In Memory: Joseph Kling

Dear Laurentian Community,

I write today with the sad news that Professor Emeritus of Government Joseph Kling died on June 26 at the age of 82.

During his 32-year career as a professor at St. Lawrence, Joe helped build and sustain initiatives that have become part of the University’s fabric. As one of the founders and original faculty of the First-Year Program, Joe made significant contributions to the curriculum as well as faculty development. He also served as program director for both the London and New York City semester programs. Perhaps Joe’s greatest legacy is his founding of Commons College, which thrives to this day as a campus learning community and theme house.

Some of the unique skills Joe brought with him to St. Lawrence can be tracked back to his early experience as a community organizer in Brooklyn, New York, before he began teaching political science in the 1970s. Joe received his Ph.D. from the City University of New York in 1981, and he also earned a master’s in social work from Rutgers University. His fields of interest were social movements, American political thought, public policy, and human rights. One of his favorite courses to teach was Business and Ethics. He also taught African-American Political and Social Thought, and courses on human rights.

Joe is remembered by a generation of faculty as a careful listener and trusted mentor who shared wisdom generously, earnestly, and with good humor. He had a youthful curiosity about the world that never seemed to fade. 

Joe was co-editor of two books: Community Mobilization in the Era of Global Cities, co-edited with Robert Fisher, and published in 1993 by Sage; and Dilemmas of Activism: Class, Community, and the Politics of Local Mobilization, co-edited with Prudence Posner and published in 1990 by Temple University Press.

Joe is survived by his wife Prudence Posner, daughters Heidi and Rachel, stepdaughters Angie and Sarah, and grandchildren.

After his retirement from St. Lawrence in 2016, Joe spent his final years living in Beacon, New York, deepening his understanding of his heritage, and remaining actively engaged in studying Hebrew and the Torah.

As we grieve the loss of our friend and colleague, we are forever grateful for the strong legacy of community learning Joe has left behind.

Please join us in celebrating Joe’s life by sharing your memories of him on the St. Lawrence University website. You can read the remembrances of others here.

Sincerely,

Kate Morris