University trustee emeritus A. James Clark, a leading
commercial builder, has committed $10
million to The Johns Hopkins University to endow the
deanship of the university's Whiting School of
Engineering in honor of his mentor and business
colleague Benjamin T. Rome.
"Mr. Clark's gift will make possible, for generations
into the future, the innovation in teaching
and research that is at the core of the Whiting School's
mission," said President William R. Brody. "It
creates a permanent stream of unrestricted support that the
school's deans — present and future — will
be able to invest strategically in faculty, students and
programs.
"I am very grateful for Mr. Clark's generosity and for
his confidence in the Whiting School and
in our current dean, Nick Jones," Brody said.
Clark's gift will establish the Benjamin T. Rome
Deanship in the School of Engineering. In making
the new gift, Clark sought to pay tribute to his business
mentor and to express his confidence in the
current leadership of the Whiting School. The present dean,
Nicholas P. Jones, a former chair of the
school's Department of
Civil Engineering, was appointed to the post in August
2004.
Rome, who died in 1994, was a 1925 civil engineering
graduate of Johns Hopkins. He received an
honorary doctorate in humane letters from the university in
1982. Rome generously supported the
university's School of Advanced International Studies,
especially its China Studies Program. One of
the two SAIS buildings in Washington, D.C., bears Rome's
name.
"Ben Rome was not only my first boss but a wonderful
mentor as well. I owe much of my success,
and the success of our business, to Ben. He was a great
friend and teacher, and I am honored to be
able to memorialize his name at his alma mater," Clark
said.
Rome was president and CEO of the George Hyman
Construction Co. in Washington, which was
founded by his uncle. Rome hired A. James Clark shortly
after Clark finished college. In the late
1960s, Clark succeeded Rome as president of the Hyman Co.,
which later became known as the Clark
Construction Group. He is now chairman and chief executive
of Bethesda-based Clark Enterprises, a
holding company for a variety of businesses, including
Clark Construction Group.
Clark is a former member of the board of trustees of
Johns Hopkins Medicine. He previously
donated $10 million toward construction of a three-story
building for biomedical engineering research
and education on the university's Homewood campus. That
building, named Clark Hall in his honor,
opened in 2001.
"This is a transformative gift for the Whiting
School," said Nick Jones. "It represents a
visionary commitment from an extraordinary person who is
not only supporting the Whiting School but
also honoring the connection that his mentor, Ben Rome, had
to Johns Hopkins and Johns Hopkins
Engineering. With this in mind, it is a particularly
special honor for me to be the first holder of this
deanship."
A formal ceremony for dedication of the deanship will
take place in the fall.
The Benjamin T. Rome Deanship becomes the third
endowed deanship in the nine schools at
Johns Hopkins. In 1997, Frances Watt Baker and Lenox D.
Baker, both physicians and double-degree
graduates of Johns Hopkins, endowed the deanship at the
School of Medicine. In 1999, international
telephone and cable television entrepreneur J. Barclay
Knapp endowed the deanship of the Krieger
School of Arts and Sciences in memory of his father.
Clark's $10 million commitment for the Engineering
School deanship counts toward the $3.2
billion goal of the Johns Hopkins: Knowledge for the World
campaign, which is scheduled to conclude in
December. As of April 30, total commitments to the campaign
had reached $3.152 billion. The
campaign, which benefits both The Johns Hopkins University
and The Johns Hopkins Hospital and
Health System, has focused on endowment for student aid and
faculty support; research, academic
and clinical initiatives; and building and upgrading
facilities on all Johns Hopkins campuses.
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