The Law Library’s Riesenfeld Center has received an important collection of documents and images related to former Dean Maynard Pirsig ’25. 

Pirsig graduated from the Law School in 1925, studied at Harvard and in England, and returned to teach on the Law School faculty from 1933 to 1970. He served as the Law School’s fourth dean from 1948 to 1955 and was lauded for his faculty recruitment and the development of new programs. In addition to excelling as a classroom instructor and administrator, Pirsig was a noted scholar who authored two foundational casebooks, pioneering the fields of judicial administration and legal ethics in law school curricula.

The Pirsig and Lindberg families carefully preserved important documents, photographs, and slides related to Pirsig’s life and career, and they have now generously donated this material to the Law Library. 

David Lindberg, a noted artist and Maynard Pirsig’s grandson, meticulously digitized a large collection of these documents and images related to Pirsig’s teaching career at Minnesota, as well as aspects of his life beyond it. In addition, extensive written descriptions of the material draw on the recollections of Robert Pirsig—Maynard’s son and the noted author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance—which were recorded and organized by Robert’s wife, Wendy.  

The Law Library is grateful for the donation of this valuable collection, which represents a wonderful testament to the life and career of former Dean Pirsig, one of our most illustrious graduates, and his legacy at the Law School.

Ryan Greenwood is a Law Library faculty member and curator of rare books and special collections.