In a powerful capstone to its legacy, the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation is investing an additional $16.5 million in Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering and the Clark Scholars Program—building on a transformational partnership that began with the program’s founding in 2017. The Clark Foundation’s generosity also fuels Vanderbilt’s historic Dare to Grow fundraising campaign.
The innovative Clark Scholars Program at the School of Engineering enables talented undergraduate students to become engineering pioneers who reflect the character, passion and vision of the foundation’s namesake, the late A. James Clark. The program emphasizes four key pillars that reflect the qualities Clark valued and sought to inspire in others: engineering excellence, business acumen, service learning and leadership.
Each year, 10 students are selected from the incoming first-year class of engineering students to be Vanderbilt Clark Scholars. The 40 scholars across all years form a closely knit cohort that provides a supportive community for students adjusting to the academic rigor of the university and otherwise navigating student life.
“A Vanderbilt education’s purpose is to enable our students to realize their full potential,” Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said. “Vanderbilt students are empowered to explore, innovate and gain real-world understanding of what they have learned in a classroom. The Clark Scholars Program provides crucial scholarships and support for those additional components of the Vanderbilt experience, which educate the leaders of tomorrow. We are deeply grateful to the Clark Foundation for the difference it has made in the lives of so many of our engineering students.”
The Clark Foundation’s latest support includes $10 million for the existing Clark Scholars Program endowment (in addition to its $3 million investment to the endowment in 2024), as well as $1 million in endowed funds to establish the Clark Scholars Philanthropy Challenge, which will allow the Clark Scholars to support local community-based organizations. The remaining $2.5 million is dedicated to launching the School of Engineering’s IMPACT program—Innovation, Market-driven Productization And Commercialization of deep Technologies.
“The IMPACT program exemplifies how Vanderbilt empowers students not only to master engineering fundamentals, but to lead with vision, creativity and purpose,” said C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “Through this remarkable investment, our students will gain the tools to turn deep technical knowledge into real-world innovation—with the ethical grounding, entrepreneurial mindset and collaborative spirit needed to drive progress in a rapidly changing world.”
The new IMPACT program is designed to bridge the gap between engineering expertise and entrepreneurial acumen, unlocking the students’ full potential to shape the future of technology with leadership, integrity and impact. The program seeks to transform students’ technical expertise into practical impact through a dynamic curriculum that equips them with strategic leadership and business development skills, an entrepreneurial mindset, and a strong foundation in ethical considerations to thrive in a rapidly evolving technological landscape. Whether launching startups, driving innovation within existing companies or spearheading social change, students will gain skills and knowledge to navigate the complexities of the deep-tech business. The program is open to all engineering students at Vanderbilt, extending the values of the Clark Scholars Program to a wider range of scholars.
With its programming and intentional community building, the Clark Scholars Program dovetails with the school’s dedication to solving scientific challenges, and it greatly enhances the values that guide its educational philosophy—radical collaboration, innovation, global impact, commitment to people and a culture of excellence.
Across their four years as Vanderbilt engineering students, Clark Scholars receive scholarship and other financial support, as well as educational and developmental opportunities, to explore research and business on campus and through experiential learning such as internships.
“The qualities that motivated Mr. Clark in his pursuits directly correlate to the mission of the School of Engineering,” said Krish Roy, Bruce and Bridgitt Evans Dean of Engineering and University Distinguished Professor. “As a result, the Clark Scholars Program has fueled our ability to attract and cultivate success in the very best students who exhibit those same characteristics—ones necessary to become engineering leaders of the future. It has helped us create an optimal ecosystem of excellence to accelerate achievement and expand our reach.”
Since its first investment in 2017, the Clark Foundation’s broad support has bolstered the vision of the university and the School of Engineering to become one of the world’s most influential and recognized training grounds for future generations of impactful engineering leaders. Vanderbilt has graduated 41 Clark Scholars, and 73 percent of these graduates secured job offers or accepted positions in graduate school upon completing their degrees.
“The Clark Foundation’s partnership with Vanderbilt University exemplifies my father’s ideals, from both personal and professional perspectives,” said Courtney Clark Pastrick, board chair of the Clark Foundation, Vanderbilt trustee emerita and parent of three Vanderbilt graduates.
“He firmly believed in the power of education to develop young leaders and knew firsthand that engineering leaders can change our world for the better. Not only has this program impacted these wonderful students, but it has deepened my personal affinity for the university and all it does to positively influence the world.”
James Clark, who died in 2015, was the president and CEO of Maryland-based Clark Construction. Forbes magazine once called him the “king of concrete.” In the years since, the Clark Scholars Program has been his living legacy at 11 of the nation’s top engineering institutions, financially supporting students who exhibit strong academic and leadership potential and demonstrate financial need.
“We could not be more pleased with the success of the Clark Scholars Program at Vanderbilt,” said Joe Del Guercio, president and CEO of the Clark Foundation. “Each year, the scholars have excelled in academics, service and leadership, while also deepening their understanding of the business practices necessary to become the highest-level leaders of the future. The program has truly reflected the vision we conceptualized.”
Dare to Grow
The Clark Foundation’s generous investment fuels the extraordinary momentum of Vanderbilt’s Dare to Grow campaign, which surpassed its initial goal last fall and continues to push the boundaries for what’s possible to make an impact across campus and around the world. Support for the Dare to Grow campaign catalyzes some of the university’s most groundbreaking initiatives, including the Institute of National Security, Vandy United, Vanderbilt’s enhanced presences in New York City and West Palm Beach, signature programs like Opportunity Vanderbilt, Residential Colleges and many more.
