Clarkson University traces its start to an entrepreneur: Thomas Streatfeild Clarkson. He built a successful sandstone mining business, but was killed trying to save one of his workers in 1894. His family started a coeducational college in his memory and Clarkson was born.

Early areas of study included electrical engineering, domestic science, art, woodwork, and manual training.

Today, Clarkson University offers comprehensive programs in business, engineering, the sciences, liberal arts, and health sciences. Because of our size (just 3,000 students), we have a reputation as a place where people get things done together; where research and teaching span the disciplines.

From its opening days in 1896, Clarkson has emphasized a technology-rich environment for every discipline. Originally, that meant engineering. Today it means much more, but everyone still benefits from the technology-rich philosophy. Here are some examples: management, e-business, information systems, liberal studies, digital arts and sciences, environmental science and policy, sociology, psychology, physics, history, software engineering, computer science, and communication.

Over the last few decades, Clarkson has systematically moved its campus to a hill overlooking Potsdam, New York. Not surprisingly, this is known as the Hill campus or, simply, the Hill. The Hill includes a number of new classroom buildings and facilities for research and recreation.

In 1991, CAMP (Center for Advanced Materials Processing) and the Cheel Campus Center opened on the Hill. CAMP includes 70 state-of-the-art laboratories and is designated a New York State Center of Advanced Technology. The Cheel Center includes a student union and a 4,000-seat hockey arena. Five years later, CAMP and Rowley Hall were connected, providing a home for all of the University's engineering programs and much of the world-renown work in nanotechnology.

While building continued on the Hill, a growing demand for Clarkson's health sciences program led to a renovation of Clarkson Hall on the downtown campus. In collaboration with a local medical center, the University opened a new home for both the Clarkson physical therapy program and the Canton-Potsdam Hospital Rehabilitation Services.

The latest additions to the campus include Bertrand H. Snell Hall, home of the School of Business, the School of Arts & Sciences, the Shipley Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Center for Global Competitiveness. Also in recent years, the University has built the Adirondack Lodge, headquarters for outdoor recreation activities, and the Deneka Family Fitness Center.