Obit of Franklin, Dr Carl M (f652) - Cleveland County, Oklahoma Submitted by: Sandi Carter 24 Sep 2004 Return to Cleveland County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/cleveland/cleveland.html ========================================================================== USGENWEB NOTICE Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm ========================================================================== Los Angeles Times 23 September 2004 OBITUARY OF DR. CARL M. FRANKLIN Dr. Carl M. Franklin, Vice President Emeritus and Professor of Law at the University of Southern California, died September 6 of pneumonia, following a stroke in April. He was 93. Dr. Franklin was a long-time stalwart at USC, working there from September 1, 1953, until the day he died. He arrived in 1953 from the University of Oklahoma to join the USC Law Faculty. As a Law Professor, he served as President of the USC University Senate and Chairman of the Faculty Committee on Athletics. He was selected by USC President Norman Topping in 1960 to become USC's Vice President for Financial Affairs. In 1970, he was also named Vice President for Legal Affairs, and, in 1991, at age 80, Vice President Emeritus, where he focused on fund raising for USC. Dr. Franklin and his wife, Carolyn, who died in 1993, raised over $150 million for USC. In his 51 years working at USC, Dr. Franklin served under five USC Presidents: Fred Fagg, Jr., Norman Topping, John Hubbard, James Zumberge, and Steven B. Sample. In 1996, Dr. and Mrs. Franklin were awarded the University's highest honor, the Presidential Medallion, by President Sample, who said, "For his enduring contributions to the life and well-being of the University and for his immense contributions to the stability and strength of this great institution, USC is proud to present Professor Carl Mason Franklin with its Presidential Medallion." Carolyn's (posthumous) citation by President Sample noted "her many contributions to the University community at USC, as well as her dedicated support and outstanding service." Dr. Franklin had a lifelong eagerness for learning which he pursued by earning six degrees with honors from six of America's leading universities; A.B. in Economics from the University of Washington, 1931; M.A. in Economics from Stanford University, 1935; M.A. in University Administration from Columbia University, 1939; M.B.A. in Finance from Harvard University, 1940; J.D. in Law from the University of Virginia, 1948; and J.S.D. in International Law from Yale University, 1956. During his academic studies, Dr. Franklin earned several honors and awards including the Shuman Prize as the top student at Harvard Business School as well as being named a Baker Scholar. He also received the coveted Sheldon Research Fellowship. At the University of Virginia Law School he graduated first in his class, was awarded the Order of the Coif and was offered a law clerkship by Justice Harold Burton of the U.S. Supreme Court. Declining that offer, in 1948 he accepted a position as Professor of Law and Academic Vice President at the University of Oklahoma. He took a year off in 1950 to study for his doctorate at Yale University Law School, where he received a Sterling Fellowship. After teaching law at USC starting in 1953, he took six months off in 1959 to hold the Chair of International Law at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island where he wrote a book, The Law of the Sea, that became an impor tant reference book for the U.S. Navy. Later he served as consultant to the Naval War College. Dr. Franklin was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi, and was listed in the Directory of American Scholars and Who's Who in America. He was licensed to practice law in California, in the U.S. Federal Court, and before the Supreme Court. Dr. Franklin was very civic minded. In 1962, he was named a consultant to the U.S. State Department, evaluating academic programs at American universities in Cairo, Istanbul, and Lebanon. He served as President of the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities from 1964 to 1966, when he led a successful campaign to pass a statewide initiative to have the State of California provide graduate fellowship grants to students in both public and private colleges and universities. In 1967, he served as President of Town Hall of California, the Los Angeles civic forum, initiating its Life Member Program and its Endowment Fund. He was a Little League coach and a supporter of the Westchester Methodist Church. He was a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Eisenhower Medical Center in Palm Desert, California for ten years and was made an Honorary Life Trustee when he retired from the Board in 1984. Dr. Franklin was so trusted as a financial manager, investor, and legal advisor that he was named to serve as a Trustee of many charitable trusts. He participated in donating to colleges, universities, hospitals, and other charities throughout the United States (but predominantly in California) more than $100 million during his service on the Seeley G. Mudd Fund, Rufus B. von Kleinsmid Trust, Torrey H. Webb Charitable Trust, John Stauffer Trust, Emmett Jones Trust, Donald and Katherine Loker Foundation, Rita H. Small Trust, and Morris S. Smith Foundation. He gained over $40 million from these trusts for USC. Dr. and Mrs. Franklin were themselves philanthropists. Having achieved some wealth by careful saving and astute investing, during their lifetimes they dona ted over $13 million to various charities, including the eight institutions of higher education from which they held degrees and to USC, to which they donated over $4 million via gifts to Town and Gown, the USC Law School, the Loker Hydrocarbon Institute, and other USC schools and departments. They were involved in raising funds for the President's Chair at USC, the Chair for the Dean of the School of Letters, Arts and Sciences, and for eight of the 13 Dean's Chairs in the professional schools at USC. Carl Franklin's name is on the Dean's Chair in the USC Law School and his wife is honored by the Carolyn Craig Franklin Professorship in Law and Religion. The faculty lounge of the law school is named for both of them. In 1985, Town and Gown named its fountain for Carolyn and Carl. Dr. Franklin sometimes joked that he and his wife had been "volunteers" at USC, as they had donated to USC during their lifetimes more money than he had received in salary in all the 51 years he worked there. In 2001, he gave $600,000 to fund the construction of the Carolyn C. Franklin Library Courtyard and Fountain area at the south end of McCarthy Quad, next to Doheny Library, and he established the $1 million Carolyn C. Franklin Endowment Fund for Campus Beautification to honor his late wife and her interest in gardening and beautifying USC. More recently, in early 2004, he gave $300,000 to the Dr. Arthur C. Bartner Endowment Fund for the USC Marching Band Director, as he loved Art and the USC Spirit of Troy Marching Band. His generosity continued in death, as in his Will and Living Trust, Dr. Franklin specified that his estate should go to four charities, including USC Town and Gown and Stanford. On learning of Dr. Franklin's passing, USC President Steven B. Sample said, "Carl and his wife, Carolyn dedicated their lives to USC. For more than half a century, they worked together to advance the university. Carl was an inspiring law professor, superb administrator, and passionate fund- raiser who continued working for USC up until his most recent illness. His energy and devotion to his family and to USC made him an inspiration to all of us. I speak of many when I say I will miss him deeply." Dr. Franklin is survived by his brother, Glen Franklin, his brother-in- law, Joseph Craig, and his four children, Craig, Sterling, Laurence, and Priscilla. Following in their father's academic footsteps, they earned five degrees from USC and five from Stanford. They note that beyond his academic and professional accomplishments, he was a fine person, a kind, quiet, modest man who had a delightful sense of humor and was a good husband and father. They request that memorial donations be sent to the Carolyn and Carl Franklin Scholarship Fund of Town and Gown and the Dr. Arthur C. Bartner Endowment Fund, in care of the University of Southern California, Office of the USC Senior Vice President for Advancement, Los Angeles, CA 90089-4017. A Memorial Service will be held at Town and Gown Hall of USC on October 12. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to Cleveland County Archives: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/cleveland/cleveland.html