Lou Starkey, PhD, was a beloved professor, friend and colleague who brought history to life for students, colleagues and readers of his well-received books.
The Adelphi community is mourning the loss of Professor Emeritus Lou Starkey, who died on March 28. To honor his memory, Adelphi lowered all campus flags to half-staff on Friday, April 11.
Provost and Executive Vice President Christopher Storm, PhD, remembered Dr. Starkey as “a valued member of the Adelphi family. He was a respected historian, dedicated educator and cherished colleague whose contributions to our academic community were profound and lasting.”
Dr. Starkey’s Adelphi career began in 1968 when he joined the history department and spanned his service as a professor, Department of History chair, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, provost of the University, and chair of the Faculty Senate. Dr. Starkey retired in 2009.
A historian of the British and Scottish Enlightenment, he was also the author of seminal histories—European and Native American Warfare, 1675-1815 and War in the Age of the Enlightenment, 1700-1789.
A Man of Reason
Martin Haas, PhD, associate professor of history, characterized War in the Age of Enlightenment as Dr. Starkey’s “culminating work, in which he examined the potential strategic and practical influence of enlightenment ideas on the military in the 18th century.”
According to Dr. Haas, his former colleague personified the great values of Enlightenment thought. “He was a man of reason based on empirical evidence and exemplified the value of civic virtue—which is why he served the department and University so ably,” he recalled.
A Belief in the Rule of Law
“Lastly, he believed in the rule of law and not the rule of men.” This principle guided him in 1997 when Adelphi made history by removing its president and board of trustees for not meeting their responsibilities, and during his subsequent service as University provost from 1997 to 1999.
Lester Baltimore, PhD, professor emeritus of history, who joined the Department of History faculty alongside Dr. Starkey, remembered his colleague as a person of great integrity, whose many contributions to Adelphi were, in his words, “huge.”
Yet despite the many academic and administrative roles he so ably filled at Adelphi, Dr. Starkey’s first love was sharing his love of history in the classroom. “His students appreciated that,” Dr. Haas recalled.
A Good Friend
Dr. Haas also noted that his friend, as well as being a loving father and grandfather, was a “great conversationalist who would have been comfortable in a Paris salon or Edinburgh coffeehouse. He personified some of the best aspects of the style of the Enlightenment—by that I mean the wit and sense of humor of Voltaire, Jonathan Swift and Samuel Johnson.”
Simply put, Dr. Baltimore said, “He was a very close friend, and I miss him a lot.”