PRESIDENTIAL Marc P. Christensen, Ph.D. P.E. Seventeenth President of Clarkson University Saturday, October 15, 2022 Inauguration
CLARKSON KNOWS WHO IT IS & WHY IT MATTERS
“Clarkson has a long-held reputation for producing some of the sharpest analytic minds in our nation’s history. This storied legacy, combined with the University’s achievements in advancing social mobility and the career trajectories for alumni, affirms Clarkson’s position as a bold leader among higher education institutions. Clarkson knows who it is and why it matters.”
— MARC P. CHRISTENSEN, Ph.D. P.E.
MARC P. CHRISTENSEN
MARC P. CHRISTENSEN, Ph.D. P.E. is globally recognized as one of the nation’s key leaders in mapping photonic technology onto applications used for national security. In 2007, DARPA identified Dr. Christensen as a “rising star in microsystems research” for his development of an adaptive multi-resolution imaging architecture, and selected him to be one of the first of the 24 DARPA Young Faculty Award recipients.
From 1991 to 1998, he was a staff member and technical leader in BDM’s Sensors and Photonics group (now part of Northrop Grumman Mission Systems). His work ranged from developing optical signal processing and VCSEL-based optical interconnection architectures, to infrared sensor modeling, simulation and analysis. In 1997, he co-founded Applied Photonics: a free-space optical interconnection module company. His responsibilities included hardware demonstration for the DARPA MTO FAST-Net, VIVACE and ACTIVE-EYES programs, each of which incorporated precision optics, micro-optoelectronic arrays and micro-mechanical arrays into large system level demonstrations.
In 2002, he joined Southern Methodist University (SMU), where he rose through the ranks and served as the department chair of electrical engineering and dean of the Lyle School of Engineering. In 2010, he was selected as the inaugural Bobby B. Lyle Professor of Engineering Innovation. Dr. Christensen’s research in photonics has focused on solutions using light to transmit, process and sense information.
At SMU, he led a number of large multi-institutional collaborations focused on sensing and imaging at resolutions that previously defied quantification. In computational imaging, his research group transitioned an adaptive multi-resolution digital imager with performance surpassing the detector-limited resolution to defense partners.
In analog super-resolution, his group demonstrated for the first time an active imaging system with performance surpassing the diffraction limit (6x) of the passive camera system in an uncalibrated uncontrolled 3D macroscopic environment. In biophotonic sensing, the team demonstrated an unprecedented sensitivity electric field sensor that was orders of magnitude smaller than previous designs, thereby enabling a sensor for nerve action potentials. Most recently, to enable our troops to see around corners, he led a team of researchers from SMU, Harvard, Rice, Northwestern and Carnegie Mellon, as part of the DARPA REVEAL Program, in prototyping novel indirect imaging architectures.
In 2008, Dr. Christensen was recognized for outstanding research with the Gerald J. Ford Research Fellowship. In 2011, he was recognized for outstanding and innovative teaching as a recipient of the Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor Award. Dr. Christensen has co-authored over 100 journal and conference papers. He holds 10 patents spanning the fields of free space optical interconnections and computational imaging. Dr. Christensen received a BS in Engineering Physics from Cornell University in 1993, an MS in Electrical Engineering from George Mason University in 1998 and a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering from George Mason University in 2001
17th President of Clarkson University
ACADEMIC PROCESSION
UNIVERSITY MARSHAL
CLARKSON ROTC COLOR GUARD
BROCKVILLE PIPES AND DRUMS
STUDENT BODY REPRESENTATIVES
ALUMNI ASSOCIATION EXECUTIVE COUNCIL MEMBERS
SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES COUNCIL MEMBERS
WALLACE H. COULTER SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING COUNCIL MEMBERS
EARL R. AND BARBARA D. LEWIS SCHOOL OF HEALTH SCIENCES COUNCIL MEMBERS
DAVID D. REH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS COUNCIL MEMBERS
DELEGATES
FACULTY TRUSTEES
INAUGURAL PARTY
CHAIR OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
PRESIDENT
INSTALLATION CEREMONY
PRELUDE
Clarkson University Student Orchestra
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Rebecca A. Pelky, Assistant Professor of Humanities & Social Sciences PROCESSIONAL
Brockville Pipes and Drums and Wyatt MacPherson ’26
WELCOME
Thomas L. Kassouf ’74, Chair of the Board of Trustees INVOCATION
