2008IN MEMORIAM continuedIN MEMORIAM continuedFaculty BookshelfReaching out to the Community:Public History at Northwesterncontinued from page 4consisted of three summer institutes hostedat Northwestern University, beginning in2004, where teachers focused on the essentialquestions, themes and issues of American history,and a year-long Historians-in-Residenceprogram, where teachers collaborated withUniversity professors through classroomobservations and workshops led by periodspecialists.Led by Lane Fenrich, senior lecturer in history,as academic director, assisted by NancyMacLean, professor of history, as senioracademic advisor, Northwestern U.S. historyfaculty provided the content and leadership forthe programs. The project was such a successthat several faculty members–including HenryBinford along with Fenrich and MacLean–havegone on to work with other TAH efforts in thegreater Chicago area.Northwestern History graduate students andfaculty now also serve every spring as judgesfor the Chicago Metro History Fair, readingand assessing the work of area junior high andhigh school students competing in the NationalHistory Day contest.American Foreign Policy: A History (1962),which remained a seminal treatise inUnited States diplomatic history for morethan a decade after its first publication. Hebecame the William Smith Mason Professorof History at Northwestern Universityin 1963.At the height of the Vietnam warprotests in 1968, Leopold led the successfuleffort to prevent Northwestern fromdismantling its Naval ROTC program,even though virtually all other comparableacademic institutions were doing so. Hemade a three-fold case in favor of retainingRichard W. Leopoldthe program. First, it benefitted the nation.He was concerned about the potentialneed to mobilize quickly in times of war;he was also concerned about a militarywhose officer ranks came exclusively fromthe service academies and the limited perspectivesthey offered. Second, the programbenefitted the university. He noted themany noteworthy program participantswho had enriched the university and whowould have been unable to attend Northwesternwithout the NROTC’s financialsupport. Third, he argued that NROTChelped the students who participated. Hewas unmoved by those who argued thatthe program itself somehow proved theacademy’s support for a controversial waror “the teaching of killing.” In his facultyaddress that turned the tide of the debatein favor of retaining the program, he said:“We do not ban the teaching of nuclearphysics because someone might make abomb; we do not avoid the study of Marxismbecause the student might becomea Communist; and we do not discouragethe study of sexual deviants because thestudent himself might become one.” Manyof the program’s graduates went on tobecome career officers; some rose to therank of admiral.Leopold served on numerous governmentaladvisory committees, includingthose for the Secretary of the Navy, StateDepartment, Army, Marine Corps, AtomicEnergy Commission, CIA, and Libraryof Congress. He was also a member of theEditorial Advisory Committee for The Papersof Woodrow Wilson and of the board ofdirectors for the Harry S. Truman LibraryInstitute. He was president of the Societyfor Historians of American Foreign Relationsin 1970 and of the Organization ofAmerican Historians in 1976.In 1984, Leopold’s former doctoralstudents established the OAH’s RichardW. Leopold Prize, which is awardedbiannually. In 1990, former students,colleagues, and friends established theannual Richard W. Leopold Lectureship atNorthwestern in his honor. In 1997, morethan 230 former students collectively endowedthe Richard W. Leopold Professorshipin American history at Northwestern.He is survived by a nephew, John P.Leopold, who lives in Centennial, Colorado.A former student, Steven J. Harper,has written Leopold’s biography, StraddlingWorlds: The Jewish-American Journeyof Professor Richard W. Leopold, whichNorthwestern University Press is publishingin early 2008.