Clifford Lee Lord (September 4, 1912October 22, 1980) was a historian and American Administrator who served as the 4th President of

Hofstra University Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...

from 1964 to 1972. He previously served as the Dean of the

School of General Studies The School of General Studies, Columbia University (GS) is a liberal arts college and one of the undergraduate colleges of Columbia University, situated on the university's main campus in Morningside Heights, New York City. GS is known primarily ...

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he taught history. After his tenure at Hofstra, he served as the President of the Hudson Institute. He died of cancer on October 22, 1980.

Early life

Clifford Lee Lord was born to Bertha Eunice Lord (née Lee October 24, 1875

Port Jefferson, New York Port Jefferson (informally known as "Port Jeff") is an incorporated village in the town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. Officially known as the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, the population ...

June 6, 1963

Mount Vernon, New York Mount Vernon is a city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is an inner suburb of New York City, immediately to the north of the Borough (New York City), borough of the Bronx. As of t ...

) and Charles Clifford Lord (May 6, 1877

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...

November 22, 1959

) on September 04, 1912 in Mount Vernon, New York. His father was a member of the Mount Vernon Planning Board and a graduate of

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Clifford would live with his parents, his aunt Ruah, and his maternal grandmother Alice until he left for college. He would then go on to study at

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

and receive both a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

and

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1933 and 1934, respectively.

Early career

After earning his degree from Amherst, Lord taught American History at

from 1935 to 1941. After his first stint at Columbia, Lord served as the director of the

New York State Historical Association The Fenimore Art Museum (formerly known as New York State Historical Association) is a museum located in Cooperstown, New York, Cooperstown, New York (state), New York on the west side of Otsego Lake (New York), Otsego Lake. Collection strengths i ...

at Cooperstown from 1941 to 1946. During this time, he would serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

as a lieutenant in the

Bureau of Aeronautics The Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) was the U.S. Navy's material-support organization for naval aviation from 1921 to 1959. The bureau had "cognizance" (''i.e.'', responsibility) for the design, procurement, and support of naval aircraft and relate ...

. Before entering the war, Lord reportedly sent $25 to

Franklin Delano Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

, encouraging him to run for a fourth term. He would eventually get a written response back from Roosevelt's advisor

Harry Hopkins Harry Lloyd Hopkins (August 17, 1890 – January 29, 1946) was an American statesman, public administrator, and presidential advisor. A trusted deputy to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hopkins directed New Deal relief programs before servi ...

and he stated they could not take the money as Roosevelt had not decided to run yet. After his service, Lord would earn his

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from Columbia in 1943. Lord then went off to be the director of the

State Historical Society of Wisconsin The Wisconsin Historical Society (officially the State Historical Society of Wisconsin) is simultaneously a state agency and a private membership organization whose purpose is to maintain, promote and spread knowledge relating to the history of N ...

at the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

from 1946 to 1958.

Administrative career

Columbia University

Lord returned to Columbia to serve as the

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the

in 1958 and spearheaded many initiatives, which included only having full-time teachers and not temporaries, and the relocation of the school to the former

School of Mines A school of mines (or mining school) is an engineering school, often established in the 18th and 19th centuries, that originally focused on mining engineering and applied science. Most have been integrated within larger constructs such as minera ...

building, now

Lewisohn Hall Lewisohn Hall is a building on the Columbia University campus in Manhattan, New York. Completed in 1905, it was designed by Arnold W. Brunner in imitation of the other McKim, Mead & White buildings on campus, and named after banker and mining magn ...

. Lord also gained national attention when he was forced to buy two scoops of ice cream and not just one. Thus, he wrote a letter to Mayor

Robert F. Wagner, Jr. The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

about the incident and

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

approved for people to order only one scoop of ice cream if they wished.

Hofstra University

Lord was elected to the presidency of

on April 8, 1964 and took his post succeeding outgoing president

John Cranford Adams John Cranford Adams (October 11, 1903 - November 24, 1986) was an American educator and academic administrator who served as the second president of the Hofstra University from 1944–1964. Biography Adams was born October 11, 1903 to John Da ...

in October of that year. On Lord, the university stated he was a "scholar, administrator, and a man deeply committed to the world about him". Lord's tenure included, most notably the establishment of the

Hofstra Law School The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University (commonly known as Hofstra Law) is a law school located in Hempstead, New York on Long Island, affiliated with Hofstra University. Founded in 1970 and accredited by the ABA in 1971, the sc ...

as well as the expansion of the North campus to include the Student Center, multiple dorms on campus as well as other enhancements due to the acquisition of land form the former

Mitchel Air Force Base Mitchel Air Force Base also known as Mitchel Field, was a United States Air Force base located on the Hempstead Plains of Long Island, New York, United States. Established in 1918 as Hazelhurst Aviation Field #2, the facility was renamed later ...

. However, certain instances including protests of the

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

program during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, calls from black students for more minority representation amidst the

Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

and the complete severance of the alumni association from the university were among multiple conflicts during his presidency. Some other notable events during his presidency include the failed merger of Hofstra and neighboring

Adelphi University Adelphi University is a private university in Garden City, New York. Adelphi also has centers in Manhattan, Hudson Valley, and Suffolk County. There is also a virtual, online campus for remote students. It is the oldest institution of higher ed ...

, and radio station WVHC almost going off the air due to budget shortages. Additionally, Lord made strides to embrace the Civil Rights Movement, by appointing the first two

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

to leadership positions with Edward B. King, Jr. and Philip A. Jordan gaining the administrative posts of assistant to the president, and assistant dean of students, respectively. Lord would end up being elevated to

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the university in 1972 at his request, to work on financial and long-term planning for the university. The day-to-day operations were to be headed under James H. Marshall, who then became president. Lord would end up leaving Hofstra in 1973 to join the

Hudson Institute The Hudson Institute is a conservative American think tank based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1961 in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, by futurist, military strategist, and systems theorist Herman Kahn and his colleagues at the RAND Corporat ...

Death

Lord died on October 22, 1980 due to complications from cancer in

West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.

Awards & honors

Lord has received numerous honorary degrees including from Adelphi University (LL.D., 1965),

(1953), and

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

(LL.D., 1948).

Personal life

Lord married Elizabeth Lord (née Hubbard) and they had two children Charles Hubbard Lord and Helen Patricia Lord.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lord, Clifford Lee Presidents of Hofstra University 1912 births 1980 deaths 20th-century American academics