By 1995, the number of overseas opportunities had grown to include Potsdam
University (Germany), Monash University (Australia), Ottawa and Queen's Universities
(Canada), Shanghai University (China), and Lulea University (Sweden).
New Faculty.
New to the faculty in the fall were Eric Thacher, MIE; Nsima Obot and Ross
Taylor, ChE.; Athanassios Fokas, math and computer science; and Ralph Janaro, management.
Library Move.
After a year of planning and two weeks of execution, all of the books,
periodicals, theses, and dissertations held in Clarkson's library were moved from the Burnap
Library to the new location in the new Educational Resources Center. In addition to the closed
stacks stored in the fourth floor of Snell Hall, the 50,000 technical reports, and the hordes of
movies, cassettes, pamphlets, records, slides, maps, microfilm, and microfiche also were
brought to the new library from their previous storage areas across campus.
Thirty-five staff and student members of the library and 30 members of the College
maintenance crew moved this library material. Needed for this task were more than 400
professional library book cartons and another 500 old beer cartons. Not only was a steady
stream of cartons from all three floors of the library being sent down the conveyor constantly to
be hauled away, but three trucks were kept
in use: one loading, one unloading, and
one in transit. These boxes were marked with colored stickers to enable the entire sections of
the library to be moved without confusion. (
To accomplish this huge undertaking, Clarkson had to call on the maintenance crew, the
library staff, and students. Then, to get some of the huge books out of the basement, the
maintenance crew cut a hole four feet square in the floor, through which a hefty student passed
up the books. For the upper floors of the library stacks, the movers used a chute to move the
books quickly. They also used a construction lift and whatever other means they could devise-
but all the material was cleared out in only 10 working days.
Congdon Dormitory.
The former home of Potsdam College's Research and
Development Center (RADC) (the former Congdon Campus School) was renovated for
use in the fall as a Clarkson dormitory. Clarkson had purchased the building
from SUNY in 1957 for $150,000. Then, in 1980, when the RADC Campus School
program moved to the Potsdam State campus, Clarkson renovated the building to
house 170 students in 64 rooms on its three floors, plus a multipurpose lecture
hall, and large study area; meals would be taken at Lewis House across the
street.
In fall 1989, the College allowed 50 members of the new Clarkson fraternity, Sigma
Chi, to live together on the third floor of Congdon as a substitute fraternity house. Then, in
1992, the building was closed completely, and the fraternity members were moved into hill
dormitories. Later, in 1994, Sigma Chi was allowed to move back into Congdon.
Record Freshman Class.
A record 825 freshmen were enrolled in September from the more
than 3,000 applications received from across the country. Representing an increase of more
than 10% from the previous year, this figure revealed an increase of more than 250% over the
last eight years.
Of this 825, 231 graduated in the top five percent of their class, while 688 were in the
top quarter of their high school class. As noted in
The New York Times
, only 72 of the 3,095
