In Memoriam (spring 2008)
Glenn W. Ferguson, who served as president of Clark University from 1970 to 1973, died of cancer on Dec. 20, 2007, 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 psychology professor Bernard Kaplan 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 plans 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 he 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.
David Savage, Portland, Ore., a former Clark professor and former assistant dean, passed away at home on Jan. 26, 2008, after a courageous, 15-month battle against kidney cancer. He was 71.
Professor Savage was born in Covington, Ky., on Jan. 1, 1937. He graduated from Dixie Heights High School in Covington as senior class president and honor student in 1955; completed his undergraduate degree in history at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, in 1959 with highest honors and won a ¬Woodrow Wilson Graduate Fellowship to Princeton, where he received a Ph.D. in British history in 1963. His first academic job was at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., where he taught in its acclaimed general education program in Western Civilization from 1963 to 1967. He and his wife Carolyn led the Stanford in Germany program in 1967, their first of many overseas student groups.
Professor Savage joined Clark University in 1967, where he taught English history and served as assistant dean of the college. As assistant dean he was responsible for freshman year programs, and was one of a small group of faculty who laid the foundations of Clark's Program of Liberal Studies.
"Although David was at Clark for only six years, he had a strong impact on those who knew him," says Clark professor emeritus William Koelsch.
"David was a devoted teacher, a friend of students in need of advice and direction, a mentor to many graduate students, and a superb colleague among the younger faculty in several departments," reflects another Clark colleague, professor Dick Ford, who knew him well. "It was his skill in networking that enabled him to be among the most influential forces in initiating Clark's Program of Liberal Studies. Above all of his Clark work, he was a splendid father and loving husband."
Leaving Clark in 1973 to become associate dean of faculty at Lewis & Clark College in Portland, Ore., Professor Savage led the revamping of the general education program there. He later served as dean of Arts and Sciences as well as professor of British and South Asian History. He was a strong supporter of international education, and he and Carolyn led three lengthy student trips to India. He retired from Lewis & Clark in 2002 and was named professor emeritus of British and South Asian history. Respected as a dedicated, enthusiastic teacher and a diplomatic, trustworthy and fair leader, last fall, Lewis and Clark established the David Savage faculty award for sustained contributions to the intellectual welfare of the college.
In September 2006 he was diagnosed with kidney cancer, which had already metastasized. Despite his illness, he was able to complete all but the introduction and conclusion of his book on British education in India.
Leon Nigrosh of Northampton, Mass., a former Clark Visual and Performing Arts instructor, died on Feb. 6, 2008 at the Hampshire Care nursing facility in Northampton.
Mr. Nigrosh held a B.F.A. in ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design and an M.F.A. in ceramics from the Rochester Institute of Technology. A respected educator, he has taught at Clark University, Rhode Island College, the Worcester Center for Crafts and Quinsigamond Community College. In addition, Mr. Nigrosh conducted master classes and workshops in all facets of clay work.
Dubbed "the dean of Worcester art critics" by Worcester Magazine writer Chet Williams, Mr. Nigrosh was not only a nationally recognized ceramic artist but also a skilled and candid reviewer. An empathetic critic who wrote from the vantage point of being an artist himself, he wrote insightful and critical reviews for Worcester Magazine as well as Art New England, ArtsMedia, Artscope, The Pulse and The Worcester Phoenix, among others. Mr. Nigrosh had such a recognizable name as a critic that his own artwork was often overlooked.
Additionally, he is the author of three textbooks on the art of ceramic work — "Claywork: Form and Idea in Ceramic Design," "Lowfire: Other Ways to Work in Clay" and "Sculpting Clay."
Recalling his friend and colleague, Clark Visual and Performing Arts photography instructor Stephen DiRado says, "If you were involved or participated in any facet of the local art scene, starting as far back as the ‘70s and right up to the present, Nigrosh has had some effect on your cultural life. He was a practitioner, mentor, critic and one of the most unique and prominent figures in the arts.
"It might be that you own a Nigrosh or two, proudly displaying a porcelain platter, globe, cylinder or mosaic wall piece. Leon the teacher has taught thousands of aspiring studio potters. To know Nigrosh one on one, he was a solitary and sensitive soul; his daughter Maya was the center of his world. Now gone, he leaves behind an establishment of artists and patrons who are indebted to his long commitment to help mold the arts that exist today in Worcester."
Two alumni give their lives while working to create positive change in the world
John Granville M.A. '04, Orchard Park, N.Y., was one of two officials with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) who were shot and killed early in the morning of Jan. 1, 2007, in Khartoum, Sudan.
Mr. Granville grew up in Buffalo, N.Y., and graduated from Canisius High School in 1993. He earned a bachelor's degree at Fordham University and then served in the Peace Corps in Cameroon, where he taught English and helped wherever he could. Upon his return to the United States, Mr. Granville and his friend and fellow Peace Corps volunteer, Michael C. Herrold, started Bamileke Import in Buffalo. The company sold furniture and crafts made in Cameroon. As part of their business practices, Granville and Herrold began a program to replace the wood they were taking out of Cameroon as furniture and crafts, and they established a scholarship program to send girls to school.
In 2001, Mr. Granville entered Clark's International Development, Community and Environment (IDCE) graduate program to study international development. He finished his course work in 2003, and was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to Bamendjou, Cameroon, in 2004. Mr. Granville graduated from Clark in 2004 and became a Democracy Fellow with World Learning and USAID. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, he monitored and evaluated USAID's Office of Democracy and Good Governance's Strategic Plan for Sudan. Mr. Granville was later hired by USAID as part of the team of officials working to implement the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended the civil war between north and south Sudan.
