for
the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts
December 6, 2002
| Obituaries Champion of humanities, Maxwell
H. Goldberg, '28, dies at 95
 he
University lost a lifelong son Nov. 14 when Maxwell H. Goldberg, '28,
of Spartanburg, S.C., a retired professor of English, died Nov. 14.
He was 95.His service to the institution began as an active student at Massachusetts Agricultural College (MAC), where he graduated first in his class; participated in student government and dramatic productions; was on the varsity debate squad; won several oratorical contests; served as president of his fraternity; and gave the campus oration at his graduation ceremony. The 1928 Index praised his "dreamy eyes" and described him as "an all-around good fellow, and a loyal supporter of the class of 1928." An Agricultural Education major, his initial interests and skills in botany and chemistry began to give way during his undergraduate years to a fascination with words. After graduation, he continued to study at the college but shifted his focus to English. William Brickman and Stanley Lehrer, the authors of "Automation, Education, and Human Values," for which he wrote the introduction and conclusion, called him "a literary fireball whose sparks as a classical scholar light up the corners of men's minds and keep alive the humanistic spirit of years gone by." He joined the English faculty in 1933 and served Massachusetts State College and, later, the University for a total of 29 years before retiring in 1962. He was head of the English Department between 1955 and 1962. Upon his retirement, the Board of Trustees made him Emeritus Commonwealth Professor of Humanities. Following 10 years of teaching there, Pennsylvania State University named him Professor Emeritus of Humanities and English at his retirement there in 1972. He taught for the next five years at Converse College in South Carolina, retiring as Helmus Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Humanities and Literature. Long after his departure from Amherst, he continued to be remembered in the area. In 1988, he received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from the University, and in 1998, Hillel House named its living center after him. A tireless promoter of student welfare, including extracurricular activities and campus life issues as well as academic challenges in his vision, he advised the Campus Collegian for approximately 15 years; organized Jewish students into supportive groups (including the establishment of Hillel in the mid-1930s) and promoted strong relationships between Jewish and gentile students; served on the Faculty Religious Advisory Committee and tens of other committees; supported student dramatic productions, and judged numerous debate, poetry and essay competitions, not only at the University but also at other colleges and at area high schools. He was a much sought-after speaker around the Pioneer Valley for civic and religious groups, speaking about the nature of a liberal education, relationships between Jews and non-Jews, and poetry, among other things. Following up on a Rotary Club talk he gave in 1934, he wrote an essay, entitled "Amherst as Poetry," which he presented as a talk at Amherst College. An enthusiastic outpouring of requests for the text, which lauded the very nature and beauty of Amherst, caused him to expand his ideas further into a book of the same title, which included passages from poetic works by people in Amherst. He was a founder of the College English Association Journal, for which he served as an editor for many years. His master's and doctoral degrees were from Yale University. He also did graduate work at Amherst College and MAC. In 1945, he was awarded the Nehemiah Gitelson Memorial Medallion for excelling in "nonprofessional" service. He leaves his wife of 42 years, Ethel Zeidman Goldberg; three daughters, Naomi and Rachel of Massachusetts and Deborah Bliss of Italy; two stepdaughters, Barbara Colby of Arizona and Freya Bosky of Maryland. Memorial contributions may be made to Temple B'Nai Israel, 146 Heywood Ave., Spartanburg, S.C. 29302; The Shepherd's Center, 393 E. Main St., Spartanburg; or to Converse College, 580 Main, Spartanburg. |
