference of Political Scientists, 1976.
• The Latin American Political Dictionary (with Ernest E. Rossi), American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press, 1980.
• The Public Administration Dictionary (with Ralph C. Chandler), Wiley, 1982; 2nd edition, 1988.
• The Soviet and East European Political Dictionary (with Barbara P. McCrea and George Klein), American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press, 1984.
• The United Nations--International Organization and World Politics (with Riggs), Dorsey Press, 1988.
• Memoirs, Volume I: Fishhooks, Apples and Outhouses--Memories of the 1920's, 1930's and 1940's, Personality Press, 1991.
• Memoirs, Volume II: Life in the Educational Trenches--Memories of College and University Days (1946-1952), Personality Press, 1991.
• International Relations: a Political Dictionary (co-author), American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press, 1995.
• The American Political Dictionary (with Greenberg), Harcourt Brace, 1997.

Filmography:

• The Citizen Participates -- Parties, Pressure Groups, Voting and Elections (with Leo C. Stine), Associated Educators, 1962.
• Legislative and Executive Branches (with Stine), Associated Educators, 1962.
• Education (with Stine), Associated Educators, 1962.
• Public Health (with Stine), Associated Educators, 1962.
• Highways, Conservation and Agriculture (with Stine), Associated Educators, 1962.
• Law Enforcement, Courts and Corrections (with Stine), Associated Educators, 1962.

About me	Details	Memorium

Statements in Memory of Jack

Jack Plano writes in his profile in Contemporary Authors

"As a social science author and professor over the past thirty-five years, I have often been bothered--sometimes appalled--by the lack of precision in the vocabulary of the disciplines that comprise the social sciences. This is especially true for political science, as contrasted with the natural sciences. For me, precise language is the primary tool of every scientific discipline, and, as a result of a behavioral revolution that has swept the discipline in recent times, political science is striving to become a scientific discipline. My contribution has been lexicographical in nature. As I have proceeded, I have enlisted the services of more than twenty other political scientists, and together we have sought through a political dictionary series to encourage greater precision in the language of our discipline. Fields covered in these political dictionaries include general political science, international relations, political analysis, two volumes on constitutional law, international law, public administration, public policy, state and local government, presidential-congressional, and the following geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, the United States, and Eastern Europe. These books have been published by Holt, John Wiley, and ABC-Clio in both cloth editions for the libraries and general public usage, and in paperback for college classrooms. One of them--The American Political Dictionary--has been used by more than 1 million college students (based on an estimate of over 262,000 copies sold) over the years since 1962, when it appeared in its first edition."

An obituary for Jack from the Western Michigan University News, 6 December 2002

"Jack C. Plano, emeritus in political science, died Nov. 21 in Kalamazoo. He was 81.
Plano, a Western Michigan University faculty member from 1952 until his retirement in 1987, was nationally known for his books on political topics. His publications included The American Political Dictionary, which he wrote in 1962 with Milton Greenberg, and Forging World Order-The Politics of International Organization, which he wrote with Robert E. Riggs. He also published two editions of The United Nations: International Organizations and World Politics, a comprehensive study of U.N. operations.
The founder and longtime managing editor of WMU's New Issues Press, Plano also served as editor for nearly 20 years of a political dictionary series that includes 23 volumes and is published by the American Bibliographical Center-Clio Press.
In 1998, Plano was named the first recipient of WMU's Outstanding Emeritus Scholar award."

An obituary for Jack from the Class Notes section of the Ripon College Magazine
(Grammar and spelling corrected)

"Jack C. Plano (49) of Kalamazoo, MI, died on November 21, 2002. Jack was a retired professor of political science emeritus at Western Michigan University. Jack served in World War Two in the European Theater. Jack was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and received the WMU Outstanding Emeritus Scholar Award in 1997. Jack authored, co-authored, edited, and published a number of books, the best known being The American Political Dictionary and The United Nations. Jack is survived by his wife, Ellen, two sons and a daughter."

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Information about Jack's life has been collected from

• Ripon College Magazine, Ripon College, Ripon, WI
• Contemporary Authors (2004). Thomson Gale Publishing
• WMU News, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI

About me	Details	Memorium