—Steven J. HarperMr. Harper is a Chicago attorney and amember of the Center for Historical StudiesAdvisory BoardClarence L. Ver Steeg,, a distinguishedhistorian of colonial America who alsoplayed a key role in the development andexpansion of Northwestern University,died July 2, 2007 at the age of 84 in thePresbyterian Homes, Evanston.A prolific author, Ver Steeg published11 monographs and textbooks, dozens ofscholarly articles, and more than 100 bookreviews. He received the Albert J. BeveridgePrize of the American HistoricalAssociation in 1952 for his book, RobertMorris, Revolutionary Financier (Universityof Pennsylvania Press).He joined Northwestern as an instructorof history in 1950, teaching thedepartment’s survey course in Americanhistory. Ver Steeg attained the rank of fullprofessor in 1959, the same year he was avisiting professor at Harvard Universitywhere he was the First Senior Memberof the Center for the Study of Liberty inAmerica.Ver Steeg headed the University’sFaculty Planning Committee on the 1960sthat developed strategic plans for academicand research focus for the increasingly ambitiousinstitution. These plans, now largelyimplemented, envisioned increased emphasison graduate education and research.Ver Steeg also led committees that plannedthe construction of the University’s lakefillcampus and the expansion of its mainlibrary. The Lakefill comprises about 40percent of the university’s usable land. TheVer Steeg Lounge on the third floor of thelibrary is named in his honor.“He was one of the small number ofpeople who made the university what itis today,” said Bill Heyck, Ver Steeg’s colleague.“He was very instrumental in helpingNorthwestern develop from a kind ofregional university to a top-level nationaluniversity.”“Having a world-class library andlife science facilities requires physicalspace, buildings and students,” said JohnVer Steeg, Clarence’s son. “NorthwesternUniversity needed that, so the library andthe Lakefill were absolutely essential forNorthwestern to go from being a fineschool to one of the best in the country.”Clarence L. Ver Steeg and his wife DorothyIngrid Stafford, associate vice presidentfor financial operations and treasurer,described Ver Steeg as a great member ofthe NU community who had a passionfor excellence. “His beliefs in core valuesabout institutions were reflected in hisplanning of the university library andhis services as the graduate school dean,”Stafford said. “He basically just committedhis career to the excellence of theinstitution.”John Ver Steeg said his father viewedhis role in the library’s development as hisgreatest accomplishment. “He was a veryself-starting, hard-working, energetic manwith a great combination of sweetness anddrive,” his son said. “My mom has beensick for two years, and he was a full-timecaregiver until two weeks before he died.”Heyck said Ver Steeg was his mentorand a natural leader who always wantedthe best for the university. “Whetherwe were building a department or newlibrary, hiring new people or developinga graduate program, he insisted that weaspire to the highest standards,” he said.“He never failed to inspire me with hishigh ideals.”Ver Steeg was named dean of theGraduate School in 1975. In his 11 yearsas dean, the school made many improvements,including the expansion ofresearch and the development of the lifesciences. In 1986, he resumed his teachingresponsibilities and continued to teachpopular courses in American history untilhis retirement in 1992.Northwestern recognized Ver Steeg’scontributions to the University by establishingthe Clarence L. Ver Steeg Professorshipin the Arts and Sciences. In 2006,he and his wife funded an endowmentat Northwestern for the Dorothy Annand Clarence L. Ver Steeg DistinguishedResearch Fellow award, the University’sfirst endowed recognition for excellencein research by a Northwestern facultymember.A native of Orange City, Iowa, Mr.Ver Steeg attended Northwestern JuniorCollege, now Northwestern College, inOrange City. He joined the U. S. ArmyAir Forces in 1942 and saw combat as anavigator in a B-24 squadron, participatingin missions over Hong Kong, New Guineaand the Philippines. He accumulated moreMacLeanFreedom Is Not Enough:The Opening of the AmericanWorkplace. Cambridge:Harvard University Press,2006.MuirThe Culture Wars of theLate Renaissance: Skeptics,Libertines, and Opera.Cambridge, Mass.: HarvardUniversity Press, 2007.SherryGay Artists in ModernAmerican Culture: AnImagined Conspiracy.Chapel Hill: University ofNorth Carolina Press, 2007.than 400 hours of combat flight experienceand was awarded the Air Medal with threeoak leaf clusters and five battle stars.Ver Steeg received a bachelor’s degreein absentia from Morningside Collegein 1943 and received a master’s degree inpolitical science in 1946 and a doctorate inhistory in 1950 from Columbia Universityin New York City. While pursuing hisgraduate degrees, Ver Steeg served as alecturer and instructor in Columbia’s historydepartment.In addition to his wife of more than 63years, Dorothy, Mr. Ver Steeg is survivedby a son, John Ver Steeg, and daughter-inlaw,Jane (Pierson) Ver Steeg, of Washington,D.C.; and a sister, Nelvina Ver SteegThomas of Orange City.6 The Newsletter of the Department of History at Northwestern University7