N.C. A&T College of Engineering Receives $1M from Clark Foundation for Scholarships

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (May 28, 2021) – North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s College of Engineering has received a $1 million investment from the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation.

North Carolina A&T will use the foundation’s investment over two years to fund completion scholarships with an emphasis on supporting eligible students from Washington, D.C.

Half of the investment funds are current use to support students at risk of withdrawing from the university – where it typically takes five years to earn an engineering degree – because of unmet financial need. The A&T Center for Academic Excellence uses data analytics to identify students who are eligible for this assistance.

The remainder of the investment funds are committed to launch a matching gift campaign to bolster an Engineering Completion Scholarships Endowment to support students with unmet financial need to reduce withdrawals. Completion scholarship recipients have a dedicated academic advisor for regular meetings where discussions around performance and overall well-being will take place along with semester assessments of their progress toward completing their engineering degree.

“Our investment in N.C. A&T will help hundreds of students ensure their path to college completion," said Joe Del Guercio, president and CEO of the A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation. “Our partnership with N.C. A&T is consistent with our commitment to producing a robust and diverse field of future engineers.”

The investment from the Clark Foundation is already paying dividends. To date, 65 students – including three from Washington, D.C. – have been supported with completion scholarships for the spring 2021 semester. The COVID-19 pandemic left many of them without reliable income to continue the pursuit of their engineering degrees.

With the allocation of nearly $250,000 in Clark Foundation scholarships, all of these students are now in good academic and financial standing with the COE and the university -- and on track to graduate in either May or December 2021.

The Clark Foundation’s $1 million investment in the COE will continue to strengthen A&T’s retention of high-potential underrepresented students with financial need.