Glenn Anthony May

1945 - 2020

Glenn Anthony May was born in Brooklyn, New York and died of Alzheimer's disease at home in Eugene, Oregon, with his family by his side.
Growing up in New York City, Glenn shared a love for the theater with his parents, particularly his mother who was an actress. Years later, Glenn passed this love of theater on to his children who grew up singing show tunes from old Broadway musicals. Glenn was also a talented athlete who played a mean game of tennis and golf.
Glenn excelled in his studies. At Yale University, he studied history, receiving his BA in 1966 and later his PhD in history in 1975. While an undergrad at Yale, Glenn joined the ROTC and upon graduation, served in active duty stateside in the Army during the Vietnam War. Bearing survivor's guilt and working in the predominantly anti-war environment of academia, Glenn was low key about his military service. Many years later, at the Univer- sity of Oregon, where he was a tenured professor for 32 years, Glenn taught, among other courses, a popular class on the Vietnam War to which he invited Vietnam vets who shared their first-hand experience with students.
During his academic career, Glenn taught courses on the history of Southeast Asia, the history of U.S. Foreign Relations, and the Cold War. His own research focused on the Philippines where he spent a great deal of time, fully immersing himself in the culture and language of the land. A hardworking and prolific writer, Glenn authored six books, five of them on the late 19th-early 20th century Philippines. Battle for Batangas-A Philippine Province at War (Yale University Press, 1991) was the culmination of 10 years of research.
While he possessed a superb intellect, Glenn was never boastful. Instead, all who knew him will remember his dry, self-deprecating sense of humor. Though a self-described curmudgeon, Glenn was a gentle soul who rooted for the underdog and cried for the dying spider in Charlotte's Web. Beneath his unassuming facade was a ferociously principled core that did not shy away from controversy. Glenn took an unpopular stance against the establishment of Chinese government-sponsored Confucius Institutes across U.S. college campuses, including the University of Oregon. In this, he was joined by many other academics, who believed that the CIs posed a serious threat to academic freedom as administrators bowed to Chinese political pressure in exchange for "free" teaching staff and materials and tuition from Chinese students. This courageous stance earned Glenn a few enemies along the way.
With Inventing a Hero-the Posthumous Re-Creation of Andres Bonifacio (Wisconsin Press, 1996; New Day, 1997), based on assiduous research in primary sources, Glenn challenged the accepted view of a Philippine nation- al hero. The publication of this work also opened Glenn up to attack. Unflinching, Glenn carried on, and focused on a subject closer to home with his fifth book, Sonny Montes and the Mexican American Activism in Oregon (Oregon State University Press, 2011). This book tells the history
of the Mexican American community in Oregon during the 1960s and 1970s through the life of a migrant worker turned activist.
Glenn's last book, A Past Updated, was a collection of some of the articles he wrote from 1998 to 2013. The postscript to the book, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon: Remember- ing Cory Aquino," was originally written for the Eugene Register-Guard. It tells the story of the former Philip- pine President's visit to UO and of her tree(s) planted on campus. The article is vintage Glenn May, written with his brand of humor.
Possessing an adventurous spirit and a curious and nimble mind, Glenn was fluent in French and Tagalog, and also studied Spanish and Chinese. Besides spending time in the Philippines, he also traveled to France, Vietnam, Australia, Taiwan, and the Netherlands, and delighted in meeting people of all stripes.
Glenn is survived by his wife, Helen Liu; their children Rachel Liu-May and Benjamin Liu-May; daughter Lizzie May; brother Murray May and sister Sandy Steinman. He is dearly missed.
In Glenn's memory, the Glenn Anthony May Memorial Scholarship Fund has been set up to provide aid to students engaged in Philippine Studies. Please mail contributions to 405 Dellwood Drive, Eugene, OR 97405. Electronic deposit available by PayPal to helenliu45@gmail.com, memo: Glenn Anthony May Memorial Scholarship Fund.