Clark Foundation Awards $219.5 Million to U. of Maryland

The A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation gave $219.5 million to the University of Maryland, the institution announced Wednesday.

The money will back scholarships, endow new professorships, and pay for other programs and building projects.

Mr. Clark, a Washington, D.C.-area engineer and builder who led the Clark Construction Group and Clark Enterprises, died in 2015. He graduated from the University of Maryland in 1950 with a degree in civil engineering.

The Clarks supported a number of engineering programs at universities. The couple gave his alma mater $30 million in 2005 for engineering scholarships and $15 million in 1994. The university named its engineering school for him.

During his lifetime, the Clarks also gave the Johns Hopkins University $10 million to build a biomedical-engineering research facility and later, in 2008, contributed another $10 million for the university’s Whiting School of Engineering.

They also gave $8 million in 2011 to George Washington University for scholarships for students in the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Earlier this year, the foundation awarded $15 million to Virginia Tech to endow scholarships for Virginia students majoring in construction.

Mr. Clark appeared on The Chronicle’s 2005 Philanthropy 50 list of the most generous donors for the $30 million he and his wife gave to his alma mater that year.