CLARKSON RANKS SEVENTH AMONG NATIONAL SMALL RESEARCH UNIVERSITIES
This academic year has seen Clarkson University ranked among the top universities in "Innovation and Entrepreneurship" (Entrepreneur magazine, The Princeton Review), "Best Colleges" (Washington Monthly), "Best 361 Colleges" (The Princeton Review), "Most Wired Colleges" (PC Magazine, The Princeton Review), and among the best "National Universities," "Engineering Programs whose highest degree is a doctorate," "Supply Chain Management," "Environmental / Health" and "Civil Engineering" programs (U.S. News & World Report). Now, a new standard for measuring research universities places Clarkson seventh in the nation among 61 small research universities. The Faculty Scholarly Productivity (FSP) Index, developed by Dr. Lawrence Martin, graduate dean at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, incorporates a set of statistical algorithms to determine the most productive research universities. Released this week, data for the rankings was acquired from nearly 200,000 faculty members at 354 institutions representing 104 academic disciplines and nearly 7,300 Ph.D. programs throughout the U.S. The FSP Index compiled overall institutional rankings on 227 research institutions, divided among 166 large research institutions, which included 15 or more Ph.D. programs, as well as the 61 smaller research universities offering between one and 14 Ph.D. programs.

CLARKSON ALUM SELLS WORLD’S OLDEST HOCKEY STICK FOR $2.2 MILLION
The athletic skills that made Gord Sharpe ’85 a standout hockey player and captain of Clarkson University's 1984 - 85 hockey team may have been inherited from his parents, but it was the hockey stick he inherited from his great-uncle that would make it into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The "old stick," passed down to Sharpe by his Great-Uncle Melville Rutherford, was hand carved by Alexander Rutherford between 1852 and 1856 and has been authenticated by the Hockey Hall of Fame and others as the world's oldest hockey stick. "I had it for 30 years, and it was just sitting around the house," Sharpe stated in a Pro-Skate.com article. He knew the stick was old, and, therefore, had some worth, but until he decided to have it appraised for insurance purposes, Sharpe had no idea just how valuable his inheritance was. The world's oldest hockey stick appraised at over $4 million. The valuable piece of hockey memorabilia has been on display at Wayne Gretzky's restaurant in Toronto for the past few years. Recently, however, Sharpe decided to sell the world's oldest hockey stick on eBay and donate the proceeds of the sale to fanscharity.com and its World Charity Award Program. Fanscharity.com is an organization founded and run by Sharpe and his wife, Claudia. The goal of fanscharity.com is to help all charities increase funding, awareness, participation, and to educate children on the importance of charities. The stick received 26 bids worldwide, with the winning bid of $2.2 million coming from a Canadian who plans to display the stick at the Hockey Hall of Fame.

CLARKSON SCIENTIST WILL DISCUSS MERCURY HOT SPOTS IN NORTH AMERICA AND SUSPECTED CAUSES
Thomas M. Holsen, a professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Clarkson University, is one of a team of 11 independent scientists who have published two new peer-reviewed studies identifying five known and nine suspected biological mercury hot spots in northeastern North America. Holsen and two other members of the team will present their findings at a press conference January 9 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The press event will be hosted by Hubbard Brook Research Foundation. One of the suggestions made in the studies is that mercury emissions from U.S. coal-fired power plants may be responsible, in some instances, for the elevated concentrations of mercury found in fish and wildlife. According to the research team, reservoirs with large water level fluctuations and watersheds impacted by decades of acid rain are also particularly vulnerable to mercury pollution. In a conclusion that is sure to be controversial, the authors also state that the trading of mercury pollution as allowed in the recent U.S. EPA Clean Air Mercury Rule could perpetuate these biological mercury hotspots. The results of this study have prompted the development of new draft federal legislation aimed at tracking mercury pollution and its effects. A two-way teleconference service will be available. Reporters can listen and enter a queue to ask questions. To participate, dial: 1-888-313-1094 at 9:30 a.m. EST. The media is also invited to interview Professor Holsen upon his return from Washington. The papers will be published in the January issue of the scientific journal BioScience.  