"John had a willingness to put himself in harm's way in order to make a positive difference in the world and do it in a sustained and constructive manner," says IDCE director William Fisher. "Helping people and promoting peace were his ideals."
Andrew Olmsted '92, Colorado Springs, Co., died on Jan. 3, 2008, in As Sadiyah, Iraq, from wounds suffered when his unit was hit with small arms fire.
Major Olmsted was originally from Maine, but grew up in Northborough, Mass. He graduated from St. John's High School in Shrewsbury, Mass., and earned his bachelor's degree in government and international relations at Clark in three-and-a-half years. He also met his wife, Amanda Wilson '91, at Clark. Maj. Olmsted was based out of Fort Carson.
Since his deployment in July, Maj. Olmsted had kept a regular blog titled "From the Front Lines" for the Rocky Mountain News. As "a prolific blogger," he also prepared a blog entry to be posted to the Obsidian Wings Web site in the event of his death.
"Clark University is saddened and shaken by the violent deaths of two of our alumni, each of whom died working to make a difference in the world," says President John Bassett. "Maj. Andrew Olmsted's service in Iraq and John Granville's diplomatic efforts in Sudan were the unselfish ways each chose to make that positive difference. Their spirit of commitment and sacrifice is true to the identity and mission of their alma mater. The Clark community will honor and remember them."
Deaths
The following members of the Clark family have passed away. If you wish to contact any of the families, please call or write to the Alumni Office.
- William Abraham M.A. Ed. '67, Worcester, Mass., Jan. 25, 2008.
- Sidney Adler '76, Brighton, Mass., Nov. 2, 2007.
- Carroll Ayers '64, Marblehead, Mass., Oct. 18, 2007.
- David Beckman '65, Northvale, N.J., Jan. 1, 2008.
- Michael Benoit '74, Milford, Mass., Nov. 9, 2007.
- Eileen (Barnett) Botty '50, West Sutton, Mass., Dec. 13, 2007.
- Bruce Dahlquist '77, Worcester, Mass., Oct. 25, 2007.
- Arvid Dahlstrom M.A. Ed. '66, Harlingen, Texas, Jan. 2, 2008.
- Robert Desmarais M.A. '59, Yorktown, Va., Jan. 20, 2008.
- Frances (Lewandowski) Drewski '61, Rochester, N.Y., Jan. 29, 2008.
- Glenn Ferguson, Santa Fe, N.M., Dec. 20, 2007.
- Ann Flynn '53, Framingham, Mass., Feb. 15, 2008.
- Philip Frazier '50, Potomac Falls, Va., Dec. 20, 2007.
- Dorothea (Carlson) Frederico M.H.A. '82, Grafton, Mass., Feb. 10, 2008.
- Francis Gardner '60, West Boylston, Mass., Feb. 23, 2008.
- Alexander Gazonas '83, Worcester, Mass., Oct. 14, 2007.
- Raymond Gemme M.A. Ed. '61, Millbury, Mass., Feb. 21, 2008.
- Patricia (O'Hearn) Geneva '91, Worcester, Mass., Jan. 23, 2008.
- Paul Goldschmidt '62, Cedar Mountain, N.C., Sept. 12, 2007.
- John Granville M.A. '04, Orchard Park, N.Y., Jan. 1, 2008.
- Elmer "Al" Haskell '57, Auburn, Mass., Jan. 23, 2008.
- Irja (Ryssy) Hofschire '49, M.A. Ed. '51, Worcester, Mass., Nov. 11, 2007.
- Dennis Iacoboni '75, Leominster, Mass., Feb. 1, 2008.
- Lane Johnson M.A. '54, Ph.D. '60, Swathmore, Pa., Jan. 27, 2008.
- John Macey M.B.A. '87, New Derry, Pa., Dec. 8, 2007.
- James McCourt '52, Bangor, Maine, Nov. 1, 2007.
- Peter Niarchos '50, Pittsfield, Mass., Nov. 25, 2007.
- Leon Nigrosh, Northampton, Mass., Feb. 6, 2008.
- Andrew Olmsted '92, Colorado Springs, Co., Jan. 3, 2008.
- Ernest Pappas '51, Worcester, Mass., Oct. 15, 2007.
- Robert Plucinski '51, West Boylston, Mass., Dec. 10, 2007.
- Harvey Remmer '58, Cambridge, Mass., Oct. 27, 2007.
- David Savage, Portland, Ore., Jan. 26, 2008.
- Claire (Brunelle) Schmidt '65, West Dennis, Mass., Nov. 28, 2007.
- Norman Schoenfeld '59, White Plains, N.Y., Feb. 27, 2008.
- Arthur Sullivan M.A. Ed. '49, Holden, Mass., Jan. 29, 2008.
- Ruth Vanderhoof '49, Towaco, N.J., Dec. 20, 2007.
- Charles Varney M.A. '53, Ph.D. '63, Whitewater, Wisc., Jan. 31, 2008.
- Jocelyn (Dugas) von Riesen '53, Seattle, Nov. 20, 2007.
- Owen Ward '74, Northbridge, Mass., Feb. 15, 2008.
- Mark Zoback, Tolland, Conn., Oct. 9, 2007.
Richie Kendrick, a member of Clark's Physical Plant Department for over 37 years and the founder of Clark's first power weight training program, died on March 4, 2008. He will be remembered in a future issue of Clarknews.
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