Alfred James Clark (December 2, 1927 – March 20, 2015) was an American engineer, businessman and philanthropist. He was chairman and CEO of Clark Enterprises, Inc., headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland. The company's largest subsidiary is Clark Construction Group, LLC, one of the United States' largest construction companies, founded in 1906 as the George Hyman Construction Company.

Early life

Clark was born on December 2, 1927, in Richmond, Virginia, the son of a life insurance salesman father. He grew up in Bethesda, Maryland. Clark was a 1950 graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta.

Career

In 1950, he was hired by the George Hyman Construction Company. In 1969, he became president. In 1977, he formed OMNI Construction, a double-breasted subsidiary. In addition to being an engineer and business executive, Clark served as a university trustee emeritus at Johns Hopkins University.

Philanthropy

Clark has given to the University of Maryland, College Park's School of Engineering, which now bears his name. He established the A. James Clark Engineering Scholars program, a program to provide financial aid to engineering and computerscience majors. The program is at 11 institutions and supports 470+ students. He donated $10 million toward the construction of the Johns Hopkins University building, "Clark Hall," which is the cornerstone of the Decker Quadrangle. His construction company served as general contractor for the building, which was named in his honor. On October 4, 2017, it was announced the University of Maryland would receive almost $220 million from the A. James and Alice B. Clark Foundation.

Personal life

In 1950, Clark married Alice Bratton. They had three children and lived in Vero Beach, Florida. He died of congestive heart failure in 2015.

Awards and honors