Join the Newberry Library in remembering the life and career of Janice Reiff.
Jan was a Professor of both History and Statistics at UCLA, having joined the faculty in 1992. She was a member of the Newberry Library staff in various capacities between the late 1970s and 1984, working on multiple projects in the library even as she earned her PhD from the University of Washington in 1981. Most notably during those years, Jan served as the Project Director of the Newberry's Pullman Project and as both Associate Director and Co-Director of the Family and Community History Center (which became the Dr. William M. Scholl Center for American History and Culture). Jan returned to the Newberry as a National Endowment for the Humanities/Lloyd Lewis Long-Term Fellow in 1991. With James R. Grossman and Ann Durkin Keating, Jan co-edited The Encyclopedia of Chicago, published by the University of Chicago Press in 2004; Jan was the lead editor on the digital edition, launched in 2005.
Newberry President Daniel Greene has fond memories of Jan. “As Director of the Scholl Center in 2011, I had the chance to work closely with Jan on 'Pullman: Labor, Race, and the Urban Landscape in a Company Town,' a Landmarks of American History and Culture Workshop for Community College Faculty funded by a grant from the NEH. Jan was the lead scholar on that workshop, a compassionate and interested teacher of her students and peers, and a wonderful tour guide through the streets of Pullman. Jan will be deeply missed.”
Register below to receive the Zoom link for this virtual memorial service. Gifts to the Newberry can be made in memory of Jan at the time of registration. Donations will be used to honor Jan by naming her favorite carrel after her. If you would like to make a gift in memory of Jan without registering for the memorial, please click here.
Please contact Natalie Edwards at edwardsn@newberry.org with questions.