Dates

• Existence: 1924 - September 17, 2012

Biography

Eliot S. Berkley was born in Kansas City, Missouri to Walter Berkowitz and Erni S. Berkley on October 12, 1924.He was a graduate of the Pembroke Country-Day School and served in the United States Army from 1943-1946. Following his military service he received his B.A., cum laude, from Harvard in 1947. He went on to Princeton University earning both an M.A. (1949) and a Ph.D. (1952). Dr. Berkley became the Founder and Executive Director of the International Relations Council (IRC) in 1954, remaining the Director until his retirement in 1994. During the early years of the IRC, Dr. Berkley also worked in higher education. From 1952 to 1959 he was a lecturer in History and Government at the University of Kansas City. In 1959 Dr. Berkley married Marcia Stevens Russell. They had two children, Eliot A. Berkley & Emily D. Berkley. In 1956 he was added to the faculty at the Kansas City Art Institute, later being appointed Dean of Administration, then Vice President for Development and, finally, Dean of the College (1961).

Dr. Berkley served as a board member for many groups including the Board of Regents of Rockhurst University, the Metropolitan Community Colleges Foundation, the Friends of Linda Hall Library, the Urban League of Kansas City, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas City and the National Conference of Christians and Jews of Kansas City. His work with such organizations earned him many awards, including the Kansas City World Citizen of the Year (1975), the Johnson County Community College Education Award (1983), the Park College Distinguished Service Award for Community Service (1992) and the Metropolitan Community College Foundation Visionary Award (2004). Dr. Eliot S. Berkley, Ph.D., died on September 17, 2012.

Source: Obituary, Kansas City Star’s legacy.com website

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