Soccer.
Finishing third in the ICAC with a four and two record in that league, Coach Ron
Cervasio took his young soccer team to its best record yet, a record of eight wins and four
losses. Bob Fennel led the team scoring with eight goals and four assists, tying for second place
in the ICAC. Freshman Blayne Hartman was outstanding in the goal until he was injured
midway through the season. With only two seniors leaving, Cervasio expected the team to do
better in 1972.
Mobile Laboratory.
Through the efforts of two civil and environmental department faculty
members, Alan Cassel and Charles Ott, Clarkson developed a mobile environmental laboratory.
This 23-foot mobile trailer was equipped with gas, electricity, hot and cold water, a portable
generator, and complete air and vacuum systems. Shelves built to hold food for the trailer were
loaded instead with complex testing equipment needed by the researchers. Additionally, a
drying oven helped determine the concentration of solids in the water being tested, and
bacteria-testing equipment determined the concentration of coliforms which detected the
presence of human fecal matter. Further equipment in this vehicle permitted its use as a weather
station, being equipped to study the effects of weather on water, and a small pilot plant which
allowed researchers to investigate alternatives for water and waste treatment.
This trailer-laboratory was driven to various lakes, rivers, and streams in the North Country for
on-the-spot experimentation in testing water quality. It also was equipped with an oven for
drying biological samples, an incubator for bio-assay purposes, and an organic carbon analyzer
for determining organic pollutants in water. On its first trip, this laboratory accompanied the
entire class of CE 483-Aspects of Stream Pollution to the Robert Moses State Park near
Massena. After spending the entire day testing and examining closely samples of mud and
water on that trip, one senior remarked, "All the book work and class work is great, but here we
are actually putting knowledge into practice."
Black Graduate Student.
Annette Noble became Clarkson's first black graduate student,
earning her master of science degree in 1971. She went on to earn her PhD and teach at the
University of Maryland.
Department Name Changes.
Effective in fall 1971, two departments changed their names to
reflect the needs of their majors: Electrical Engineering became Electrical and Computer
Engineering; Civil Engineering became Civil and Environmental Engineering.
BPS Degree.
In May 1971, the Board of Regents of the State University of New York granted
permission to those institutions which confer bachelor of science and bachelor of arts degrees to
confer the bachelor of professional studies degree. Its basic requirement was that one-quarter of
the course work must be done in the fields of liberal arts and sciences.
This degree was created to accommodate students whose career objectives could not be
met by either the BS or BA degrees. It allowed considerable flexibility in designing educational
programs to fit their specific career needs. Earlier, at its May meeting, Clarkson's Board of
Trustees had approved the recommendation of the Faculty Senate that Clarkson be allowed to
grant these BPS degrees.
