1974
Impeachment hearings were begun against President Nixon in May; he resigned and Gerald
Ford became president in August. Nelson Rockefeller was sworn in as 41st vice president. In
September, President Ford gave Nixon an unconditional pardon. Patricia Hearst was
kidnapped. Oscars went to
The Sting
, Glenda Jackson, and Jack Lemmon. Hank Aaron broke
Babe Ruth's home-run record of 714 by 19 runs. The final SkyLab mission ended after three
astronauts spent 83 days orbiting in a space lab. Gary Player won his second Masters' Golf
championship in Atlanta. AT&T was sued by the Justice Department for anti-trust law
violation.
Upstairs, Downstairs
was the most popular PBS TV series. A grand jury indicted
seven presidential aides, the former attorney general, and two Nixon campaign aides for
conspiracy. West German Chancellor Willie Brandt resigned after a member of his staff was
unmasked as an East German spy. America's gasoline shortage worsened. As manager for the
Cleveland Indians, Frank Robinson became the first black baseball manager in the major
leagues. The public was reading
Jaws
and
Working,
watching
Chinatown
, and listening to
Streisand sing
The Way We Were
.
• President Plane
• "Daddy" Reynolds Died
• Chancellor Graham's Death
• Executive-in-Residence
• Graham Faculty Award
• Campus Items
• #1 Hockey Fan
• Hit-and-Run
• Pornography Blocked
• Drug Policy Approved
• Computer Science Option
• Soccer Stars
• Rangers' Blood Drive
• Streakers
• AKPsi Expelled
• Women's Hockey
• Thomas S. Clarkson Professor
• Seven Springs
• Graduation and Gasoline
• SCORE
President Plane.
Robert A. Plane was appointed as the twelfth president of Clarkson College
on February 6, 1974. A native of Indiana, Bob received his Bachelor of Arts degree from
Evansville (Ind.) College in 1948 and his PhD from the University of Chicago in 1951. Moving
to Cornell University, Bob became an instructor in 1952, assistant professor in 1954, associate
professor in 1958, and full professor in 1962. He had worked as a research chemist at Oak
Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory prior to going to Cornell.
He was associated with the Center for Environmental Quality Management at Cornell,
and served as provost of Cornell from September 1969 until September 1973. As chairman of
Cornell's Department of Chemistry from 1967-70, he also served for a short time as a faculty-
elected member of Cornell's Board of Trustees, and as acting president of the University during
brief absences of President Corson, whom he had succeeded as Cornell provost.
A professor of chemistry, Bob's field of specialization was metal ions in solution and in
enzymes. His publications included
Chemistry
, a general textbook co-authored with Michell J.
Sienko, professor of chemistry at Cornell. First published in 1957, this book became the most
widely used college chemistry text in the world. He also has co-authored four other books, has
written more than 70 research papers, and was co-editor of the Physical Inorganic Chemistry
Series of Monographs.
