The Gary F. Reed Memorial Endowment for Political Theory was created by Gary's parents, the late Frank and Alice Reed, in memory of their only child. Gary's untimely death in 1980 occurred not long after he completed his Ph.D. at UCSC in the History of Consciousness program.

His personal library, reflecting his commitment to inter-disciplinary studies, was donated to the University Library shortly after his death by his wife Janet Reed, along with a small endowment contributed by his friends. His parents' subsequent generous gift in Gary's name was meant to ensure that scholars of the future have access to a rich range of information in political theory and related fields.

The nucleus of the Reed Collection is drawn from the extensive and eclectic library assembled by Gary F. Reed during his academic career. Monies earned by the Gary F. Reed Memorial Fund are used to purchase materials which enhance, supplement and bring currency to Mr. Reed's personal collection. Scholars browsing the McHenry Library political theory stacks notice an usually rich gathering of materials on the history of political thought, social philosophy and political theory. Because the collection does not aspire to be a comprehensive collection of scholarly publications in the field, but instead highlights outstanding contributions in political theory, users of the collection are probably not aware of how much would be missing were it not for the resources provided by the endowment.