M. Graham Clark

Montague Graham Clark, Jr. (25 February 1909 – 15 March 2001) was an educator who played an integral role in the development of College of the Ozarks. Dr. Clark served as president of School of the Ozarks and was president emeritus and chairman of the board emeritus of College of the Ozarks until 2001. He served as vice-president of the school from 1946–1952 and then as president until 1981.

Clark, who was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and held five doctoral degrees. He married Elizabeth Sherman Hoyt in May 1933. Before working in the college, he was in the insurance industry and vice-president of W.R. Hoyt and Company. Clark was a flying enthusiast who would travel the country seeking donations for school advancements, improvements, and construction projects. The airport at College of the Ozarks is named after him.

Clark received many honors and awards, including the Shrine Civic Service Award; the Family Foundation "In God We Trust" Family Award; and the General Washington Honor Medal, from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge in 1974 and 1978.

Clark was elected President General of the Sons of the American Revolution in 1974. The M. Graham Clark Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, Columbia, MO; is named in honor of Dr. Clark. The chapter website is http://www.mgcsar.org.

Clark was an ordained minister. A few years before his death, he required surgery to remove an eye and a cancerous growth. The hospital told him the night before his scheduled surgery, that the hospital chaplain would like to speak with him. Dr. Clark replied; "Certainly, I have some time and I will help him as much as I can".

Dr. M. Graham Clark died at the age of 92. He was buried in Ozarks Memorial Park Cemetery in Branson, Missouri.