School Name Changed.
Because of this availability of scholarship money for "college"
students, but not "school" students, the Board of Trustees asked State permission to amend the
charter to change the name. Furthermore, in the minds of some people the word school implied
inferiority as regards to standards of scholarship, when compared with a college or a university.
For this reason, and in order to prevent the possibility of being excluded from those
scholarships, representatives of Clarkson Trustees, the state education department, and the
board of regents met in conference during the summer of 1913. As a result, the charter was
changed.
This instrument witnesseth that the Regents of the University of the State of New York have amended the
charter granted March 19, 1896, to the Thomas S. Clarkson Memorial School of Technology in Potsdam, N.Y., by
changing its corporate name to that of
Thomas S. Clarkson Memorial College of Technology,
and, further, by authorizing the College to confer appropriate collegiate degrees upon its graduates who duly earn
the same, and also to confer such degrees upon those who duly earn them in post graduate work there done.
Granted September 25, 1913, by the Regents of the University of the State of New York, executed under their seal
and recorded in their office, Number 2379.
[Seal] Pliny Sexton, Vice Chancellor
On September 25, the Charter of the school was amended changing the name from
School to College, and authorizing the College to grant its own degrees, including graduate
degrees. With this change came a change in the name of the head of the institution so that
Director Brooks became President Brooks.
Three observations need to be made about that amended charter. First was the change
from School to College. The primary reason for that change was the establishment of
scholarships by the legislature for the aid of the state's students in New York colleges. Article
77 of that law read in part that the college selected by the person entitled to the scholarship
must be within the state and incorporated as a college and authorized under the laws of the
state. Because it was passed in spring 1913, the Trustees wanted to make sure that Clarkson
students could avail themselves of its benefits by the beginning of the fall semester. Clarkson's
tuition at the time was $100, but other expenses (gym fee, deposit fee, books, stationery,
instruments added to the room and board and laundry costs) brought the yearly cost of attending
Clarkson to $315. Thus, these scholarships would be of considerable help to incoming students.
In fact, four of the freshmen entering in fall 1913 were recipients of regents scholarships.
Second, the amended charter authorized Clarkson to grant collegiate degrees itself. Until
this change, the Bachelor of Science degrees were awarded by the University of the State of
New York.
Third, the amended charter authorized the awarding of graduate degrees. The first two
Master of Science degrees were awarded in 1916. The first Doctor of Philosophy in 1964.
Alumni Fund.
In 1913, under Grover C. Burrows, as secretary and treasurer of the Alumni
Association, subscriptions to two funds were solicited: the Clarkson Tech Alumni Fund and the
Clarkson Tech Scholarship Fund. The accounts were started with a balance of $29.17 from the
Clarkson Alumni Association. In the previous year, subscriptions had been solicited to support
athletics, and it was decided to keep all these receipts in the same account. Thus, the entire
