Abstract
This chapter is a personal recollection of Clark Kerr and his presidency of the University of California by a friend of 43 years, not from a distance, but as a former student, colleague and successor president of the University. It is also a summary remembrance of the contributions made by his three most influential predecessors. These three presidents: Gilman, 1872–1875, Wheeler, 1899–1919 and Sproul, 1930–1958, essentially defined the trail of history that led to and helped shape Kerr’s own presidency, 1958–1967. Kerr’s professional contributions have been earlier and well covered by my fellow authors. The focus of this chapter, however, is more about Kerr’s beliefs, values, style, personality, ways of working, priorities and life-experiences that so informed his professional and personal lives. Few such private persons have held such a public position as that of president of the University of California. The interplay between the man and his duties helps one better to understand and more deeply to appreciate Kerr’s remarkable accomplishments and the triumphs and turmoil that defined both his presidency and legacy alike.
Drawn from Kerr’s subheadings of his memoirs, as fitting for this chapter as for his two-volume work
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Gardner, D.P. (2012). Clark Kerr: Triumphs and Turmoil. In: Rothblatt, S. (eds) Clark Kerr's World of Higher Education Reaches the 21st Century. Higher Education Dynamics, vol 38. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4258-1_9
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