Clarkson awards degrees to more than 700 graduates

Watertown Daily Times (NY)

May 12-- May 12--POTSDAM -- Gregory L. Verdine, the Erving Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, one of two recipients of honorary doctorates Saturday at Clarkson University, had simple advice for graduates.

"Someone here at Clarkson has given you a gift that has provided grace, shape and definition to your life. Perhaps it was an educator or a teaching assistant, a house master, a counselor, coach, or, God knows, maybe even a dean," he said. "If you haven't already had the opportunity to say thank you, it's never too late. Seek them out and say it in a firm, and clear voice; say it like you mean it. Live your life in honor of their gift. Then find someone in need of a gift from you."

Clarkson University awarded degrees to 752 students Saturday, representing 27 states, 22 countries and 57 of New York's 62 counties.

U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., began his address with tax advice, telling students and their families to take the $2,500 tuition tax deduction that is available on federal tax forms.

Nearly a quarter of people eligible for the deduction don't claim it, he said.

"The world into which you are graduating is moving so very fast," Mr. Schumer said. "This is an era of profound economic and social change. In the old days when you graduated from college, the odds were pretty high that you would have the same job in the same field for 40 years. That's not true any more. Most of you will have several jobs, many of you several careers. Along with the economic changes, the internet has put so much information at our fingertips it is sometimes hard to figure out what's important. And to distinguish between what's true and what isn't. All too often the loudest voices get the most attention."

Mr. Schumer said the graduates' generation is suited, especially with their education from Clarkson, to adapt to the changes in the world.

Dorr B. Begnal, a member of the Clarkson class of 1983 and co-founder and managing director of Winthrop Square Capital, was awarded an honorary doctorate of science for his career as a successful private market investor with a lifelong commitment to ethical philanthropy through support of charitable organizations and a special dedication to higher education and the welfare of animals.

"I came to this campus almost 40 years ago," Mr. Begnal said in his remarks. "My first impression was how incredibly capable my classmates were, and even though they were my peers, I truly admired them."

Over the years, he said, he has met many Clarkson alumni who gave him the same impression.

"What I have realized is that Clarkson produces great problem-solvers," Mr. Begnal said. "Usually, they're the person in the room that points out the best solution, which was almost always the most overlooked and almost always the simplest."

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