| Robert Samuel Clark, Sr. (History professor and vice-president for academic affairs | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Born | December 12, 1931 Shelby County, Kentucky | ||
| Died | April 5, 2013 (aged 81) Campbellsville, Taylor County | ||
| Political Party | Democrat | ||
| Spouse | Lillian Bruner Clark (married 1948-2013, his death) Children: | ||
| Religion | Southern Baptist clergyman | ||
Robert Samuel Clark, Sr. (December 12, 1931 – April 5, 2013), was a Southern Baptist clergyman and educator who was affiliated for thirty-two years with Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky.[1]
One of three children of Albert Samuel Clark and Lillie Mae Gray Clark Berry, Clark was born in Shelby County in northern Kentucky. He received a bachelor's degree in 1953 from Baptist-affiliated Georgetown College in Georgetown, Kentucky. He subsequently received a theology degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He obtained a Master of Arts degree from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and a doctorate in educational administration from Vanderbilt University in the capital city of Nashville. He did other graduate work at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana.[1]
Early in his career, Clark was the pastor of two churches in Tennessee. From 1966 to 1976, he taught history at Campbellsville University and was elevated to the position of vice-president of academic affairs at the institution from 1976 to 1988, under then president William Randolph "Randy" Davenport. After leaving CU, he accepted the appointment as director of missions for the Taylor County Baptist Association, a post he held from 1988 to 2008.[1]
Clark was an active member of Campbellsville Baptist Church, a founding member of Campbellsville Kiwanis Club, and a member of the Clay Hill Memorial Forest Board. He was also a member of Mensa, the Kentucky Filson Club, the Taylor County Historical Society, and because of his knowledge of the careers of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln a speaker for the Kentucky Humanities Council. In 2006, The Central Kentucky News-Journal named him the "Taylor County Man of the Year" because of his community service. In 2007, Campbellsville University named him a recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award for Christian Servant Leadership.[1]
On December 18, 1948, Clark wed the former Lillian Bruner (January 29, 1931 – December 24, 2015), also a native of Shelby County, Kentucky, an educator, guidance counselor, and a long-term member of the Taylor County School Board.[2] Mrs. Clark served part of her term on the school board with her husband's CU colleague, political science professor William E. Bennett.
The Clarks had three daughters and one son and their spouses: Sandy Blanton, a Democratic former member of the Indiana House of Representatives, and her husband, Larry, of Paoli, Indiana, Renee and Marc Kessler of Greensburg, Kentucky; Robert S. Clark, Jr., and Mary of Campbellsville, and Beverly and Gerald Manley of Waddy, Kentucky. There were also twelve grandchildren and at least twenty-five great-grandchildren.[2]
Services were held at Parrott & Ramsey Funeral Home in Campbellsville, with the officiating ministers James Edward Jones, the former pastor of Campbellsville Baptist Church, and the Reverend Robert Doty, a professor emeritus of English literature at CU.[1] The Clarks are interred at Brookside Cemetery in Campbellsville.[2]
The Robert and Lillian Clark Scholarship at Campbellsville University is named in their honor.[1]