Flash


President Tony Collins
Clarkson University President
Tony Collins.
At Clarkson University, we encourage all of our students to explore the creation of wealth for our society by spanning the boundaries of traditional academic areas and by stressing the interconnected processes of discovery, engineering innovation and enterprise. While the selection of an academic major will inevitably concentrate deeper specific knowledge, it is this broader understanding of the entire wealth cycle that makes our graduates in demand for the jobs that lead the global economy. The 98% placement rate of the Class of 2005, one of the highest in the nation, and an average salary of $46,000 attests to this demand.

This issue of Clarkson magazine pays tribute to the first step of wealth creation: the process of discovery. It is the crucial first step in addressing the complex layers of today's challenges in science, medicine, technology and engineering, which starts with an initial hypothesis and ends with a workable solution. Here you will meet a few of the faculty, students and alumni who are working on the frontlines developing breakthroughs in cervical cancer, applying biotechnology to improve health care monitoring and inventing state-of-the-art materials that enable scientists to continue to uncover the mysteries of our universe. (See pp. 2-5, 26).

In our programs in engineering, the sciences, business and the humanities, our approach to education is designed to encourage all students to develop critical and innovative thinking skills and to ignite in each of them that passion and appreciation for discovery. Here our size as the eighth smallest nationally ranked research institution is our advantage, fostering opportunities for cross-discipline collaborations among students and faculty that are simply not possible at larger, more rigid institutions.

A good example is Prof. Jim Peploski's CSI-style freshman chemistry course where students learn the principles of chemistry through hands-on investigations. (See p. 6). These emerging scientists and engineers will one day make new discoveries that will lead to new technology and breakthroughs in human understanding.

Alumnus Frank Campbell '42 has been a leader in bridging discovery with engineering and enterprise throughout his highly successful career at General Electric's Knolls Atomic Power Laboratory. Recently, my wife, Karen, and I had the pleasure of visiting with Frank and his wife, Edie, at their home in Scotia, N.Y. For more than 60 years, the Campbells have been active members of our community, offering their energy and support to the University. They have participated in Clarkson's growth from a highly respected technological college to an internationally recognized research institution. This spring, the Campbells made a generous unrestricted $1 million leadership gift to Clarkson, which reflects their commitment to Clarkson and recognition of our ongoing evolution to excellence. (See p. 8).

It is this evolution today that safeguards and ensures our future. I invite all of you, as stakeholders in Clarkson, to actively participate in this future with us.