The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation has invested an additional $16.5 million in Vanderbilt’s School of Engineering and the Clark Scholars Program.
The Clark Scholars program was established in 2017 with a $15 million gift from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. The program selects 10 students per class to receive annual $15,000 scholarships for four years and provides support for research projects and summer academic opportunities. The program emphasizes three components: engineering excellence, business acumen and service learning. The dean of the School of Engineering, Krish Roy, affirmed the relevance of those components.
“The qualities that motivated Mr. Clark in his pursuits directly correlate to the mission of the School of Engineering,” Roy said. “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.”
Of the $16.5 million, $10 million will go toward the merit-scholarship endowment. Another $1 million will establish the Clark Scholars Philanthropy Challenge — a new program that will enable scholarship recipients to engage with local, community-based organizations.
The remaining $2.5 million will help launch the School of Engineering’s IMPACT program — Innovation, Market-driven Productization and Commercialization of deep Technologies. According to the press release, the IMPACT program is designed to develop entrepreneurial skills in Vanderbilt’s engineering students.
The curriculum aims to teach strategic leadership and business development skills, an entrepreneurial mindset and ethical considerations as students navigate startups, innovation and deep-tech business. The program will be open to all engineering students, not just Clark Scholars. C. Cybele Raver, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, said that the IMPACT program will empower Vanderbilt students to master engineering fundamentals and lead with vision, creativity and purpose.
“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,” Raver said.
James Clark, who passed away in 2015, served as the president and CEO of Clark Construction, headquartered in Maryland. Forbes magazine referred to him as the “king of concrete.” Since his passing, the Clark Scholars Program has formed at 11 engineering schools across the country.
“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.”
Senior Clark Scholar Ella Weaverling said that the Clark Scholars Program has shaped her college experience through professional development events, resume, interview and graduate school workshops and academic support through the Office of Student Success. Sophomore Joshua Jenkelowitz added that the Clark Scholars program allowed him to secure research funding for a summer in Nashville.
“The Clark Scholars Program is a facet of engineering that has opened my eyes to the professional world beyond my undergraduate career,” Jenkelowitz said. “From meeting new people to engaging in workshops, I feel readily equipped for professional experiences thanks to the program.”
Weaverling added that Clark Scholars are expected to give back through service and to take engineering management courses to develop leadership skills. She found the courses to be practical, so she decided to declare the Engineering Management minor. In addition, Weaverling said that one of the most impactful aspects of the program has been the financial support.
“The scholarship package played a huge role in my decision to choose Vanderbilt — it made attending without the weight of financial worry possible, something I honestly wasn’t sure was possible at Vanderbilt,” Weaverling said. “Once I realized all the other aspects that came with the program, I was even more intrigued. Now, I truly can’t imagine what my life would look like if I hadn’t chosen Vanderbilt.”
Weaverling said her absolute favorite part of the Clark Scholars Program has been the people. She said that the staff, including Julie Vernon, Jessica Hernandez, Connie Crockett, Lana Hefner and Michele Bender, have provided her with resources and helped her celebrate her wins and work through challenges. Weaverling is also grateful for the friends she has made through the program.
“As part of the program, we all did the Fall Early Start Transition (FEST), where we spent four weeks on campus the summer before freshman year. We took intro STEM classes, did project-based work, got to know Nashville, and, of course, had plenty of fun,” Weaverling said. “Somehow, that random group of students from such different backgrounds just clicked. Those friendships have been one of the biggest gifts of the program, and I honestly don’t know if I would’ve met these people otherwise.”
