ARTHUR MARK Obituary

MARK--Arthur. Arthur Mark, a crusader of American individualism in education and creativity in learning, Dr. Mark was a teacher in Greenwich, CT, headmaster at Long Ridge School in Stamford, and emeritus professor of education at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania. During his tenure, he founded BIFAE (Business and Industry for the Arts in Education), a non-profit. Conference presentations included the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and The World Council for Curriculum and Instruction. A graduate of UMass, Boston, he earned an MA and Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University. As a fellow of the RSA, he mounted a symposium on the post-industrial age renaissance of Liverpool, England and Providence, RI. Attending Emerson College and New England Conservatory of Music as a young man, he sang for two years at Tanglewood Summer Festival. He returned to performing later in life and was a member of SAG, AFTRA, and Actors Equity. The youngest of five, born to Lithuanian immigrants, Dr. Mark was greatly impacted by the antisemitism of his East Boston childhood. Never abandoning his Jewish identity, he embraced Unitarian Universalist principles, resonant among them -- the inherent worth and dignity of every person, a free and responsible search for truth and meaning, and the right of conscience. He was a beloved member of Westminster Unitarian Church in East Greenwich, RI. Dr. Mark is survived by his wife Cecile Druss Mark, their children Bonnie Eve Mark, Carolyn Mark, son-in-law William Charles Stone, and grandchildren Benjamin Isaac Markstone, Teah Rose Markstone and Talia Mark Natoli.