Clark Foundation Invests $11 Million in the Next Generation of Penn Engineers

Penn Clark Scholars and peer mentors: (bottom row, left to right) Tina Lee, Amehja Williams, and Hubery Pai; (second row) Amaris Chen and Ross Richard; (third row) Darren Lin, Minghui Zhang, Emily Jiang, and Frankie Lin; (fourth row) Shawn Edbert, Henry Westfall, and Noah Hidalgo; (fifth row) Matas Bujanauskas and Elias Chavez. (Credit: Eddie Maren)

For Amehja Williams (EE’26), who dreams of going to Mars, engineering is about more than technical prowess. Last year, as a NASA-Partner Eclipse Ambassador, she taught nearly 400 Philadelphia students about the science behind the celestial event. “The process of any enduring innovation should bring people together and bring out the best in them,” she says. “That’s what engineering is all about.”

An aspiring NASA astronaut, Williams is also a Clark Scholar. The program, established by the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation, supports future engineering leaders by funding their education and building a community dedicated to mentorship and public service. Williams credits the program with shaping her trajectory, providing access not just to peer mentorship but also opportunities to give back.

Now, thanks to an $11 million investment from the Clark Foundation, Penn Engineering will enhance the program’s combination of financial aid, mentorship and service learning. Of that total, $10 million will strengthen the scholarship endowment of the Clark Scholars Program, building on the 2017 commitment of $15 million that established the program. One million dollars will launch a Philanthropy Challenge, in which Clark Scholars develop hands-on expertise in philanthropy, with a focus on Philadelphia. The investment will also support summer internships and establish an entrepreneurship concentration for Clark Scholars. 

“Jim Clark, who rose from modest beginnings to lead one of the nation’s most successful construction firms, believed that engineers should serve, not just build,” says Penn President J. Larry Jameson. “This investment strengthens that vision at Penn, preparing generations of Clark Scholars to lead with technical excellence and a spirit of service.” 

From Scholarships to Service 

The first in his family to attend college, A. James Clark did so thanks to a scholarship. That experience shaped his lifelong commitment to giving back. Before Clark passed away in 2015, he mandated that the Clark Foundation spend down its assets within 10 years, ensuring that its giving would be immediate, strategic and designed to create lasting impact. 

“My father’s own life was shaped by the chance to study engineering on a scholarship,” says Courtney Clark Pastrick, Board Chair of the Clark Foundation. “Through the Clark Scholars Program, we carry forward his legacy by giving the next generation of engineers the same opportunity.” 

For students like Andy Huynh (MEAM’28), who describes the program as a “second home,” the experience has already been transformative. “The Clark Scholars Program has pushed me to better myself, not just to improve my life, but to support those around me,” he says. 

Last summer, Huynh worked in the lab of Associate Professor Michelle Johnson, developing robots to assist patients recovering from strokes and other neurological injuries. That experience, made possible by funding from the Clark Scholars Program, expanded his perspective on what engineers can do. “I realized how much I enjoy helping the community in ways that I had never considered,” says Huynh.

Expanding the Clark Scholars’ Experience

The new $11 million investment will transform the program for students like Williams and Huynh, making it even more rewarding. In addition to strengthening the program’s endowment, supporting summer internships for all Clark Scholars and increasing staff support, the funds will underwrite a new entrepreneurship concentration and launch the Clark Scholars Philanthropy Challenge.

“The Clark Scholars Program embodies Penn Engineering’s values of innovation, leadership and service,” says Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean. “This extraordinary new investment strengthens those values, ensuring our students will be prepared not only to invent transformative technologies, but also to give back to their communities.”

Going forward, all Clark Scholars will participate in the Penn Engineering Entrepreneurship Program and have access to extensive resources for mentorship and internships with startups and enterprise companies alike. “By combining academic study with immersive internships, Clark Scholars will develop the same entrepreneurial mindset that defined Jim Clark’s career,” says Tom Cassel, Practice Professor and Director Emeritus of the Engineering Entrepreneurship program. “They’ll graduate with the confidence and know-how to both launch new ventures and bring fresh ideas to established organizations.”

While the entrepreneurship concentration equips Scholars to create value in the marketplace, the Clark Scholars Philanthropy Challenge will teach them how to maximize their impact. Each year, Scholars will collectively direct at least $20,000 to one or more philanthropic organizations active in Philadelphia, echoing the Clark Foundation’s philosophy of treating philanthropy as a long-term investment. 

Over their four years at Penn Engineering, Clark Scholars will progress from learning about community needs to evaluating proposals and tracking the results of their giving. “We already teach engineers how to optimize systems for a desired outcome,” says Paulo Arratia, Professor and Eduardo D. Glandt Distinguished Scholar in Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics and the Faculty Director of the Clark Scholars Program. “Why not also teach them how to optimize giving back to maximize impact? Beyond that, we have a unique opportunity to teach young engineers about the needs of others and how to navigate the world of philanthropy.”

The new investment will also broaden support for experiential learning. “With this funding, we can help students pursue opportunities such as externships, undergraduate research, service learning and global experiences,” says Nita Guzman Del Vecchio, Program Leader of the Clark Scholars Program at Penn Engineering. “These resources close funding gaps and ensure that every Scholar can fully participate.”

Engineering a Legacy

In his proposal to found the University of Pennsylvania, Benjamin Franklin — who famously ran a print shop and invented bifocals, but also created America’s first matching gift campaign, rallying Philadelphians to open the nation’s second public hospital — described “an Ability to serve Mankind” as the “great Aim and End of all Learning.” 

That same spirit animates the next phase of the Clark Scholars Program. For students, the impact of the new investment couldn’t be more clear. “It’s so much more than a scholarship,” says Huynh. Williams agrees, adding that “the Clark Scholars Program emphasizes the humanity behind engineering. That’s why the intersection of business and engineering is so important.”

With the Clark Foundation’s new investment, future Scholars will have even more opportunities to capitalize on bold ideas, serve their communities, and, like Franklin and A. James Clark before them, leave legacies of their own.

To join the Clark Foundation in empowering future engineers, please visit the website of Penn Engineering’s Office of Development and Alumni Relations. To read the official Clark Scholars Program announcement, please visit Penn Today

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