J. Henry Clarke was born and raised in Utah and attended the University of Utah. He was drafted into service in the Korean war and was trained as a dental technician. Dr. Clarke decided to pursue dentistry after his discharge from the Army, and did his pre-dental studies at Portland State University and graduated from the University of Oregon Dental School in 1961 and went into private practice. Dr. relates that when he first arrived the school had just moved into a new building on Marquam Hill and changed its curriculum to integrate students in clinical work their first year. In 1967 he approached Dean Terkla with an offer to teach the history of dentistry course, and within a few years he was full-time faculty. He was supervisor of dental hygiene and chair of the behavioral science department. He discusses curricula changes, research, administrative topics, and planning for the schools Centennial in 1998.