1960 - 1980 | 1972 and Beyond
From “
Remembrance” by Charles M. Clark – August 1979
“Charlie! I want you
and a few others to come up to my office this afternoon. Got some news for you.”
It was late November 1959. The caller was Carl Bowman, chairman of the (CUNA) District
Four national directors. By this time, I’d been part of the credit union movement
nearly ten years and, as an educator, knew the urgent need for an organized education
program for credit union personnel.
We gathered in Carl’s office: Bob Wells, Charlie
Stark, Jerry Brohard and I, little knowing, perhaps, what we were beginning. Had
we looked into a crystal ball – seen the years, the frustrations, the problems and
challenges ahead – would we have stayed?
Yes. For we would also have seen the joys,
the rewards, the pride, the friendship, the sharing, the lives which would flourish
and prosper because of our new venture.
“My friends,” smiled Carl, “we’re going
to open a school. Next summer. Will you do it?”
The four of them, together with
John Biggers, John Clevenger and Clarence Murphy, became the school’s administrative
committee. Bob Wells served as it first chairman, I was named school director, and
Vern Shiflett, CCUL’s chairman of the board, served as ex officio.
It fell to us
to find a location, establish a curriculum, hire instructors, set a budget, choose
classrooms, and then get the word out to the leagues, all in a matter of months.
UCLA was our first choice. Its Department of Business Administration agreed to sponsor
the school, and university personnel helped plan, figure costs, locate a hall and
classrooms, and even found someone to coordinate UCLA and District Four activities.
Would anyone enroll? Could we afford a top-quality program? Meeting after meeting
occupied hours and days in planning, drafting, reviewing and re-planning our program.
Frequent changes in liaison with UCLA complicated things.
But we did it! On August
12, 1960, we welcomed the first class to District Four School, forty-two eager,
somewhat uncertain men and women who, perhaps unknowingly, were making history on
that day.
In years to come, the first coordinators would make way for new ones;
committee make-up would change; new classes would bring new challenges. A 78-degree
temperature restriction would have been welcome; in 1906, air conditioning consisted
of opening a window and fanning yourself with your notebook.
We stayed at UCLA for
twelve years. The school coordinators were excellent, their contributions in large
measure responsible for the school’s fine reputation today.
In 1972 we moved – bag,
baggage and books – to Pomona College. Comfortable housing, adequate classrooms,
leisure and recreation facilities, good food have all contributed to our eight pleasant
years there. Air conditioning, private lounges and a beautiful place to hold graduation
ceremonies are an agreeable bonus.
As the 1979 session begins, we welcome our largest
enrollment ever. From an uncertain beginning, District Four School today is highly
regarded among its peers.
This is my last year as school director. I feel especially
privileged to have had the opportunity to know hundreds of students and dozens of
volunteer leaders. I cherish the friendships, the memories, and the pride that comes
from having helped, in however small way, to build a great enterprise.
Charlie
Clark passed away just a few years later. At a memorial service in his honor Jim
Likens noted: "Our history is bound up in Charlie Clark. He is to Western CUNA Management School what Edward Filene is to CUNA or Leo Shapiro is to the California credit union movement. We have lost a credit union pioneer and a special friend." To honor
him the Charles M. Clark Memorial Award is given each year to a member of the WCMS
graduating class who best exemplifies the values Charlie so highly esteemed: scholarship,
leadership, service, and commitment to credit unions.