Clark Foundation Invests $51.7M to Support Engineering Scholarships, Programming

The University of Maryland has received $51.7 million in new philanthropic investments from its most generous benefactor, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, to dramatically expand scholarships for promising engineering students and deepen academic collaborations with a network of other top engineering schools.

The support, which also includes funds for a unique Philanthropy Challenge Fund and to expand students' professional development opportunities, is the latest example of the Foundation's transformational giving as it ceases operations in December. In total, with the new commitments, the Clark family, Clark Enterprises and Clark Foundation have contributed over $364 million to UMD.

"We know that our partners at Maryland will use the investments to take the university to new heights of scholarship, innovation, exploration and excellence," said Courtney Clark Pastrick, chair of the Clark Foundation's board and daughter of A. James and Alice B. Clark. "They've made our contributions truly transformative and played a unique role in honoring the legacy of my dad."

The Foundation has given more than $125 million to Forward: The University of Maryland Campaign for the Fearless, an effort officially launched this week to raise a record $2.5 billion. Thanks in part to this investment, as well as landmark gifts from donors such as civil engineering alum Stanley R. Zupnik '59, mathematics Professor Emeritus Michael and the late Eugenia Brin and the Sergey Brin Family Foundation, cell biology and molecular genetics Professor Anne Simon and sports marketing pioneer Steve Schanwald '77, the campaign has brought in $943 million to date.

"It's impossible to imagine the University of Maryland, or the landscape of this region, without the Clarks-both the generosity of the Clark family and the Clark Foundation, and the leadership and vision of A. James Clark himself, who was truly one of the great builders and philanthropists of our time," said UMD President Darryll J. Pines. "These latest investments further strengthen the foundation of educational excellence they have helped construct."

Clark got his start as a civil engineering student at UMD, hitchhiking to class from his home in Bethesda, Md., and crediting a state scholarship with allowing him to afford his education. After graduating in 1950, he was hired as a field engineer by the George Hyman Construction Co., working his way up over the next several decades to grow it into Clark Construction, one of the largest firms of its kind in the nation. The company's massive footprint across the DMV includes L'Enfant Plaza, Nationals Park and dozens of buildings on the UMD campus.

COTS and Clark Scholars pose in front of a UMD Clark School of Engineering banner

Remembering his roots, Clark made a $15 million donation to his alma mater in 1994 to support undergraduate engineering education through scholarships, career services and other programs. In recognition of this generosity, the A. James Clark School of Engineering was named in his honor.

Following his 2015 passing, the Clark Foundation committed a historic $219.5 million to UMD in 2017 through the Building Together investment, which funded a sweeping array of need-based scholarships, graduate fellowships, endowed faculty chairs in the Clark School and beyond, and capital projects, including the construction of the E.A. Fernandez IDEA Factory and Stanley R. Zupnik Hall. The gift also established the A. James Clark Scholars Program, which combines training in engineering, business, leadership and community service, as well as the Clark Challenge for the Maryland Promise Program, a campuswide matching program that has raised $100 million for new need-based scholarships to students across majors.

In 2023, a new $20.6 million investment established the Clark School as the permanent home of the Clark Scholars Program Network (CSPN), which supports talented students with financial need at 11 top engineering schools.

"A. James Clark never lost a connection to his local community: as he achieved success, he devoted himself to the success of others and invested his own resources to help them reach their dreams," said Clark School Dean Samuel Graham. "His investments have transformed people's lives, our school and university, and higher education broadly. His legacy is a timeless reminder to innovate and devote energy to the place we call home."

This year's series of commitments includes $25 million for Clark Legacy Endowed Scholarships, which provide merit- and need-based scholarships for Clark School undergraduates. The Clark Opportunity Transfer Scholars Program, supporting high-achieving engineering students who come to UMD from Maryland community colleges, also received supplementary funding for scholarships.

Additionally, the Foundation's investment will bolster the endowed fund for the university's Clark Scholars Program, supporting an additional staff member and covering the costs for its students to attend CSPN-sponsored networking events. One new fund will specifically support Clark Scholars' professional development efforts and any Clark School student experiencing a financial emergency; another will launch the Clark Scholars Philanthropy Challenge, where program members will annually research local nonprofits and select one as an award recipient, with the goal of learning about philanthropy, cultivating a charitable spirit and strengthening connections with the community.

Clark Scholars make hearts with their hands

"The Foundation's investments have a tremendous impact on our students," said Damien J. Franze, associate director for the Clark Foundation Scholarship Programs and director of UMD's Clark Scholars Program. "The scholarship and the program afford our Clark Scholars the opportunity to be able to focus on their education, graduate and continue to exemplify Mr. Clark's legacy-particularly his values of integrity, leadership, hard work, engineering excellence and service."

Further funding will support new and existing CSPN programming. Since the Foundation's donation established the network, it has hosted multi-university summits, launched an alumni network with more than 400 members among partner institutions and developed an alternative spring break program, all of which will benefit from new gift funding.

"To know that the Foundation believed in us enough to do this work, it's an honor," said Joakina Stone, CSPN director. "We want to continue carrying that torch in the best possible way."

The Clark Foundation has also entrusted UMD with maintaining its legacy website and a new, unique space on the ground floor of Zupnik Hall, the Clark Foundation Legacy Space; it will be the home of the CSPN team with meeting rooms, lounges and an interactive exhibit showcasing the Foundation's lasting impact. The building will also house the department of civil and environmental engineering, mechanical engineering and Quantum Technology Center labs, as well as new spaces for engineering student organizations and interdisciplinary research that addresses the world's grand challenges.

This story was written by Annie Krakower and was originally posted to Maryland Today on November 4, 2025.

Published November 4, 2025