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COOPERSTOWN—Earlier this week, Jane Forbes Clark, president of The Clark Foundation, announced the appointment of Dr. William Crankshaw as director of The Clark Foundation Scholarship Program. Crankshaw succeeds Gary Kuch, who is retiring after 12 years at the helm of the scholarship program.
“The Board of Directors of the foundation and I are delighted that Bill has agreed to be the director of The Clark Foundation Scholarship Program,” said Clark. “His extensive school administrative experience, at the highest of levels, and his knowledge of the region and its students, will be of tremendous benefit as he manages the work of one of our most important programs.
“We also want to thank Gary for his many years of service and dedication, not only to the scholarship program but to Cooperstown and Otsego County,” Clark said.
Kuch concludes his tenure at The Clark Foundation after a distinguished career as a school administrator. Immediately prior to joining The Clark Foundation, Kuch was superintendent of schools for the Worcester Central School District. He also served as principal of the Cooperstown Central School; supervisor, Innovative Programs and principal for the Otsego Area Occupational Center; administrative assistant/building administrator for the Milford Central School; and school psychologist/director of student services for the Milford Central School.
His deep involvement in the community includes terms as acting village justice for the Village of Cooperstown and town justice for the Town of Otsego. He has also been fire chief of the Cooperstown Fire Department; a trustee for the Village of Cooperstown; and a supervisor for the Town of Otsego. Kuch has also served on the boards of several local nonprofits, including the Cooperstown Community Foundation, United Methodist Church of Cooperstown and Rotary International of Cooperstown.
“It has been a privilege to serve these past 12 years as a steward of The Clark Foundation Scholarship Program,” Kuch said in an e-mail. “The impact that Jane Clark and her family has had on the young people of northern Otsego County is truly remarkable. She and her family have made it possible for so many to pursue their dreams.
“I’m honored to have played a small part of this 64-year-old scholarship program.”
Crankshaw is currently the superintendent of the Greater Johnstown School District and will be retiring from that position at the end of the current school year. He will assume the new role with The Clark Foundation in mid-August.
“I’m really excited and glad to come back to Cooperstown,” Crankshaw said in a phone conversation on Tuesday, March 18.
“I am honored to have been chosen to steward the resources of The Clark Foundation Scholarship Program, which serves the needs of so many students so positively,” he said.
Crankshaw said he and his husband are entertaining moving back to the area later on down the line, having sold their house here not long ago.
A graduate of Johnstown High School, Crankshaw began his education career teaching music for a year in the Fort Plain Central School District. After serving in Fort Plain, he taught 7th-12th grade music in Johnstown for 14 years and was the music department’s co-chair, followed by three years as a music educator in the Canajoharie Central School District. He started his administrative career as principal of the Glebe Street Elementary School in Johnstown, where he served for four years before being named elementary principal, director of elementary curriculum and instruction, and Committee on Special Education chairperson in the Northville Central School District.
In 2013, he was named superintendent of the Remsen Central School District and served as superintendent in Cooperstown from 2016-2020. In 2020, he was selected by the Greater Johnstown School District Board of Education to be superintendent. Crankshaw received a bachelor’s degree in music education from Ithaca College and a master’s in music education from The College of Saint Rose. He earned his school administrative credentials at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts and a doctorate in educational leadership from the Sage Graduate School.
Crankshaw is the executive committee chairperson for the Capital Area School Development Association and serves as a board member of the Rural Schools Association of New York State and of the Lexington-ARC’s Transitions program. He is also an advisor for the Caroga Arts Collective.
The Clark Foundation Scholarship Program is one of the largest of its kind in the country. During 2024, 193 new students received $751,900.00 in scholarships to attend postsecondary educational institutions throughout the country, and there are currently 699 students in the program. Since its inception in 1961, more than 12,000 students have received over $132 million in scholarship assistance from The Clark Foundation.
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