Welcome, President Marc and Seema Christensen!
From the time I first set foot on Clarkson’s campus in the Fall of 1977, I was blessed with outstanding faculty who displayed exactly what every young person interested in learning needs most: hard work, dedication to seeking and understanding the truth in our physical world, and a genuine concern for our planet. As a graduating senior in 1981, I was again blessed when Norbert Ackerman, Ph.D., then Chair of the CEE Dept., approached me about extending my stay at Clarkson and enrolling in the CEE Graduate Program. I did so and my graduate-school experience at Clarkson was even better than undergrad because I got to see the faculty up close and become even more aware of their wonderful academic and personal traits.
I can say with confidence that the most important factor in my long career as a professional engineer was Clarkson, and specifically, the outstanding faculty role models. I’ve maintained contact with Clarkson over the years (through the CEE Engineering Advisory Council), and I’m pleased to say this quality of outstanding faculty has continued. So much so, that I encouraged my children to consider attending Clarkson. My two sons have both elected to do so. My oldest son, Case (BSCE ’20, MSCE ’22 anticipated), had just as wonderful an experience as I did at Clarkson, and is now very much enjoying his first full-time employment at an engineering consulting firm, doing very valuable and interesting engineering work. My youngest son Joe, is currently a sophomore at Clarkson, also in the CE Department. While I am incredibly proud of both of them, I am also very proud to say that Clarkson has maintained this legacy of outstanding and caring faculty. I can hear it in my sons’ voices every time we speak of “how things are going up at Clarkson”.
You have joined a truly special institution. I am very happy for you both and I look forward to you leading Clarkson in the coming years.
Sincerely,
Will VanDeValk ’81, ’83