Mary Constance Lynn
Mary Constance Lynn, a beloved professor of American studies emerita who documented Skidmore College’s history in a cherished monograph, died Feb. 23, 2021. She was 77.
Mary had struggled with frontotemporal lobal degeneration for several years.
Mary joined the College in 1969 and retired in 2013. Throughout her career, Mary inspired generations of students and colleagues through her teaching, service and scholarship. A dedicated teacher, Mary offered courses on topics ranging from 17th-century New England to the 1950s to childbirth and American foodways. At Skidmore, she contributed to liberal studies, gender studies and environmental studies programs as well as the Honors Forum and the College’s former University Without Walls initiative.
Mary served the College in countless ways — as chair of the Department of American Studies for more than 13 years and as a member of many important faculty committees. Perhaps her greatest service to the College came through her scholarship: In addition to academic publications on topics ranging from the American Revolution to women’s liberation, Mary was best known for her impressive, nearly 500-page history, “Make No Small Plans: A History of Skidmore College,” which required five years to complete and was published in 2000.
Professor of American Studies Gregory Pfitzer noted that the book offered alumni “a sense of where they fit into the history of the institution.”
“Not only is it the best college history I have ever read, it has also brought hundreds of Skidmore alums into a conversation with each other about the College,” he said.
Another colleague, Professor Daniel Nathan, who now holds the Douglas Family Chair in American Culture, History and Literary and Interdisciplinary Studies that Mary once occupied, described her unmatched knowledge of this institution.
“Mary was smart and feisty and knew more about Skidmore than anyone,” he said. “We are all in her debt for ‘Make No Small Plans’ and hundreds of other acts of intelligence, kindness and generosity.”
Susan Kress, a former English professor, vice president for academic affairs and acting president of the College, described the indelible mark that Mary has left on Skidmore.
"An inspirational teacher-scholar-citizen, Mary showed her devotion to our Skidmore community by telling us our story and by never saying no to the opportunity to serve us,” she said. “Her legacy lives on in the extraordinary accomplishments of her beloved American Studies Department."
Then President Philip A. Glotzbach, had designated Mary as the College’s historian.
"‘Make No Small Plans’ has been an invaluable entry point for me into the history, personalities, and achievements of our college over its first century of existence,” said Skidmore College President Marc C. Conner. “The book has helped me to understand Skidmore’s dramatic transformation from its founding more than a century ago as the Young Women's Industrial Club to the dynamic institution it has become today.”
For her service to the College, Mary was awarded the Skidmore College Alumni Association Outstanding Service Award (2001), the Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching (2010) and the Phyliss A. Roth Faculty Distinguished Service Award (2013), among other distinctions.
Born Dec. 16, 1943, in Schenectady, Mary graduated from Elmira College and completed her doctorate in history at the University of Rochester in 1975.
Survivors include her husband, David Clark of Stillwater; daughter Kate Amoroso '02 (Luke '01) of Kirksville, Missouri, and grandchildren Lucy and Delia; daughter Emily Clark '06 (Michael Robinson) of Mount Ranier, Maryland; sister Jane Ito (Yoshiko) of East Dennis, Massachusetts, and niece Margaret Ito of Saugus, Massachusetts; and two cousins, Doris Hausser of Washington and Barbara Roberts of Chicago.