Findlay, Ohio, March 24, 2000 – Joe Clark, the educator who inspired the movie Lean on Me, will speak on “Fight One More Round” Thursday, April 27, at 7 p.m. at The University of Findlay, Alumni Memorial Union Multipurpose Room.

The event is sponsored by UF’s Kappa Delta Pi education honorary fraternity.

In September 1981, during the first day of class at Eastside High School in Patterson, N.J., a student was stabbed. In 1982, things would be different. The school’s new principal, Joe Clark, would be the reason why.

A former Army drill instructor, Clark got his bachelor’s degree from William Paterson College and a master’s degree in administration supervision and doctorate equivalence from Seton Hall University.

Despite his achievements in education, Clark saw himself as a “number two” administrator, never commanding the helm of a school. But the feisty, polysyllabic-speaking Clark was made for the helm of Eastside High. After only two years of his leadership, the formerly raucous institution was declared a model school by New Jersey’s governor. Clark himself was named one of the nation’s 10 “Principals of Leadership” in 1986.

Clark thwarts those who believe that the learning process is disrupted by tough discipline. Most of his students came from families with generations of failed potential. Instead of offering sympathy, Clark held high expectations for students, challenging them to develop habits for success and confronting them when they failed to reform. On a single day during his first week at Eastside High, Clark expelled 300 students for fighting, vandalism, drug possession, profanity or abusing teachers.

Clark won national acclaim for his achievements in a Time magazine cover story, two 60 Minutes profiles and appearances on television news and talk shows. President Ronald Reagan named him a model educator and offered him a White House post as a policy adviser, which Clark turned down.

After seven years as principal of Eastside High, Clark resigned in 1990 and became an acclaimed speaker on the country’s lecture circuit. He was a nominee for the 1996 National Association of Campus Activities Speaker of the Year Award.

Most recently, Clark has been director of the Essex County Youth House, a juvenile detention center in Newark, N.J. Through his book, Laying Down the Law, his speeches and consulting, Clark shares his beliefs, strategies and success stories with teachers, school boards, parents, business people and students around the country.

The event is free and open to the public. For more information, call 419-434-5532.