Clark remained a respected and influential adviser to various government agencies throughout his tenure at the university. He was outspoken in matters of timber and natural resource conservation, fiscal responsibility, constitutional and education reform, and especially human rights. He was capable and articulate in framing current policy against the lessons of history and careful to skillfully represent only primary sources whenever possible – a praxis which earned him immense respect, not only in Kentucky and the US, but around the world. His public visibility earned him a name for taking an appreciation of history to the people – not hiding in the halls of academia.