January 04, 2008
In Memoriam: Glenn W. Ferguson, former Clark president
Glenn W. Ferguson, who served as president of Clark University from 1970 to 1973, died of cancer Dec. 20 at his home in Santa Fe, N.M.
Prior to becoming president of Clark, Mr. Ferguson served in the Kennedy administration as the first director of the Peace Corps program in Thailand and in the Johnson Administration as the first director of VISTA. He was named ambassador to Kenya in 1969 and was in his first year as chancellor of Long Island University when he was named president of Clark.
During his tenure at the University, Mr. Ferguson asked Professor Bernard Kaplan of the Psychology Department to organize a new Office of Academic Innovation, through which experimental courses and teaching methods could be designed and evaluated. Enrichment courses for high school students, a film series and a plan to rejuvenate the Hadwen Arboretum also resulted from this effort. Under Mr. Ferguson's presidency Clark's commitment to learning through inquiry and connecting graduate and undergraduate education was also solidified.
"Glenn always followed an entrepreneurial approach to the affairs of the University and encouraged us to experiment with new ideas," says Clark University Trustee Larry Landry '71, M.B.A. '75. "He was an inspirational leader and challenged us to use Clark's unique characteristics as a university to the benefit of our students."
Mr. Ferguson left Clark in 1973 to become president of the University of Connecticut from 1973 to 1978. He then served as president of Radio Free Liberty-Radio Europe and president of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
Mr. Ferguson grew up in Syracuse, N.Y., and Bethesda, Md. He served in the Air Force as a psychological warfare officer in the Philippines and Korea. During the Korean War, he wrote propaganda leaflets to be dropped behind North Korean lines. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics and a master's degree in business administration, both from Cornell University. He received a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1957. Prior to his service in the Kennedy administration, Mr. Ferguson was a management consultant with McKinsey and Co. and assistant dean of the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh.
Mr. Ferguson served as president of the American University of Paris from 1992 to 1995 and in recent years was a writer, lecturer and consultant. His books include: "Unconventional Wisdom: A Primer of Provocative Aphorisms" (1999), "Americana Against the Grain" (1999), "Tilting at Religion" (2003), "Sports in America" (2004) and "Traveling the Exotic" (2005). He was also founder and president of Equity for Africa, which provided small-loan investments to rural entrepreneurs. He was a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Pacific Council on International Policy and other organizations.
"Clark University, 1887-1987: A Narrative History," by William A. Koelsch, was used as a source of information about Glenn Ferguson's presidency at Clark University.