Hartley Clark ’52, died at age 92 on July 2nd in Northfield. Hartley taught Government and International Relations, beginning as an Instructor in 1955 and retiring in 1992 as the Frank B. Kellogg Professor of International Relations. He is remembered as a highly intelligent, kind, and perceptive person of great integrity. A 1952 Carleton graduate, Hartley was deeply committed to teaching and the liberal arts, helping generations of students understand and experience the workings of the United Nations, the European Community, and the settlement of international disputes, through his advising of the Carleton Model U.N., running crisis simulations, and creating and leading the Geneva Seminar nine times between 1975 to 1991.
Hartley wrote a book on the Politics of the Common Market and received Fulbright, Ford Foundation, and National Science Foundation grants for his work on international economic institutions.He was a media consultant on a wide range of similar issues, such as U.S. Defense policy, the Middle East, and the multinational corporations. At the same time, his life was filled with art and music. He played the oboe in a Northfield area woodwind quintet and the saxophone in swing bands as a student and faculty member.
Hartley and his wife, Barbara (who died in 2020), had four children. The family’s more complete obituary is attached.
A memorial gathering for Hartley will be held at 2pm on August 20th at the Alumni Guest House Meeting Room at Carleton. For those who are unable to attend the in-person event, the memorial service will also be live-streamed on Zoom — register to receive the link. (If you don’t receive an email invitation in your inbox in the next few minutes after registering, be sure to check your spam folder.)
Comments
We will miss Hartley in the political science department. For many years, he attended some of our annual lectures such as the Wynia Lecture in Latin American Politics and Political Economy. It offered an opportunity to reconnect with a valued leader of the department from years past. My sincerest condolences to his family.
Hartley was my mentor. As a sophomore I took his Comparative Politics course and loved it so much that I decided to major in Government and this eventually became my academic field. As a colleague after I returned to teach at Carleton, Hartley was unfailingly kind and supportive. He also pioneered our off-campus program in Geneva, which I later led in Maastricht. I am proud to say I followed in his footsteps.
Hartley was one who greeted me right away when we moved to Northfield and began my career at Carleton in 1992. Though he was a social scientist, I was impressed with his curiosity and interest in music and his activities as an amateur musician. He actually hooked me up with a jazz big band in which he performed, and that led to many contacts I made down the road. I will always be grateful for his interest in me and his hospitality. May he rest in peace.
I was fortunate to participate in one of the Geneva Seminars that Professor Clark led - 41 years ago. He was a wonderful teacher and a very kind man. My condolences to his family.
I took a number of courses from Professor Clark, most memorably his class on International Law. I still have the case book from the class on my shelf in my office, full of marginal notes that I took down during class. Professor Clark helped to motivate my interest in law and political science, I recall a number of conversations with him about making the transition from Carleton to graduate school. He was passionate about teaching, a kind person, and a wonderful mentor and role model. My progress to graduate school and then into academic social science was greatly facilitated by Professor Clark.
I met Harley Clark through Model UN. What an outstanding influence, both academically and personally! I joined Hartley (and Barbara and Rob) on the 1985 Geneva Seminar, which was a highlight of my Carleton experience. My wife lived in their house that summer. Almost every time we drive to Northfield (our son is now a student), we try to drive by the Clark house. Everyone will dearly miss Hartley, except possibly the wannabe pickpocket on the subway whom Hartley evaded by diving into the crowd.
I was fortunate to attend a Geneva summer seminar with Professor Clark. One of my most memorable non-academic experiences was a bunch of us taking a very slow local train on the north shore of Lake Geneva and stopping at some tiny winery Hartley knew about. I still have the tasting glass we were each given in my cupboard and often think fondly of that day, remembering Hartley's social nature and desire to share experiences with us. He was incredibly generous with his time and funny as hell. My blessings to his family and loved ones.
Hartley, Barbara Rockne and I were members of the class of 1952. Several members recently enjoyed our 70th class reunion and spent time reminiscing about the early days at Carleton. My late husband, Dick Bergsund, Class of 1950,were waiters in Burton, and enjoyed the the special friendship that develops between those who are charged with feeding the student body. Blessings to the Clark’s fine family as theirs were lives well lived.
