Dr. Robert L. Clinkscale

Beloved husband of Margaret Heard Clinkscale, loving father of Kevin "Chill" Heard (Janice) and a host of other relatives and friends. Family Visitation Saturday, July 30th, 12 pm at the E. F. Boyd & Son Funeral Home, 2165 E. 89th St., Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternal Service at 12:30 PM and Funeral services at 1 PM. OBITUARY: Dr. Robert L. Clinkscale led a life of service. Dr. Robert L. Clinkscale made transition from this life on July 19, 2016. He was born Oct. 21, 1932 in Greenville, South Carolina to Mrs. Emma Luceil McCullough and Prince Albert Harrison. During his high school years, Dr. Clinkscale was a star football player for Sterling High School. His athleticism and academic ability earned him a scholarship to Central State University. Dr. Clinkscale was a beloved Centralian Marauder. He was captain of the football team, an honor student and was an officer in ROTC and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. After receiving his B.A. in Education and Industrial Technology in 1955 from Central State University, Dr. Clinkscale earned the rank of Lieutenant in the US Army during the Korean Conflict. He served as Lieutenant Colonel in the Ohio National Guard as well. Dr. Clinkscale went on to receive a Master’s Degree in Guidance and Administration from John Carroll University and his Ph.D. in Education Administration, Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Akron. He possesses several post-graduate certificates (Urban Education, Vocational Education, Administration, etc.) from Kent State University and Michigan State University. Dr. Clinkscale served as a teacher and administrator for the Cleveland Municipal School District for 18 years throughout the late fifties, sixties, seventies and early eighties. Also within that time period, he served as Executive Director for Vocational, Adult and Continuing Education for East Cleveland schools for eight years. His proudest accomplishment during that time was his role in the planning and construction of a $6.3-million vocational facility for East Cleveland Public Schools. Following his service to CMSD and East Cleveland Schools, Dr. Clinkscale served as Dean of Community Education, Apprenticeship and Skilled Training Programs at Cuyahoga Community College. Dr. Clinkscale relocated to Baltimore, Maryland where he served in different capacities for the Maryland State Department of Education and Baltimore City Public Schools. These responsibilities included Supervisor for Trade and Industrial Education Programs, Assistant Superintendent, Director of Education, etc. Upon retirement from Maryland’s educational system, Dr. Clinkscale continued to work with non-profit organizations and agencies that provided alternative education options to students, reentry services and rehabilitation. He was appointed by the Governor of Maryland to the Board of Directors for the Prisoners Aid Association on Maryland, Inc. During that time he served as board president. In 2005, he was awarded President Emeritus by the governor along with the renaming of the Prisoners Aid Association on Maryland, Inc. headquarters’ building as The Robert L. Clinkscale Building. Throughout his career and retirement, he has secured millions of dollars in funding and resources to provide vocational education and training for urban schools, special needs populations, incarcerated and reentry people. He has an extensive record of professional consultation with various public and private sector organizations including the U.S. Office of Education, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Ohio Department of Education and the National Institute of Education to name a few. Dr. Clinkscale accepted Christ at an early age at a church in South Carolina and was currently a member of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church where he was a greeter and a part of the prison ministry. Dr. Clinkscale is a proud Life Member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and a Prince Hall Mason. He served on the Maryland Department of Education Advisory Board. Dr. Clinkscale leaves behind his wife, Margaret Heard Clinkscale, a stepson, Kevin D. (Janice) Heard, two grandchildren, Daniel and Jordan Heard and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. Dr. Clinkscale was preceeded in death by his mother Emma Luceil McCullough and sisters Helen Gilliam and Elizabeth Williams both from South Carolina. Dr. Clinkscale’s Homegoing services will be held Saturday July 30, at E.F. Boyd and Son Funeral Home on 89th and Cedar. Viewing will begin at noon. Alpha Phi Alpha ceremony at 12:30 and Homegoing service at 1p.m. The family is asking in lieu of flowers that donations be made in Dr. Clinkscales’s name to the Central State University Alumni Cleveland Chapter Scholarship Fund. P.O. Box 21397, South Euclid, Oh. 44121.

Dr. Robert L. Clinkscale

October 21, 1932 - July 19, 2016