Joseph Samuel Clark | |
|---|---|
| President of Southern University | |
| In office 1914–1938 | |
| Succeeded by | Felton Grandison Clark |
| Personal details | |
| Born | June 7, 1871 Sparta, Bienville Parish, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | November 3, 1944 (aged 73) New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Spouse | Octavia Head |
| Children | Felton Grandison Clark |
| Alma mater | Leland College |
Joseph Samuel Clark (June 7, 1871 – November 3, 1944) was an academic administrator and college president who spent most of his career in Louisiana. He was the head of Baton Rouge College and president of Southern University and A&M College, both historically black colleges, where he served in total from 1901 to 1938. During the years from 1914 to 1938 he led the development of Southern, designated as a land grant college in 1890 and moved to the Baton Rouge area in 1914.
Clark was a co-founder of several African-American organizations, and served in leadership roles at the state and national level in associations for African-American educators. In 1931 he declined an offer of the ambassadorship to Liberia by Republican President Herbert Hoover, as he was devoted to his mission of developing Southern University.