CLARKSON PROFESSOR IS COLUMNIST FOR FORBES.COM
Clarkson University School of Business Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Marc Compeau made his debut as a columnist for Forbes.com on January 5 with the first of a bi-weekly feature offering advice and expertise to small business owners and emerging entrepreneurs. "This country runs on the passion and sweat of millions of small businesses," says Entrepreneurs Editor Brett Nelson, emphasizing Forbes.com's strategic niche interest in reaching a growing segment of this sector that operates on a micro-scale. And while Compeau's column is intended for what Forbes has characterized as "Mom and Pops," he plans to reflect Clarkson's programmatic emphasis in his editorial as often as possible to encourage small business owners to capitalize on the process of innovation and the adoption of technology to create value, while increasing their bottom lines. Appropriately, in his inaugural piece Compeau opportunely tailors the wisdom of some of the most innovative corporate CEOs for attaining success in the New Year, to speak to the small leaders of Main Street, rather than Wall Street, U.S.A. In fact, it is Compeau's passion and experience in starting and growing successful small businesses that drew the attention of Nelson when they met at the Forbes Media offices in New York City in November. "Brett [Nelson] and I talked a while about how entrepreneurs of small companies, particularly brick and mortar establishments, share the same passion, drive and fortitude as their corporate cousins, but they also face vastly different challenges," says Compeau. "It is in working with these businesses and in working alongside these entrepreneurs that I find incredibly invigorating and satisfying." Compeau believes his specific interest and fervor regarding small business growth, and his timely meeting with Nelson, resulted in a mutually beneficial partnership for not only Forbes.com and Clarkson, but for him personally and professionally as well.

CLARKSON RESUMES ECACHL PLAY WITH WEEKEND SERIES VS. CENTRAL NY RIVALS
As one of the hottest teams in the country, Clarkson University will look to ring in the New Year much the same way as it closed out 2006. Tied for the second-longest current winning streak in the nation, the Golden Knights own a 13-5-1 overall record and are ranked 9th in the latest USCHO.com/CSTV Division I Poll and USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine polls (Number 6 in the coaches poll). Guided by fourth-year head coach George Roll, associate coach Greg Drechsel and assistant coach Jean-Francois Houle, Clarkson has won seven straight for its most successful winning stretch in six seasons. The Knights, who began the 2007 portion of the schedule with a 4-2 exhibition victory over McGill University on Saturday at Cheel Arena, will play all of their remaining 15 regular season games against ECAC Hockey League competition. Clarkson begins the second-half stretch by hosting central New York foes Colgate and Cornell Universities this Friday and Saturday, both 7 p.m. starts. Tied for the best winning percentage in ECACHL action at .714%, the Green and Gold entered the week in a three-way tie for fourth in the conference standings with a 5-2 league mark. Clarkson is five points behind ECACHL frontrunner Quinnipiac, but the Knights have four games in hand over the Bobcats. Clarkson takes plenty of momentum into the New Year after a strong run to close out the first half. An 11-year drought in season-tournament action came to an end for Clarkson as the Golden Knights closed out 2006 with two impressive victories to claim the Badger Showdown title in Madison, Wis. Clarkson, which won its first holiday tourney since 1995, knocked off defending national champion and host University of Wisconsin, 6-2, in first round action before 13,661 at the Kohl Center on December 29. The Knights then became the first ECACHL squad to win the Showdown in 18 years of the tournament by skating past nationally ranked Lake Superior State, 3-2, in the championship game on December 30.

CLARKSON HOCKEY BROADCAST CENTRAL
Fans of Clarkson University hockey will be able to follow both Golden Knights Men’s and Women’s teams over the Internet through various multi-media options.

• Radio Broadcasts - All Clarkson Men's games and select Women's games produced by Cool 95.3 FM, with Bob Ahlfeld calling the action, can be listened to free of charge live over the Internet.
• Video Streaming of Clarkson Men's and Women's home games televised by the University's student-TV station, WCKN-TV, will be available on the Web. Clarkson Men's games will be available for a free trial period. All video streaming of Golden Knights Women's games that are broadcast by WCKN-TV will be shown free of charge.
• You can also follow Live In-Game scoring of all Clarkson Men's and Women's home games on CSTV Online GameTracker.
• Flash Presentation Recaps, produced by Clarkson University photographer Chris Lenney, of select Golden Knight Men's and Women's games can also be found on the Clarkson Athletic Department Web site.
• Podcasts of George Roll's Post-Game Comments compiled by the Clarkson Integrator's Chris Fohlin.
  
• Time Warner Cable will be televising the Union Game from Achilles Rink on January 20, St. Lawrence game from Appleton on January 23, and the Colgate Game on February 3 to most regions in New York state.  Check your local listings for your area.

For information on all of these formats please click here.

