main content Clayton Morgareidge

Clayton Morgareidge, professor emeritus of philosophy, passed away in early February 2020.

Morgareidge received his PhD from Duke University and arrived at Lewis & Clark in ­1965, joining John Harrington and Rena Ratte as the third member of the philosophy department. He taught at Lewis & Clark for 38 years, where he studied a wide range of philosophical topics, areas, and figures, from logic and philosophy of science, to the history of 17th- and 18th-century philosophy, to Wittgenstein, Foucault, and Nietzsche. In the 1970s, inspired by the events and social movements of the times, Morgareidge turned to social and political philosophy, especially Marxism. He led generations of students on overseas study programs in Italy, Argentina, Ecuador, and Scotland.

Morgareidge was part of a band, Clayton and Ernie, that performed a mix of folk, pop, jazz, and original songs. He often hosted the Old Mole Variety Hour, a program of social and political commentary from a socialist-feminist point of view, on KBOO-FM. After retiring from Lewis & Clark, Morgareidge pursued social and political advocacy in the greater Portland community.

Morgareidge is survived by his wife, Jackie Lemieux.