Philanthropy
He offered to fund a PhD program in physics at the University of New Orleans, and the Chancellor, Gregory O'Brien, attempted to convince him to dedicate the money to various other causes at the University. As a result of this, Clark backed out of his offer, and instead decided to contribute money to Stanford, where he had served as a faculty member.
Clark's philanthropic focus has been to contribute to Stanford University where he was an electrical engineering professor. In 1999, Clark pledged $150 million to the university to go towards erecting the James H. Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and towards the sciences for interdisciplinary biomedical research, including stem cell research. Construction started in 2001 and was completed in the summer of 2003. The center is the hub for the Bio-X program. Additionally, some of his pledge went to procure new educational materials at Stanford, to provide positions for faculty who will be part of the research effort, and to sponsor scholars among graduate students.
In 1999, Clark was honored as number two on Slate Magazine's list of the 60 largest charitable contributions of 1999. His number two spot was in recognition of his $150 million pledge to Stanford University which was the largest single gift to Stanford since the founding grant and among the largest ever in higher education.
In September 2001, Clark stopped payment on $60 million of the $150 million pledge to Stanford University for Biomedical Science, citing anger over President Bush's restrictions on stem cell research. His decision did not halt the production of the James H. Clark Center which opened in 2003. Stanford's comment in their press release addressing Clark's action was: “While we are saddened by Mr. Clark’s decision, we are deeply grateful for the $90 million he already has committed to The James H. Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, and we appreciate his strong feelings on this subject.”
In the Fall of 2005 Clark and David Filo of Yahoo! each donated $30 million to Tulane University's School of Engineering for merit-based scholarships to provide education to deserving students regardless of financial situation in the discipline of engineering. However, after Tulane's restructuring that saw the elimination of nearly all engineering disciplines, the board requested Clark and Filo allow the funds to be used for other programs.
He is a board member for the national council of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and contributes towards the organization. Furthermore, the Perlman Music Program has recognized him for his continued philanthropic efforts towards their organization and their endowment fund.
Read more about this topic: James H. Clark
Famous quotes containing the word philanthropy:
“... the hey-day of a woman’s life is on the shady side of fifty, when the vital forces heretofore expended in other ways are garnered in the brain, when their thoughts and sentiments flow out in broader channels, when philanthropy takes the place of family selfishness, and when from the depths of poverty and suffering the wail of humanity grows as pathetic to their ears as once was the cry of their own children.”
—Elizabeth Cady Stanton (1815–1902)
“I shall not be forward to think him mistaken in his method who quickest succeeds to liberate the slave. I speak for the slave when I say that I prefer the philanthropy of Captain Brown to that philanthropy which neither shoots me nor liberates me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Almost every man we meet requires some civility,—requires to be humored; he has some fame, some talent, some whim of religion or philanthropy in his head that is not to be questioned, and which spoils all conversation with him. But a friend is a sane man who exercises not my ingenuity, but me.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)