As a Samford University graduate, parent and trustee, W. Clark Watson has had many opportunities to get to know the school well, and that familiarity has only increased his appreciation for the school.

Watson, who was first elected to the board of trustees in 2003, served as vice chair for a year before being elected chairman in 2007.

As his experiences as a trustee have grown, he says, so has his appreciation for the university’s true commitment to its mantra, “for God, for learning, forever.’

“The more you learn about this school, the more you want to do for it,” said Watson, citing its commitment to Christ-centered excellence in education, research and overall student experience.

He points to Samford’s regional and national recognition for academic excellence.”These rankings will only get better as the resources of the university are increased,” says Watson, a member of the steering committee for the “Samford…the world is better for it” campaign.

“In a culture where character, commitment and accountability are often minimized and seldom taught, Samford is a rare crucible for the development of Christian commitment among college-age men and women,” says Watson.

“This combination of academic and Christian excellence results in Samford graduates becoming admired leaders throughout the world in a variety of industries, vocations and professions.”

“The metro-Birmingham area and the state of Alabama have no greater ambassador and contributor than Samford University,” he said, referencing the school’s significant economic impact on the area.

But Samford’s  influence, he notes, goes far beyond the city and state. “Students come from a variety of states and countries, and Samford graduates are recognized achievers throughout the world.”

For several years, his connection to Samford was closer to home when his daughter Elizabeth Ann Watson Hill ’07, M.S.E. ‘08 was enrolled.
“I could not have been more pleased with her experience,” he recalls. “Not only did she have a great academic experience, but the relationships that she developed with other students and faculty members will be of long-lasting value.”

One of his earliest ties to the school was as a student at Cumberland School of Law, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1981 after compiling an impressive list of academic and national moot court honors.

As a partner in the Birmingham law firm of Balch & Bingham, he is one of the state’s most respected specialists in banking, bankruptcy and creditors rights. His busy law practice, and his active involvement at The Church at Brook Hills, would seem to leave little time or energy to devote to a university fundraising campaign.

Just as he considers his own giving to Samford to be a wise investment in the future of its students, he is sure that the school’s strengths he appreciates so well will strike a chord with other campaign donors.

“Both past contributors and new friends of Samford should participate enthusiastically.”