About the Clark Program

The Clark Scholars Program is the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation’s signature academic program. UVA Engineering is one of ten top engineering schools helping to carry out Clark's vision.

Students who are selected as Clark Scholars join a proud and important tradition. A. James Clark believed in the power of hard work. This conviction enabled him to grow a local construction company into a national success. And it guides the philanthropic giving the Foundation continues in his name today. The A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation partners with grantees who build practical, immediate and concrete connections between effort and opportunity, and focuses its investments in the following areas: educating engineers to solve society’s toughest problems, improving the lives of veterans and their families, and providing members of the DC community the best opportunity to thrive.

The Clark Scholars Program is the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation’s signature academic program, combining Engineering, Business, Leadership, and Community Service. As part of a commitment to building the pipeline f future engineers, the Foundation has partnered with some of the nation’s leading engineering institutions, financially supporting students who exhibit strong academic and leadership potential. To date, the Clark Foundation has made engineering investments at Duke University, George Washington University, Georgia Tech, Johns Hopkins University, Penn State, Stevens Institute of Technology, University of Maryland, University of Pennsylvania, University of Virginia, Vanderbilt University and Virginia Tech.

Questions? Comments?

Keith Williams

Associate Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering Clark Scholars Faculty Director

Williams' completed my Ph.D. in materials physics at Penn State University in 2001, and undertook postdoctoral research in the Molecular Biophysics Group at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, thereafter establishing a nanophysics laboratory in the physics department at the University of Virginia. 

Alicia Cowan-Brown

Clark Scholars Program Coordinator

Alicia joined the Clark Scholars Program in 2022 as the Program Coordinator. Her responsibilities include program implementation, scholar engagement, and collaborating with various partners to improve the Engineering student experience.