WOMEN’S HOCKEY NEWS:  KNIGHTS STREAK SNAPPED AT EIGHT IN 5-0 LOSS TO BOSTON COLLEGE
Allie Thunstrom and Deborah Spillane each recorded three-points as Boston College ended the Clarkson University Women's Hockey team's school-record winning streak at eight games with a 5-0 shutout of the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights, ranked 13th in the country, fell to 13-7-2 overall and have now concluded the regular-season non-conference schedule. Clarkson returns to New England next weekend with games at Brown and Yale. Boston College, ranked 11th in the country, completed a three-point weekend and improved to 12-5-2. Saturday's game only had a lopsided score as none of the other determining statistics favored Boston College dramatically. The Eagles' Kelli Stack scored the game's first goal at the 18:30 mark of the first period and Boston College's Becky Zavisza picked up her ninth goal of the season 11 minutes later, midway through the second period. Through the first two periods, BC held a small 19-18 advantage in shots on goal and led 2-0. It was the third period that really undid the Knights as the Eagles scored three goals in the final stanza, including two in the last three minutes of the game. Spillane scored at 1:54 of the third, followed by goals from Lee-J Mirasolu and Allie Thunstrom at 17:07 and 19:01, respectively. Boston College enjoyed a 13-8 advantage in shots in the final frame. Both teams were held scoreless on the power play as Clarkson went 0-for-5 with the man-advantage and Boston College was 0-for-4 up a skater. Stephanie Hansen (Calgary, Alb.) recorded 27 saves, losing only her second game of the season in 12 decisions. Molly Schaus made 26 saves in her second shutout of the season for Boston College.

KNIGHTS CLOSE NON-CONFERENCE SLATE WITH BEST-EVER SHOWING AFTER 74-63 WIN OVER CAZENOVIA
An early second-half 16-2 run helped the Clarkson University Men’s Basketball team pull away from Cazenovia after a tightly contested game in the first half as the Golden Knights picked up a 74-63 non-league victory Sunday afternoon at the Alumni Gymnasium. The Golden Knights improved to 9-2 overall with their fourth straight victory while the Wildcats dropped to 4-6. Clarkson’s record through 11 games is their best-ever non-conference schedule start, providing plenty of momentum entering the Liberty League slate next weekend at Hamilton. An evenly played first half ended in a 31-31 tie as neither team ever held more than a six-point advantage. Cazenovia started off with a modest lead, but the Knights went on an 8-0 run midway through the half to hold a 20-14 advantage. Cazenovia responded with a 14-6 run over 5:44 late in the opening period to take a small two-point lead. With a last second lay up from Brandon Linton (Queens, N.Y.) as time was expiring in the first half, the Knights tied the score up at 31-31. With two minutes gone in the second half, Clarkson led by just one point, 36-35. But the Knights ran off a 16-2 run over 5:41, taking a 52-37 lead with 12:29 remaining. Cazenovia was able to pull to within nine points on two different occasions, but could not cut the Clarkson advantage to a point where the Wildcats could make a quick run to get back into the game. For the second straight game, senior Jon Youngmann (Corinth, N.Y.) led all scorers with 18 points, shooting 8-for-10 from the floor. Classmate Erick Vigansky (Kenosha, Wis.) added in 10 points and 6 rebounds, all on the offensive end. Senior guard EJ Harrison (Troy, N.Y.) produced a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds to go along with 4 steals. Eric Latendress scored a team-high 15 points to lead Cazenovia while guard Joshua Winans added in 12 points and 4 assists. The Wildcats were out rebounded 50-34 in the game and shot just 28.2% (11-for-39) in the second half after a 14-for-30 performance (46.7%) in the second half.

JIM WOOD ’64:  A PERSPECTIVE ON GREEK LIFE
Last issue, Jim brought us a wonderful piece on his reflections on Dr. Egon Matijevic.  We received many fine comments about the article and so Jim has kindly provided a perspective on Greek Life at Clarkson as his next contribution to our monthly correspondence with alumni!  Though your chapter may not be the same as Jim’s, you will find the stories to be very similar and a fun read!  I know I did!  Click here to read this piece.

KNIGHTS OF NOTE
Thanks to the alumni from New York Air Brake who will be joining us on campus on January 13 for a pre-game tailgate party and then off to the arena for Clarkson/Cornell Hockey Game.

The Pep Band will be having their reunion on campus the weekend of February 16-17 and will also enjoy a couple of games!

Any groups wishing to make arrangements before the season ends for a group outing on campus should contact Steve at steve.newkofsky@clarkson.edu for details!

Chris Werely ’02 for becoming the chapter president for Buffalo. Thank you, Chris, and thanks to Mark Baehre ’83 who pioneered the resurgence of this chapter!

Kim Schutte ’95 for becoming the new chapter president for Long Island and to Steve Hearl ’80 who had been our long time president of Long Island and member of the alumni council executive committee and assistant coordinator for all alumni NFL football games in the fall!

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