Shubert Receives Major Gift from Alexander & Jennifer Clark
John Fisher, Executive Director of the Shubert Theatre, is delighted to announce a major gift of one-and-a-half million dollars from Board member Alexander Clark and his wife Jennifer. This is the largest gift the Shubert Theatre has received from an individual donor in its 104-year history. This major gift will provide support to the theatre and will be recognized as the Alexander and Jennifer Clark Performing Arts Center during the next 10 years.
Alexander and Jennifer’s support of the Shubert Theatre through the years has been a tremendous example of personal giving. With this transformational gift, they hope to inspire other individuals to support the legendary theatre. During the Shubert’s 100th Anniversary, Alexander and Jennifer envisioned a rebirth of the Shubert Theatre as a performing arts center for the New Haven community and the next generation of theatre-goers.
As a not-for-profit organization, the Shubert Theatre relies on donations from individual donors, grants and sponsorships to supplement revenue generated from ticket sales. This gift reinforces the positioning of the Shubert Theatre as a non-commercial, donor-supported entity.
The Clarks have been enthusiastic theater patrons, since their time as Yale students. Alexander sits on the Shubert Theatre/CAPA CT Board of Directors. The Clarks are substantial supporters of the theatre and play an integral role in sustaining the legendary Shubert Theatre for future generations to experience and enjoy.
ABOUT ALEXANDER AND JENNIFER CLARK:
Originally from Jackson, Mississippi, Alexander Clark moved to New Haven, Connecticut to attend Yale University. While studying at Yale, Alexander met Jennifer Staple, a fellow student. Alexander graduated from Yale in 2004 with a Bachelor of Arts in English, Jennifer graduated in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biology and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, and the couple has remained in the New Haven area since. In honor of their appreciation of Shubert Theatre and New Haven, Alexander and Jennifer were married on the theatre’s legendary stage in June 2009.
When Alexander was a 7th grader, he founded his company, Technolutions, which has served the education industry for more than two decades. In 2000, when Alexander was a college freshman, Technolutions introduced Slate, its flagship information management system. Alexander chose New Haven for Technolutions corporate headquarters, and its illuminated signage adorns the top of the Gold Building downtown, a testament to his investment in calling New Haven his corporate home. Slate is now the preeminent technology solution for higher education admissions and advancement, trusted by more than 950 colleges and universities worldwide. Over the past four years, the Slate Launchpad training program has brought more than 1,800 professionals to New Haven with more than 7,200 hotel nights and generating millions of dollars in local economic impact. Alexander was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Quinnipiac University in 2018 for his work as an entrepreneur and philanthropist. Technolutions’ annual user conference, the Slate Innovation Summit, was launched at the Shubert Theatre in 2013.
In 2000, Jennifer Staple Clark, then a sophomore at Yale University, founded Unite For Sight in her dorm room. The non-profit is now a leader both in global health education and in providing cost-effective care to the world's poorest people. The organization empowers communities worldwide to improve eye health and eliminate preventable blindness. For the past 15 years, Unite For Sight holds their annual conference at Yale and the Shubert Theatre each Spring, attracting 2,000 national and international attendees. These attendees stay at area hotels, and shop and dine at local businesses, further contributing to New Haven’s economic growth.
Alexander and Jennifer together founded Slate School, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit elementary school that cultivates, fosters ingenuity, and inspires a deep passion for lifelong learning and discovery. Sited on a 25-acre nature-based campus in North Haven, Connecticut, Slate School is the only independent elementary school in the United States to offer need-blind admissions and to meet 100% of all demonstrated need for each admitted student.
For more information:
Technolutions—technolutions.com
Unite For Sight—uniteforsight.org
Slate School—slateschool.org