Drone Aerial photos of the Clarkson campus during the Summer of 2023 July 13-16, 2023 Connor Frasier

BY ADAM ATKINSONNorth Country This Week

​​POTSDAM — Clarkson employees won't receive employer retirement contributions for a year as part of a cost saving measure implemented by the university.

Employees at Clarkson have been notified that the university will not be contributing to their retirement investment for the next year.

An emailed letter, from acting university board of trustees president Dave Heacock, was circulated a few days ago to college employees announcing the decision and why the college felt it is necessary.

The university’s employer contribution to the employee’s Defined Contribution Retirement Plan 403(b) will be halted starting March 2025 for 12 months, the letter said.

The president in the email said that the move was a “necessary measure to ensure the long-term well-being of our university.”

“Pausing the employer pension contribution for 12 months was a difficult decision,” Heacock told North Country This Week in a separate statement..

“Anytime we make a financial impact on people,  it hurts,” Heacock said. “Our faculty and staff are the backbone of our institution. They are vital to the mission of providing a high quality education and experience to our students. In order to support their financial wellbeing as much as possible, take-home pay will not be impacted. By implementing this change now, we create flexibility across two fiscal years. This allows us to offer merit raises in the upcoming fiscal year and continue hiring faculty and staff critical to our academic and enrollment goals.”

The university believes the move to halt the employer contribution will allow Clarkson to “ensure long-term financial security for all employees by proactively addressing the budget deficit” in light of enrollment challenges.

“At Clarkson, our focus is always on the student experience, ensuring that every student receives the support, knowledge, and real-world opportunities needed to thrive and graduate career-ready,” Heacock told the newspaper. “At the same time, we know that to ensure our continued institutional stature, we must remain nimble and responsive to change. We continuously make strategic, thoughtful decisions intended to support Clarkson for the long-term.”

The president said that while Clarkson’s enrollment has mirrored national trends downward the last few years, the university is confident about the future.

“Our focus on STEM as Clarkson’s core is resonating with prospective students. Deposits are up 50% compared to this time last year, affirming students trust us to deliver the highest quality education in STEM. That’s what they deserve and why employers hire Clarkson grads,” the president said.

“At Clarkson, we are a tight-knit community, and while this action is difficult, it’s one we will get through together,” said Heacock.

In late 2023, Clarkson finalized a restructuring plan which involved some program cuts to allow the university to become more financially solvent. At that time, the college was believed to be working on making up a $6.75 million operating budget shortfall, although that amount was not verified by college officials.

The university, like local colleges St. Lawrence University and SUNY Potsdam, has struggled with declining enrollment and cites the drop in numbers of attending students as one of the reasons for its financial restructuring. Potsdam and St. Lawrence both announced multi-million deficits in 2023 and have been operating under restructuring plans to make up the difference since.

Clarkson’s current deficit amount was not available from university officials at the time of this story, but it is presumed that headway has been made on shoring up the gap since the 2023 restructuring.

Just a few days ago, the university selected its 19th president, Michelle Larson, to take over leadership of Clarkson. Larson will officially take the reins April 1. Larson is currently the CEO and president of The Adler Planetarium in Chicago.