TEMPE, ARIZ. (June 12, 2025) – Engineering consulting firm Terracon is proud to announce that Donald R. Clark P.E., a Senior Principal and Senior Consultant in the Phoenix office, is the recipient of the 2025 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award from the University of Colorado in Boulder.
Clark, who has been with Terracon for more than 30 years, established Terracon’s Denver (1992) and Phoenix (1995) offices and has made a lasting impact on the company. He has also mentored many Terracon employees over the years both in Arizona and across the country.
After graduating from the University of Colorado with his BS degree in civil engineering in 1972, Clark began a more than 52-year career as a consulting engineer for Fox and Associates in Wheat Ridge, Colorado. While at Fox, he started as a staff engineer, later became a division manager, and ultimately served as vice president. During this time, he obtained his MS degree in civil engineering, graduating with that degree in 1979 with an emphasis in geotechnical engineering and a certificate in management.
In late 1989, Clark accepted the position of principal and department manager with Western Technologies Inc. in Phoenix. In September 1992, he joined his current firm, Terracon Consultants Inc. Clark serves as a senior principal and senior consultant in Terracon’s Phoenix office. During his tenure with Terracon, he has also served as office manager in the firm’s Denver and Phoenix locations.
Don Clark
Clark’s experience includes providing consulting geotechnical engineering services on a variety of projects throughout the U.S., including geotechnical engineering assessments for buildings, roads, streets, highways, bridges, railroads, pipelines, retention ponds, solar projects, transmission lines, power plants, MSE retaining walls and reinforced soil slopes (RSS).
“I believe Don’s most important contributions are the impacts that he has had on those that he has influenced,” said colleague Ricardo Aguirre, of WEST Consultants, Inc. “Don has nurtured numerous people throughout his career leaving a lasting legacy. I am proud to call Don a friend.”
Clark has provided numerous designs for mechanically stabilized earth retaining walls, reinforced earth slopes, soil nail retaining walls and various types of shoring systems. His professional experience includes geotechnical evaluations of soil conditions for infrastructure improvements, commercial and industrial foundation and pavement construction, power generation and distribution facilities, pavements, and earthen dams. He is a Registered Professional Engineer in 15 states.
Clark is a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, an organization he joined while attending college. He was nominated and is a member of Chi Epsilon (the national honorary fraternity for civil engineering) and Tau Beta Pi. He is also a member of Forever Gold and the Colorado Alumni Association. His association with the University of Colorado also includes teaching intermediate soil mechanics at the CU Denver Center (1988-89), and financial support of the Clark Conference Room in the CU Boulder Engineering Center.
Clark and his wife Sharan have been married for 52 years and together established the Clark Endowed Faculty Fellowship in the Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering.
“His family’s history with CU Boulder, and Mr. Clark’s commitment to sharing his time, talents, and treasures with CU Boulder, is a testament to his servant leadership mindset and his pride for the University of Colorado Boulder and the College of Engineering and Applied Science. Our industry and our engineers are better because of Mr. Clark and all his contributions,” another of his colleagues noted in Clark’s nomination for the award.
One of Clark’s greatest enjoyments during his career has included mentoring younger engineers, helping with training for the future. Being in the “people helping people” profession of civil engineering, he hopes that his work on various projects has in some way improved life for humankind.
The University of Colorado 2025 Distinguished Engineering Alumni Awards Banquet was held on April 25.
About Terracon
Terracon is an employee-owned multidiscipline consulting firm comprised of more than 7,000 curious minds focused on solving engineering and technical challenges from more than 180 locations nationwide. Our talented employee-owners provide on-time and real-time data-driven insights to create an unmatched client experience that spans the lifecycle of any project, any size, anywhere. Terracon consistently ranks as a top 25 design firm by Engineering News-Record. Start to explore with us by visiting terracon.com.
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