1887
Massachusetts passes legislation incorporating Clark University. Two years later, under the presidency of G. Stanley Hall, the university opens its doors in Worcester, Massachusetts as the first graduate-study-only institution in the United States, with degrees offered in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, and psychology. Under Hall, its program in psychology becomes nationally competitive, a position it still holds. The university’s initial emphasis on groundbreaking research continues today through its academic departments, as well as the George Perkins Marsh Institute, Clark Labs, Strassler Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise, and the Hiatt Center for Urban Education.
1902
Two years after Jonas Clark’s death, Clark College, a liberal arts college for men, is established under the presidency of Carroll D. Wright, the first U.S. Commissioner of Labor. In his will, Clark stated that “it is my earnest desire … that the said University … be wholly free from every kind of denominational or sectarian control, bias or limitation, and that its doors may be ever open to all classes and persons whatsoever may be their religious faith or political sympathies, or to whatever creed, sect or party they may belong.” Today Clark prides itself on its commitment to inclusive excellence, and requires all undergraduates to complete an inclusive excellence requirement.
1920
With the resignations of G. Stanley Hall and Wright’s successor, Edmund Sanford, the presidencies of the college and university are combined under geographer and former Harvard University professor Wallace W. Atwood. The following year Atwood establishes what would become Clark’s world-renowned Graduate School of Geography, which has graduated more Ph.D.s in that field than any other in the United States.
1942
While women had been earning graduate degrees at Clark (the first master’s and doctoral degrees awarded to women were granted in 1907 and 1908, respectively), the undergraduate college was restricted to men. That changes in 1942 with the admission of 73 women who shared classes with the 269 male undergraduates enrolled that year. Gradually, women were integrated into the administration and faculty. Alice Coonley Higgins became chair of the Board of Trustees in 1967, the first woman to assume this role at a private research university in the United States. By 1980, courses in women’s studies had coalesced into a formal concentration, and in 1992 Clark became the first university in the United States to offer a Ph.D. in women’s studies. The university now offers a B.A. degree in women’s and gender studies.
1953
Clark’s Evening College initially offers bachelor of science degrees in General Studies and Business Administration, followed later by master’s degrees. Reestablished as today’s School of Professional Studies (SPS) with its focus on graduate education, SPS offers master’s degrees and certificates in areas ranging from information technology to public administration and supports campuses in Poland and China.
1982
Founded in 1982, Clark’s AACSB-accredited School of Management, which today attracts students from around the world, provides business education with an emphasis on ethical conduct, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. In addition to supporting the undergraduate major in management, SOM offers graduate certificate and master’s degree programs.
2000
The Department of International Development, Community, and Environment (IDCE) is established to foster environmental sustainability, social justice, and economic well-being in both the developing and developed worlds. By thinking critically, acting collaboratively, and engaging responsibly with challenges around the globe, IDCE faculty and students continue to build a more just, healthy, and sustainable world during their time at Clark and beyond. In addition to supporting an undergraduate major and minor, the department offers master’s degree programs.
2009
Clark convenes a first-of-its-kind National Conference on Liberal Education and Effective Practice, co-sponsored by the Mosakowski Institute for Public Enterprise and the Association of American Colleges and Universities. Three years later, Clark launches LEEP, its model for undergraduate education that combines a traditional liberal arts experience with authentic engagement in the world and workplace.