Late in the 1980s, Mary Theis joined their staff and assumed numerous duties
which demonstrated the diverse needs of the whole Center. Mary became Foreign Student
Advisor as well as director of Women's Programs among her many other duties. Incidentally, in
1994, she became the first woman administrator to be tapped into Phalanx.
This Center currently offers not only one-on-one counseling but also workshops and
seminars on numerous aspects of such personal needs of the students as time management,
long-distance relationships, alcohol awareness, human sexuality, stress control, family and
career, coping with loss, and eating disorders. It administers standardized tests as valuable aids
to self-awareness. With the able assistance of the upperclass men and women "peer
facilitators," its staff teaches most sections of Clarkson's innovative PE104, the "Personal
Wellness Course," required of all freshmen, and covers contemporary health topics of interest
to students: alcohol/drugs, stress, sexuality, diversity, nutrition, and personal fitness.
Commencement.
Spring Commencement awarded 558 bachelor of science degrees, one
bachelor of professional studies, 126 master's, and 30 PhDs.
Freshmen Design Course.
In spring, a group of 42 freshmen in the freshman engineering
course, "Introduction to Complex Design," worked on a preliminary design for a large chemical
plant for disposing of organic waste materials by either wet oxidation or conversion to oil. They
divided themselves into eight 5- or 6-person "companies" and included both process design and
assessment of capital operating costs for plants in their calculations.
"Scholars in Residence."
A program initiated by the dean of student affairs, A. George Davis,
brought to campus people widely known for their interest and competence in environmental
matters. First to be invited was Murray Bookchin, the environmental and science writer, who
spent three days in residence conferring with student groups and lecturing on "Alternative
Forms of Energy."
Recycling.
At the request of the executive secretary of the St. Lawrence County Environmental
Council, a group of enthusiastic engineering students made a significant contribution to
improve the environment of St. Lawrence County. During the academic year, under the
sponsorship of the Clarkson Student Chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers,
two key solid waste problems were attacked: paper recycling and junk automobile removal.
Sheds built by BOCES students for temporary storage of bundled papers were placed at the
Potsdam and Canton landfills. Periodically, this paper was removed from the sheds by the
Seaway Rehabilitation Center, sorted, and taken to a paper mill in Carthage for recycling.
Under the direction of Tom Mucenski, a senior ME student, six engineering freshmen
designed a box-like container to be welded to Potsdam's regular waste disposal truck for
wastepaper collection. To keep costs down and to make use of recycled materials, the students
built the sheet-metal covering for the container from washing machines discarded at the
Potsdam landfill site. Scrap iron was used for the frame, and a used latch from a discarded truck
door completed this 2- by 2- by 7 1/2-foot box which held 35 cubic feet or 97 week-household
loads of paper; it began weekly collection in May.
Ground and aerial surveys revealed between 500 and 600 junked automobiles in the
town of Potsdam alone. In January, a group of students arranged for a local scrap dealer's
portable crusher to compress 10 junked cars in a temporary storage area where village workmen
