The bulk of Professor Emeritus Clare Leslie Marquette’s $1 million estate went to UM last spring in a final tribute to his late wife and to the history department. Three-quarters of the Marquette estate is being used for scholarships in Lena Mitchell’s name to assist deserving students, with the remainder supporting a history department professorship.
“We are deeply moved by this astounding gift, by what it meant to Dr. Marquette, and by what it will mean to future scholars and to the history department,” said Chancellor Robert Khayat.
Marquette was a professor of American history at UM from 1946 through 1972. Originally from Wisconsin, Marquette settled in Oxford after marrying Mitchell, a Mississippi native.
One of the most significant moments in Marquette’s teaching career was in October 1962, said Robert Haws, chair of history and Marquette’s colleague.
“His was the first class that James Meredith attended,” Haws said. “It was in the auditorium in Bondurant Hall, and when Meredith came to class under the protection of federal marshals, Dr. Marquette insisted that they [the marshals] wait in the hall. It was, I suppose, Dr. Marquette’s thinking that a classroom was no place for armed guards.”
Marquette ’s professional life was distinguished by his dedication to his subject, American economic history, and to his “methods” class, which he taught for nearly 30 years, Haws said.