Abul N. Khondker, Associate Professor, Executive Officer of Electrical & Computer Engineering
NATIONAL ANTHEMS
Clarkson University Pep Band
GREETINGS
Alexander Cohen, Chair of Faculty Senate, Associate Professor of Political Science Amanda J. Zullo UGC’05, Principal of Tupper Lake Middle-High School
Jefry A. Lopez Rincon ’23, President of the Clarkson University Student Association Monica J. Young ’00, President of Clarkson Alumni Association Donna M. McGregor, President, St. Lawrence Health System/Canton-Potsdam Hospital Amanda J. Pickering ’94, Chair of Clarkson Administrative Council, Associate Vice Provost of Academic Affairs & Student Achievement
Ann Barrett, Chair of the Support Staff Council, Program Coordinator of Clarkson Ignite Reinhold J. Tischler, Mayor of Potsdam, New York Daniel G. Stec ’90, New York State Senator, 45th Senate District Michelle L. Baxter, Lt. Col., USAF, Chair of the Department of Air, Space & Cyberspace Studies
Michael W. Haney, Director, Advanced Photonics, Information Sciences Institute
INVESTITURE OF MARC P. CHRISTENSEN
Thomas L. Kassouf ’74, Chair of the Board of Trustees
INAUGURAL ADDRESS
Marc P. Christensen, Ph.D. P.E., 17th President of Clarkson University
ALMA MATER
RESEARCH AND PROJECT SHOWCASE
Nimanthi U. Abeyrathna PhD’25, Vice President of the Graduate Student Association
RECESSIONAL
POSTLUDE
Clarkson University Pep Band
OFFICERS
Thomas L. Kassouf ’74 Chair
Marc P. Christensen, Ph.D. P.E. President
Bayard D. Clarkson Sr., MD, H’74
Distinguished Vice Chair
Kenneth S. Lally ’79 Vice Chair
Kenneth J. Kline Treasurer
Lauretta M. Chrys UGC’98 Secretary Kelly O. Chezum ’04 Assistant Board Secretary
TRUSTEES
Anthony B. Bouchard ’85
Kathryn E. Campbell ’03
Robert A. Campbell ’61
Simoon L. Cannon ’97
Amy E. Castronova ’04
Lauretta M. Chrys UGC’98
Bayard D. Clarkson Jr., MD
Bayard D. Clarkson Sr., MD, H’74
Kathleen H. Cline ’85
Charles R. Craig
Karel K. Czanderna ’77
Peter J. Devlin ’80
Robert A. DiFulgentiz ’76
Christina A. Dutch ’91
David K. Heacock ’83
Thomas L. Kassouf ’74 Georgia Keresty ’83
EMERITI TRUSTEES
Kenneth R. Baker ’69
Dennis G. Brown Renso L. Caporali ’54, H’94
Lawrence J. Delaney ’57 Charles W. Deneka H’03 Charles S. Ehrlich ’56, H’02
Elizabeth A. Fessenden ’77, H’00
Judith J. Foster Richard R. Griffith ’69, P’01
William F. Helmer ’56
John B. Johnson Jr. H’01
PAST PRESIDENTS
Charles W. Eaton Director, 1896-1897
Barton Cruikshank Director, 1897-1901
William Sleeper Aldrich Director, 1901-1911
John Pascal Brooks Director, 1911-1928 President, 1932-1933
Joseph Eugene Rowe President, 1928-1932
James Shelby Thomas President, 1934-1940
Sanjeev R. Kulkarni ’84
Kenneth S. Lally ’79
Earl R. Lewis ’66
G. Michael Maresca P’18
John S. Mengucci ’84
Rajan Raghavan ’82
Cody A. Rosen ’13
Frank R. Schmeler ’64, P’91, P’93
Jean E. Spence ’79
W. Ashley Twining ’82
David A. Walsh ’67
Dennis G. Weller ’71
James F. Wood ’64
Robert R. Ziek Jr. ’78
John Alexander Ross President, 1940-1947
Jess Harrison Davis President, 1948-1951
William Gardner Van Note President, 1951-1962
William Louis Whitson President, 1963-1966
John W. Graham Jr. President, 1966-1974
Robert A. Plane President, 1974-1985
Eugene D. Jones H’00 John T. McLennan ’68, H’97
Ellsworth F. Vines ’65
Allan H. Clark President, 1985-1987
Richard H. Gallagher President, 1988-1995
Dennis G. Brown President, 1995-2003
Anthony G. Collins President, 2003-2022
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY
INSTITUTIONAL DELEGATES
1636 Harvard University Stephen Bird Alumnus
1701 Yale University
Debra E. Johns Institutional Representative
1743 University of Delaware Matthew Manierre Alumnus
1746 Princeton University
Sanjeev R. Kulkarni ’84 Professor
1791 University of Vermont Arthur Michalek ’03, MS’04 Alumnus
1793 Hamilton College Abigail Lee Alumna
1816 The State University of New York at Potsdam Philip T. Neisser, PhD Officer-in-Charge
1824 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Gary Zarr Vice President for Strategic Communications and External Relations
1826 Case Western Reserve University Hunter Peckham ’66 Emeritus Professor
1826 University College London Stephen Casper Alumnus
1829 Rochester Institute of Technology
Martha Whalen MBA’87 Alumna
1850 University of Rochester Laura Ettinger Alumna
1851 Albany Law School
Jeffrey Schanz
Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Chief of Staff
1851 University of Minnesota Suresh Dhaniyala Alumnus
1855 Michigan State University Thomas Young Alumnus
1856 St. Lawrence University Kathryn A. Morris President
1859
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art Laura Sparks President
1865 Cornell University Casey Jones Alumnus
1868 Wells College Alexandra Beck Alumna
1870 Syracuse University Mark Glauser Professor
1883
