McGinnes (Marc) papers, 1965-2019, bulk 1979-2003

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Summary

Title:
Marc McGinnes papers
Dates:
1965-2019, bulk 1979-2003
Creators:
McGinnes, J. Marc, 1941-
Abstract:
Teaching and legal materials of Marc McGinnes, a Santa Barbara-based environmental researcher, lawyer, and educator.
Extent:
19.6 Linear Feet (19 document boxes, 1 flat box, 107 videocassettes, 6 audiocassettes, 2 DVDs)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Marc McGinnes papers, UArchFacP 59. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of correspondence, course work and syllabi, administrative documents, recorded lectures, case files, photographs, research files, and notes relating to professor Marc McGinnes activities during his tenure, from 1970 to 2005, as a professor of environmental studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB).

The bulk of the materials reflect McGinnes' activities in environmental education and community political activism, as well as his involvement with establishing the Institute for Peaceful Resolution of Conflict and working with the Environmental Defense Center of Santa Barbara, California. Noteworthy components of the collection includes iterations of his Principles of Environmental Law, a course and curriculum book related to EnvS 125A: Principles of Environmental Law, the longest-running undergraduate course in environmental law in the United States. Also included are conference proceedings, correpondence, and ephemera related to his work with Institute for Peaceful Resolution of Conflict.

In addition, the collection includes case proceedings, reports, and related legal research materials regarding practicing environmental law as a consultant to the Environmental Defense Center. Of particular note, the collection includes case proceedings form Santa Barbara County in relation to Western LNG (Liquid Natural Gas) and Cold Spring Canyon Bridge barrier, all of which summarizes the county government's actions.

The collection has been kept physically in original order but arranged descriptively by subject. The creator's file naming convention has been retained.

Biographical / historical:

In June of 1969, Marc McGinnes was a young lawyer when Republican Representative Pete McCloskey encouraged him to move to Santa Barbara to start the new field of environmental law. As an environmental activist and lawyer since 1969, Marc McGinnes led the founding of one of the first ecology centers in 1970. Concurrent to the founding, McGinnes began his teaching career in 1970 at UC Santa Barbara in one of the first environmental studies programs. His course, Principles of Environmental Law, is one of the longest-running undergraduate courses in environmental law in the United States. His teachings covered environmental law, policy, and ecopsychology. As a Stanford University graduate and recipient of a law degree from UC Berkeley, in addition to his teaching, McGinnes has pursued parallel careers as both an environmental lawyer and a legal ecologist. McGinnes was a founder of one of the first public interest environmental firms, the Environmental Defense Center of Santa Barbara, in 1977, as well as the Institute for Peaceful Resolution of Conflict. McGinnes is a former Alfred P. Sloan, Rotary International Foundation, and Ford Foundation scholar and fellow. In 2005, after over thirty years of teaching, McGinnes retired.

Acquisition information:
Gift of Marc McGinnes, 2016.
Arrangement:

The collection has been arranged by subject into six series:

  • Series 1: Biographical files
  • Series 2: Teaching career
  • Series 3: Institute For Peaceful Resolution of Conflict
  • Series 4: Environmental law career
  • Series 5: Audiovisual materials
  • Series 6: 2019 Addition

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

About this collection guide

Collection Guide Author:
Finding aid prepared by Beaudry Rae Allen 2017; revised by Zachary Liebhaber, 2019. Finding aid updated by Rebecca Vasquez, March 2026.
Date Encoded:
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2026-03-30 16:17:16 -0700 .

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

Property rights to the collection and physical objects belong to the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at the UCSB Library. All applicable literary rights, including copyright to the collection and physical objects, are protected under Chapter 17 of the U.S. Copyright Code and may be retained by the creator and the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns.

All requests to reproduce, quote from, or otherwise reuse collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB at special@library.ucsb.edu. Consent is given on behalf of the Regents of the University of California acting through the Department of Special Research Collections at UCSB as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s), or assigns. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or their assignees for permission to publish where the UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of Item], Marc McGinnes papers, UArchFacP 59. Department of Special Research Collections, UC Santa Barbara Library, University of California, Santa Barbara.

Location of this collection:
UC Santa Barbara Library
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-9010, US
Contact:
(805) 893-3062
special@library.ucsb.edu
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