Clarkson University names hill campus in honor of outgoing school president, wife

POTSDAM, N.Y. — The Clarkson University board of trustees has named Clarkson University’s hill campus in Potsdam “The Collins Hill Campus” in honor of Tony Collins, the current school president who will conclude his tenure at the end of this academic year.

Commemorative signage and usage of the Collins Hill Campus recognizes Collins’ 19 years as school president. It also acknowledges the contributions that both he and his wife, Karen Collins, have made to the greater Clarkson community since coming to Potsdam in 1982.

Tony Collins, who has served as president of Clarkson University since 2003, will step down as Clarkson’s 16th president at the conclusion of this academic year. A Clarkson faculty member since 1982, Collins has worked for and supported economic development in the North Country and throughout New York state and is described as a “national advocate” for higher education, per a Clarkson release.

“President Collins established the vision for the renovation and expansion of the hill campus, which has been realized over the last two decades through his exceptional leadership and fundraising efforts,” Thomas Kassouf, chair of the Clarkson University board of trustees, said. “Our resolution and decision to officially name the hill campus acknowledges the supportive and engaging student environment unceasingly nurtured by Tony Collins and Karen Collins.”

Under Collins’ leadership, the Vision of a Clarkson Education and Clarkson@125 have “guided strategic initiatives which have been substantially realized over almost two decades,” per the release.

Clarkson’s Potsdam hill campus has been expanded both “physically and in academic reach,” while the downtown campus has been “repurposed to advance interdisciplinary entrepreneurship,” the school said.

Outside Potsdam, Clarkson has expanded geographically in recent years, with new graduate and professional programs accessible at its Capital Region campus in Schenectady and at the Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries on Dennings Point.