FAQ - Who was Shep Shepard?
Shep Shepard was a member of the Department of Legal Studies from its inception in the early 70's until his retirement in 1997. We present here a short biography, and some information about the scholarship created in his name.
Col. Claude L. Shepard, Jr.
Claude L. Shepard, Jr., was born May 11, 1917, in Murray, Iowa. He attended schools in Corydon, Iowa, and was a 1939 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. He received a master’s degree from the University of Massachusetts. He was also a graduate of the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. Col. Shepard was a survivor of Pearl Harbor. He became one of the early group of Army aviators, "Grasshoppers," and served in North Africa, Sicily, France and Germany. He was among the leaders in the development of the Army Aviation Program, and was later elected to the Army Aviation Hall of Fame.
He also served as an artillery officer in Korea in 1954-55 and in Germany in 1961-62. His numerous military decorations included the Croix de Guerre. After retiring from the Army in 1969, Col. Shepard came to Amherst for graduate study, and later joined the Department of Legal Studies at the University of Massachusetts as staff associate. He moved to Northfield, MA in 1977, and served on the town Finance Committee and as a representative to the Franklin County Technical School Committee. He was an active member of the First Parish, Unitarian Universalist, in Northfield and a member of the Kiwanis Club and the Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Northfield. He died February 15, 1998.
The Shep Shepard Award is a fund created by the faculty in Legal Studies to honor the memory of Col. (Ret.) Claude L. Shepard, Jr. He served as the department's staff associate from the inception of Legal Studies in 1973 until his retirement in August, 1997.
The recipient(s) of the award is selected by the Chair of the Legal Studies Department with the advice and consent of a faculty committee. The award, initially in the amount of $250, is given for a combination of academic excellence achieved within Legal Studies and contributions to the community.
Academic excellence is evidenced by individual and cumulative grades, honors work, intellectual creativity, special intellectual projects, and any other academic achievement while in residence at the University.
Contribution to the community refers to the department and its student body, the University, the Commonwealth, or any other community of persons, however defined, whose lives or work have been or are being enhanced by work or accomplishments of a candidate.
The purposes of the fund reflect the deep intelligence and wide-ranging contributions that characterized Shep Shepard's life and work. Shep was known to many people across campus. His great generosity and ready smile made him welcome everywhere. He was a master at planning and development, as might be expected from one whose career included more than one assignment inside the Pentagon. He made his expertise available to faculty, staff, and students, attending equally to the least bureaucratic puzzle as to the most difficult.
Shep's military experience brought him close to the horrors of war and he was an adamant believer in the peaceful resolution of disputes. He once remarked, "There should never be a victory parade after a war, but only a period of mourning."
The Legal Studies Department is forever indebted to the skill and moral encouragement Shep brought to his work. Contributions to the Shep Shepard Award fund may be made via the Department of Legal Studies.
1998
The First Recipient of the Shep Shepard Award was Neldy Jean Francois.
1999
Barbara Karuri was recipient of the 2nd Annual Shep Shepard Award.
2000
Jessica Thrall and Stephen Mish were both recipients of the 3rd Annual Shep Shepard Award, awarded at the Junior/Senior luncheon on Wednesday, April 26, 2000.
2001
Daniel Barowy was the recipient of the 4th Annual Shep Shepard Award, given at the Junior/Senior luncheon on Wednesday, May 2, 2001.
2001
Erica Fisher and Keith Walsh were the recipients of the 5th Annual Shep Shepard Award, given at the Junior/Senior luncheon on Wednesday, May 1, 2002.
2003
Meredith Alexander and Jennifer Pierce were the recipients of the 6th Annual Shep Shepard Award, given at the Junior/Senior luncheon on Wednesday, May 7, 2003.
2004
Evandro Carvalho and Rachel Smith were the recipients of the 7th Annual Shep Shepard Award, given at the Junior/Senior luncheon on Wednesday, May 5, 2004.
2005
Kimberly Sullivan and Stacey Russell were the recipients of the 8th Annual Shep Shepard Award, given at the Junior/Senior luncheon on Wednesday, May 4, 2005.
2006
Mercedes Moses and John Saunders were the recipients of the 9th Annual Shep Shepard Award, given at the Junior/Senior luncheon on Wednesday, May 3, 2006.
2007
Amanda Butler-Jones and Arianne Waldron were the recipients of the 10th Annual Shep Shepard Award, given at the Junior/Senior luncheon on Wednesday, May 7, 2007.