The University of Texas at Austin Jerry Gravander Alumnus
1892 Ithaca College Teresa Planty MBA’15 Alumna
1900 Carnegie Mellon University Natasha Banerjee Alumna
1906 The State University of New York at Canton Zvi Szafran
President
1911 Southern Methodist University Samuel S. Holland Dean of the Meadows School of the Arts
1946 Paul Smith’s College Nicholas Hunt-Bull President
2004 The University of Manchester Alastair Kocho Williams Alumnus
INSTITUTIONS SENDING GREETINGS
1693 William & Mary
1740 University of Pennsylvania
1785 University of Georgia
1797 Hartwick College
1801 University of South Carolina
1804 Ohio University
1809 Miami University
1817 University of Michigan
1819 Colgate University
1820 The University of Alabama
1821 The George Washington University
1836 Emory University
1838 Duke University
1841 Manhattanville College
1842 University of Notre Dame
1844 The State University of New York at Albany
1847 College of Mount Saint Vincent
1852 Tufts University
1853 University of Florida
1855 Butler University
1855 Michigan State University
1856 Seton Hall University
1856 University of Maryland
1858 Iowa State University of Science and Technology
1858 St. Bonaventure University
1861 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
1861 University of Washington
1863 University of Massachusetts Amherst
1865 Cornell University
1866 Roberts Wesleyan College
1866 University of New Hampshire
1867 West Virginia University
1868 University of California, Berkeley
1868 Wayne State University
1869 Purdue University
1870 Canisius College
1870 Missouri University of Science and Technology
1870 Stevens Institute of Technology
1870 The Ohio State University
1874 Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
1875 Shenandoah University
1878 Duquesne University
1878 Mississippi State University
1881 University of the Incarnate Word
1882 University of Findlay
1885 Arizona State University
Tempe
1885 Georgia Institute of Technology
1885 Stanford University
1885 The University of Arizona
1886 National Louis University
1889 Clemson University
1889 Elon University
1889 Webb Institute
1891 California Institute of Technology
1892 Central Michigan University
1895 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
1897 Trinity International University
1898 Northeastern University
1898 University of Louisiana at Lafayette
1899 Texas State University
1901 Montefiore School of Nursing
1905 Marist College
1905 St. Catherine University
1906 Georgia Southern University
1906 Valdosta State University
1908 Biola University
1910 Bowling Green State University
1912 The College of St. Scholastica
1913 The University of Texas at El Paso
1919 Northeast College of Health Sciences
1919 The New School
1927 University of Houston
1940 Illinois Institute of Technology
1945 Helene Fuld College of Nursing
1946 Portland State University
1955 New York Institute of Technology
1956 The University of New Orleans
1957 Oakland University
1957 State University of New York Stony Brook University
1961 Florida Atlantic University
1961 Jefferson Community College
1963 Kennesaw State University
1964 Cleveland State University
1964 Union Institute & University
1966 University of Maryland, Baltimore County
1997 Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering
CLARKSON UNIVERSITY
HISTORY
ON SEPTEMBER 2, 1896, 17 young women and men crossed the threshold of a new sandstone building to attend the first classes of the Thomas S. Clarkson Memorial School of Technology, named for a Northern New York businessman whose success reflected not only his acumen and diligence, but a deep concern for humanity. After a quarry accident took the life of Thomas Clarkson, his sisters Elizabeth, Lavinia and Frederica were inspired to establish, build and endow an educational institution that would embody his values and philosophy. The school in Potsdam grew to become a technical college in 1913 and, in 1984, a university with a technology-based mission. Today, Clarkson is a private, national research university and proven leader in technological education and sustainable economic development. Through more than 95 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, education, sciences and health professions, we educate 4,800+ students and pursue interdisciplinary research, scholarship and innovation. We ignite connections across disciplines, industries and social cultures to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and prepare the leaders of tomorrow. Alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. Clarkson’s main campus is located in Potsdam, New York, and additional graduate programs, online networks and research facilities are based near industry partners in Saranac Lake, Schenectady, Beacon and New York City.
