Law scholarship honors memory of former professor Barkley Clark

Giving Story -  Professor Barkley Clark Memorial Fund

A new scholarship fund at the University of Kansas School of Law will support future students while honoring the memory of a former professor. The scholarship honors the late Barkley Clark who served as a chaired professor of law from 1969 to 1985.

His wife Barbara established the Professor Barkley Clark Memorial Fund with a financial gift to KU Endowment. The fund will continue his legacy at KU Law by providing a scholarship for a deserving student each year.

“As a tribute to his teaching and how much he loved his students, I thought this would be the most meaningful to Barkley,” said Barbara. “As an endowed fund, it can continue into the future.”

Barkley Clark
Barkley Clark

At age 29, Barkley was recruited to join the faculty at the University of Kansas School of Law by Dean Martin Dickinson in 1969. In addition to teaching, he also served as associate dean under Dickinson. As a dedicated professor and mentor to his students, he was honored with numerous “best teacher” awards over the years.

An interest in public policy and local government led Barkley to run for and be elected as mayor of the City of Lawrence. In fact, he served two terms as mayor and spent 10 years on the Lawrence City Commission. These “hands on” experiences were particularly useful when teaching the law of local government, arguing before the Kansas Supreme Court on local government issues and assisting the Kansas legislature on various aspects of local government law, including governmental immunity.

During his nearly six-decade career, Barkley became a national authority on the Uniform Commercial Code. Two of his best-known law treatises remain standards in their field after more than four decades. Throughout his career, he devoted himself to educating clients, legislators, law students and fellow lawyers in commercial law. The American College of Consumer Financial Services Lawyers honored Barkley Clark in 2012 with its William Proxmire Lifetime Achievement Award.

Make a gift to the Professor Barkley Clark Memorial Fund.

-By Julie Francisco