Former UO President Robert Clark dies.

Byline: Greg Bolt The Register-Guard

Robert D. Clark, who led the University of Oregon through some of its most tumultuous years and stood up to both Ronald Reagan and Tom McCall during the Vietnam era, died Tuesday. He was 95.

Clark was president of the UO from 1969 to 1975 and prior to that had been dean of what was then called the College of Liberal Arts, now the College of Arts and Sciences. He also led the effort to establish what is now the Robert D. Clark Honors College at the UO, which in 1959 was the first honors college in the nation.

Clark died of age-related causes at Good Samaritan Hospice in Eugene. A memorial service is being planned for July.

"His steady and thoughtful leadership during some of the most difficult years in American higher education helped set the stage for this university's current excellence," UO President Dave Frohnmayer said in a statement issued while he traveled in Asia. "During his presidency, he understood that he had the responsibility to make the hard decisions, and he understood the absolute necessity of freedom and neutrality. Robert Clark was a shining example of what one person can do as a teacher and student, speaker and leader and as a beloved friend."

Appointed president following the death of Charles Johnson, Clark inherited a campus already roiled by the anti-war protests of the late 1960s. But despite pressure from politicians and other state officials to crack down, Clark sought a dialogue with students and tried to balance their right of expression with campus safety.

He adamantly opposed the use of National Guard troops to quell campus protests in the early 1970s. In what became one of his more noted confrontations, he defied then-Gov. Tom McCall's threat to send the soldiers onto campus to put down the disturbances.

"Clark said, `The moment they step on campus, you become the president of the University of Oregon and it's your problem,' ' retired UO archivist Keith Richard said. "And McCall called back and said, `Let's talk about this.' And there was no National Guard called."

Richard said Clark had faced a similar threat a couple of years earlier as president of San Jose State University in California, the job he held before being named president at the UO. With campuses across the state rocked by demonstrations, then-Gov. Ronald Reagan called a meeting of university presidents to demand stronger action.

But Clark, alone among the state's university presidents, stood up and refused.

"Robert Clark, in his very quiet voice, said, `That's not possible. We're not going to do it,' ' Richard said. "He knew he was correct and was willing to put his job on the line."

When it was announced at an assembly that Clark was leaving for the UO, students at San Jose State gave him a long standing ovation.

Born in Nebraska, Clark came to the UO in 1943 as a speech professor. He became chairman of the department in 1954 and dean of the College of Liberal Arts in 1956. He was a graduate of Pasadena College and the University of Southern California.

As a teacher and administrator, Clark developed a reputation for fairness and engagement. When he faced a serious budget crisis in the early 1970s, he appointed a campus panel to help determine where to make cuts and stood with faculty when the state denied them pay raises.

"The state board had said no money would be available for faculty salary increases," Richard said. "But the presidents would all get a certain percentage increase. Clark turned his down because `if my faculty can't get an increase because there's no money, then I don't deserve an increase.' '

Former journalism professor Ken Metzler called Clark "one of the most creative individuals I've ever met" and said he was an administrator who remained an academic at heart. That's rare today, when fundraising is often the most important quality universities seek in a president, he said.

"He was a quiet, modest man, but in his own quiet way he stood out," Metzler said. "He was a gentleman and an academic through and through."

A man of slender build, his appearance often hid his determined resolve. "It always looked like the wind should blow him away," Richard said.

Clark also was a champion of civil rights and was the first UO president both to hire Jewish faculty and to break the faculty color barrier, Richard said. While president of San Jose State from 1964 to 1969, he supported John Carlos and Tommie Smith, the African-American athletes whose "black power" salute at the 1968 Olympics attracted worldwide attention.

"My father was always opening his door to the angry and saying, `You may be right,' ' said a statement from his daughter, UO professor Suzanne Clark, who is cutting short a visit to Europe to return to Eugene. "This was true whether the rebellious one was an 8-year-old or Vietnam protesters carrying torches."

Suzanne Clark said Smith recently sent her father a picture and message about the support he gave them, saying, "You are my hero."

"He was the hero of his family too," she said.

Clark is survived by two daughters, Suzanne Clark and Ginny Reich, and three grandchildren, including Catherine Clark, whom he and his wife helped raise. His wife, Opal, died in 1993, and a daughter, Laurie Guttormsen, died in 2000.

England's Eugene Memorial Chapel is in charge of arrangements.

CAPTION(S):

UO President Robert D. Clark speaks with students during a demonstration in October 1970. Clark tried to balance campus safety with the students' right to free expression.