MISSION
C
LARKSON UNIVERSITY is an independent, nationally recognized technological university whose faculty of teacher-scholars aspires to offer superior instruction and engage in high-quality research and scholarship in engineering, business, science, education, health and liberal arts. Our primary mission is to educate talented and motivated men and women to become successful professionals through quality precollegiate, undergraduate, graduate and professional continuing education programs, with particular emphasis on the undergraduate experience. Our community and campus settings enhance the quality of student life and afford students access to and interaction with their faculty. We value the diversity of our University community, and we strive to attune ourselves and our programs to our global, pluralistic society. We share the belief that humane economic and social development derive from the expansion, diffusion and application of knowledge.
INSTITUTIONAL SYMBOLS & ACADEMIC DRESS
THE MEDALLION AND CHARTER, which are presented to the president during the Inauguration, are symbols of the authority he assumes with his office.
Created by Tiffany and Company, the Clarkson medallion bears on one side the Clarkson family coat of arms, subsequently incorporated into the University seal; on the other side is a statement written by Matthew Clarkson in 1690 on the occasion of his appointment as Secretary of the Colony of New York. Matthew Clarkson was a direct ancestor of Thomas S. Clarkson, in whose memory Clarkson was founded. The quotation reads:
“Your Petitioner humbly prayes your sacred Majestie would in Your Bounty bestow on him wisdom in this office which hee shall indeavour to discharge with diligence.”
On March 19, 1896, the New York State Board of Regents granted a charter to the Thomas S. Clarkson Memorial School of Technology, a charter that was amended on September 25, 1913, changing the name from School to College. On February 24, 1984, the Board of Regents granted university status to Clarkson, and a new charter was issued.
The mace, which is carried ahead of the president and trustees by the marshal in the procession and recession, symbolizes the authority of the University. The mace has the seal of Clarkson University on one side and the previous seal of the Thomas S. Clarkson Memorial College of Technology on the other. It was crafted out of walnut by Leon William Strader and his son, Leon Wayne Strader, both former Clarkson University employees, now deceased.
THE HISTORY OF ACADEMIC DRESS begins with the earliest days of the oldest universities. A statute of 1321 required that all “Doctors, Licentiates, and Bachelors” of the University of Coimbra wear gowns. Both Cambridge and Oxford have made academic dress a matter of university control, including even minor details.
The first such code in the United States resulted from a conference on the subject at Columbia University in 1895. The following are a few of the major rules governing academic costumes and ceremony:
The front of the doctoral gown is paneled with velvet, with three matching velvet bars on the sleeve. The velvet is either black or the traditional color of the academic subject in which the degree was earned.
The colors associated with the different disciplines are:
Agriculture – Maize Arts, Letters, Humanities –White
Commerce, Accountancy, Business – Drab or Sapphire Blue Dentistry – Lilac Economics – Copper Education – Light Blue Engineering – Orange Fine Arts – Brown Forestry – Russet
Health Sciences –Sage Green
Journalism – Crimson Law – Purple
Library Science – Lemon Medicine – Green Music – Pink Nursing – Apricot Oratory – Silver Gray Pharmacy – Olive Green Philosophy – Dark Blue
Physical Education –Sage Green
Physical Therapy –Teal Physician Assistant –Medical Green
Public Administration –Peacock Blue
Public Health – Salmon Pink Science – Golden Yellow Social Work – Citron Theology – Scarlet Veterinary Science – Gray
Whether the gowns have coloring, the hoods must. The edging on the hood will correspond with the above listing. The lining will display the official colors of the college or university from which the degree was earned.
O Canada
O Canada! Our home and native land!
True patriot love in all of us command. With glowing hearts we see thee rise, The True North strong and free!
From far and wide,
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
God keep our land glorious and free!
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.
Star-Spangled Banner
Oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light, What so proudly we hailed at the twilight’s last gleaming?
Whose broad stripes and bright stars, through the perilous fight, O’er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming?
And the rockets’ red glare, the bombs bursting in air, Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there. Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave, O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave?
Alma Mater
Hear us, Clarkson, hail to thee. Hear us sing thy praise. We cherish dear the memory Of golden college days. Thy banner, green and gold, Shall stand until eternity. Alma Mater, strong and grand, Clarkson, hail to thee!