In 1938, he started teaching at the University of Toronto[11] in the department of political economy.[dubious – discuss] Through his efforts, sociology gained respect from Canadian scholars who were initially skeptical of the discipline.[12] On 1 July 1963, he led the founding of the sociology department and served as its first chair until 1969.[citation needed] He retired in 1976,[7] but taught for years as a visiting professor at a number of places, including Dalhousie University, Lakehead University, and the University of Edinburgh.[13]
As a sociologist, Clark became known for studies interpreting Canadian social development as a process of disorganization and re-organization on a series of economic frontiers.[5] His scholarship won him acceptance at a time when Canadian academics were still skeptical of the new discipline of sociology.[5] Under Clark's direction, a series on the Social Credit movement produced 10 monographs by Canadian scholars.[5] In the 1960s, Clark's interest shifted to contemporary consequences of economic changes, especially suburban living and urban poverty.[5]
Clark's publications – mainly books – include The Canadian Manufacturers Association (1939), The Social Development of Canada (1942), Church and Sect in Canada (1948), Movements of Political Protest in Canada (1959), The Developing Canadian Community (1962), The Suburban Society (1966), Canadian Society in Historical Perspective (1976), and The New Urban Poor (1978).[5]
In 1999, the Department of Sociology, University of Toronto instituted the endowed "S.D. Clark Chair" in his honour. The first holder of the chair was William Michelson, a scholar of housing and urban sociology. In 2006, he was succeeded by Barry Wellman, a scholar of the Internet, community, and social networks.
Clark was married to Rosemary Landry Clark for 63 years, until her death in February 2008. His children are Samuel Clark, a sociologist at the University of Western Ontario; W. Edmund Clark, CEO of the Toronto-Dominion Bank; and Ellen Tabisz, a social worker and adjunct professor at the University of Manitoba.[citation needed] Clark died on 18 September 2003.[7]
