Outdoor Orientation.
Twenty-eight freshmen received an early introduction to Clarkson by
participating in the first annual freshman orientation trips. Arriving on campus four days earlier
than their classmates, these adventuresome young men and women were assigned to one of four
excursions, depending on their previous experience. Each trip included six to 10 freshmen, two
or three upperclass trip leaders and a member of Clarkson's faculty or staff.
One went backpacking on the gentle terrain around Cranberry Lake. A second went
mountain-climbing in the Great Range which included Wolfjaws, Gothic, Armstrong, and
Saddleback Mountains. The third climbed Dix Mountain, at 4,857 feet, the sixth highest
mountain in the Adirondacks. The fourth canoed for 16 miles of open lake and river down the
winding Raquette River.
Engineering Science Building.
As another step in Clarkson's "Plan Three," the gradual
unification of the campus on the hill, a new engineering and science laboratory building was
erected near the ERC. Housing some of the faculty teaching science and environmental
engineering, this new building contained offices, research laboratories, and student laboratories.
It was a 22,000 square foot, two-story structure designed by the architectural firm of Sargent,
Webster, Crenshaw, and Folley, with Michael Greenlee in charge. He also designed the ERC.
Like the ERC, this building featured passive solar heating design to conserve energy. It was
erected within one year, and was named in honor of alumnus William Rowley '48. (See p. 552)
SWE Regional Conference.
Mid-March saw 140 representatives from colleges throughout the
Northeast attend a Region I conference on the Clarkson campus of the Society of Women
Engineers. Under the overall direction of Amy Bergerstock and Andi Logel, its theme, "The
Making of a Professional," stressed the importance of developing skills that would prove
essential in the future. Carefully planned by MaryAnn La Barre and Cheryl Kent, workshops
emphasized both the technical and nontechnical aspects of future careers: "What is the Process
Engineer?"; "The Opportunities of Graduate School"; "Your Resume: Will it be Screened In or
Screened Out?" This last one was conducted by Ms. Susan O'Toole, professional recruiter for
General Electric, who discussed resume preparation, giving helpful hints for both summer and
professional job search campaigns.
As part of this conference, a Career Fair was held in the ERC Commons with
representatives from 10 corporations discussing career opportunities and employment prospects
informally with interested students. Other events in the conference included a tour of the
Corning Glass Works plant in Canton, and a wine-tasting seminar conducted by President Plane
highlighting some of the finer points of domestic wine tasting and selection. During the
weekend, the visitors were housed in Clarkson's dorms and on-campus apartments.
Biology First Prize.
Two sophomore biology majors, Mark Herwig and Karl Swisher, walked
away with the $150 first prize at the Hartwick College Intercollegiate Symposium in Oneonta,
New York, in April. Their paper,
Diurnal Vertical Migration Patterns of Zooplankton in a
Small Adirondack Lake
, was deemed to be the best.
By invitation only, this two-day conference on "Energy, Environment, and Society"
drew participants from New York and New England and included lectures from guest speakers,
films, panel discussions on acid rain, and student presentations.
