Eliot Berkley, the retired longtime executive director of the International Relations Council in Kansas City, Mo., died Sept. 17, 2012. He was 88.
Born in Kansas City, Berkley served in the Army in World War II and graduated from Harvard in 1947. He then earned a Ph.D. in politics from Princeton in 1952. From 1952 to 1959, he was a lecturer in history and government at the University of Kansas City. In 1956, he joined the faculty of the Kansas City Art Institute, and then became dean of administration, vice president for development, and, lastly, in 1961 dean of the college.
Earlier, in 1954, Berkley founded and was executive director of the International Relations Council, remaining in that position until he retired in 1994. In addition, he was extensively involved in community service. He was a board member of many civic and educational institutions.
Such organizational work earned him many honors, including being the Kansas City World Citizen of the Year (1975), plus awards from Park College (1992) and Metropolitan Community College (2004). A loyal Princetonian, Berkley contributed to the Graduate School’s Alumni Giving campaign for exactly 50 years.
Berkley’s wife, Marcia, predeceased him. He is survived by two children.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.