Barb Rockne and Hartley Clark were two distinguished members of the class of 1952. The Clarks went to Brussels as my husband Tom and I were returning to Chicago after a year in Germany and Belgium, where Tom had gone particularly to learn more about his consuming interest, The European Common Market. Hartley and Tom had several occasions to discuss their Common ground. Barbara was a star among those of us majoring in English; her comments and insights never failed to astound me. My condolences to the members of the family. May they cherish the rich memories of their remarkable parents.
I have many positive memories of Hartley, starting with Intro to International Relations, the Fall 1976 trip to the UN, his fondness for hats from Lapland, and those swayback Citroen station wagons. Above all, I recall his incredibly generous assistance in cleaning up an asterisk, which I will never forget. My condolences to Heather and the rest of his family.
Hartley was my advisor at Carleton and grew my interest in international relations in which I went in to get my Ph.D. I fondly remember driving to Wisconsin with him for a model UN, and was very lucky to participate in his first Geneva seminar. My condolences.
Like many of the posters, Hartley was my professor and adviser at Carleton and encouraged me to pursue a career in international relations. I enjoyed participating in his Geneva seminar in 1979, including "area familiarization" experiences (i.e., a wine walk outside of Geneva). He was a great teacher and mentor to many of us in the Poli Sci/International Relations field and will be missed.
Hartley Clark inspired my fascination with world history and events, convinced me to be a PoliSci/IR major and through my participation in the Geneva Seminar, expanded my world exponentially (while making lifelong friends along the way). Never met a more patient, knowledgeable, funny, adventurous person than Hartley. The world is a little bit colder without his presence, but greatly enriched by his impact on so many people during his time on this Earth.
I have many found memories of Hartley. I studied in Geneva in 1975 with his first seminar and my wife (Nancy Gast '77) and I visited with Hartley, Barbara and Jill in Geneva in 1977 while we were on our honeymoon. In 1976 we drove to New York to visit the United Nations, and during the ride we taught Hartley how to play hinky pinky. He was very supportive of my comps project, which examined weighted voting in the United Nations. He was comfortable to be with. He questioned ideas and conclusions and explained to us why an international organization's goal to "keep the nomads moving" made him chuckle because "that's what nomads do -- they move around from place to place." I still think of Hartley and smile when I have a continental breakfast because all summer our breakfast at the Foyer John Knox was a croissent, butter, and jelly, and if Hartley had butter or jelly left on his plate, he did not want it to go to waste, so he would take another croissant only to find that he did not have enough butter. The cycle continued. But he truly was organized and generous. Somehow, every week he handed us more cash for excursions, and he brought us places that were so fascinating I went to see them again two years later on my honeymoon. God bless Hartley.
Hartley was a wonderful and kind man. I was fortunate to be one of the participants in the Geneva program the summer of 1981. He gave us substantial freedom in our travels and required substantial responsibility. I grew more in that summer than ever before in my life. I saw the group transform from anxious, excited travelers to mature, responsible, sophisticated travelers. I have carried those unintended ( perhaps intended?) lessons with me my entire life as I have traveled the world both with my family and alone. In Geneva, he opened his home to us and we grew to know his sons and wife. These are memories I will forever cherish.
I remember Hartley as kind, tolerant and funny. He always had some project going, like organizing the fridge into a salad bar, or clipping one hundred NYT crossword puzzles to give to Heather as she left for Japan. I am glad to have known him, and he’ll always be in my memories of Carleton.
"The reason that university politics is so vicious is because stakes are so small." -- Henry Kissinger
The was true in Carleton's political science department when I joined it in 1981. Factions, schemers, ill will and hostility were hard at work. I could tell you remarkable stories about all that, but they are best forgotten.
Hartley Clark was a shining exception to all that intrigue. I always found him to be honest, straightforward and a man of integrity. He was a useful source of constructive advice during those trying times when, as a new member of the department, I was trying to peaceably find my way among some of his warring colleagues.
Others asked me "Which side are you on?" Hartley never did.
I had a wonderful time visiting his off-campus studies program in Geneva in 1983. Ascending Mont Blanc with Hartley, Rob and Ted Clark remains a favorite memory of mine. At one point, we hung suspended in a cable car between two peaks a mile above an alpine valley. I was terrified but Hartley, as always, was unflappable.
Hartley is also the reason we met our now long-time friends Heather and Gary Robins, I was very pleased the Hartley was able to accept my invitation to attend my retirement dinner.
Hartley Clark is a person who led an honorable and accomplished professional life and who managed the challenges it presented with exemplary calmness and good will.
I will always rmember him as a cherished mentor. Thank you, Hartley.