The Loft Theatre to be Renamed for Professor Clark in Celebration of 50 Years of Service
The College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) and its Department of Drama are proud to announce an initiative to rename the Loft Theatre (formerly the Black Box Theatre) in the Syracuse Stage/Drama Theater Complex in honor of James A. Clark, professor of theater management, who is retiring after an extraordinary 50-year career with Syracuse University.
The James A. Clark Theatre Fund
Support the operations and programming within the theater, ensuring that Professor Clark’s legacy of excellence and innovation continues to inspire future generations of theater professionals.
Make Your Gift
Professor Clark hard at work in his early years at Syracuse.
A History of Leadership and Teaching
Professor Clark's connection to the University began in 1976 when he was named managing director of Syracuse Stage and joined the drama department faculty. Over the next five decades, his leadership helped shape both institutions, which not only share a theater complex but a unique affiliation that allows drama students to gain experience and learn from theater professionals in all areas of study.
From 1992 to 2007, Professor Clark served simultaneously as chair of the Department of Drama and producing director of Syracuse Stage, guiding the department and regional theater through a period of extraordinary growth and national recognition. As program coordinator of theater management, he mentored generations of students, sharing his deep knowledge of the business of theater and fostering the professional development of emerging arts leaders.
During Professor Clark’s tenure, he oversaw three major capital projects at the theater complex: the 1980 renovation of the old Regent movie house into the John D. Archbold Theatre; the subsequent addition of the Sutton Pavilion, a versatile cabaret space; and the addition of a classroom building in 1992.
Professor Clark receives the Chancellor’s Citation Lifetime Achievement Award from Chancellor Kent Syverud.
Community Commitment
Beyond Syracuse, Professor Clark has served as a consultant and on-site reporter for the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts and numerous theater companies and university drama programs across the country. His commitment to the Central New York community has been equally profound, serving on the boards of the University Hill Corporation, the East Genesee Regent Association and the Community Wide Dialogue to End Racism.
In 2025, Syracuse University honored Professor Clark with the Chancellor's Citation for Excellence, Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his extraordinary contributions throughout his career at Syracuse University and beyond.
The renaming of the Loft Theatre represents more than recognition of past achievements—it creates a lasting tribute to Professor Clark's vision and dedication. This intimate space, where countless students have honed their craft and where innovative performances continue to push creative boundaries, will now bear the name of someone who has devoted half a century to advancing the theater arts at Syracuse University, in the state of New York and across the country.
Supporting the James A. Clark Theatre Fund
To commemorate this milestone, we invite the VPA community to contribute to the James A. Clark Theatre Fund. Gifts to this fund will directly support the operations and programming within the theater, ensuring that Professor Clark’s legacy of excellence and innovation continues to inspire future generations of theater professionals.
Your contribution will help maintain the theater as a vibrant space for student performances, experimental works and the kind of bold artistic expression that has defined Professor Clark's career. Whether you are an alumnus who benefited from Professor Clark’s teaching and mentorship, a colleague who has collaborated with him or a community member who has experienced the magic of theater through his leadership, your gift will honor his extraordinary impact.