Anonymous donor gives Clark $1M for new honors program

Photo | Timothy Doyle Clark University, Worcester

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By Timothy Doyle

Clark University in Worcester received a gift of $1 million to design, develop, and launch an honors program at the school. The donor is a Clark alumnus who wishes to remain anonymous.

“The donor was compelled by the research and data we shared that demonstrated how powerfully an honors program can move us forward toward the goals articulated in our strategic framework, Clark Inspired,” Clark President David Fithian said in a Thursday statement to faculty and staff. “The gift is a testament to the notion that aspirational ideas and bold plans pursued with determination will attract investment in our University.”

The proposal for an honors program came from the liberal arts and undergraduate education strategic framework team, led by Professor Mary-Ellen Boyle, who served as Clark’s interim dean of the college for the past academic year, and a working group of faculty and staff.

The Undergraduate Academic Board has approved a pilot honors program for the coming fall semester. The pilot will invite sophomores and potentially some freshmen to both participate in the program and help to develop it.

“Provost Sebastían Royo and I anticipate that a Clark honors program will foster academic excellence and community across disciplinary boundaries and provide rich, immersive, and collaborative learning opportunities inside and outside of the classroom,” Fithian said. “Further, we expect that the honors program will work in tandem with departmental-level honors programs currently offered. It also is likely that the honors program will include, along with honors-level coursework, a service-focused program and other co-curricular opportunities such as workshops, student-organized events, and support for summer programming.”