POTSDAM – Two men, an investor and a professor, will receive honorary degrees at Clarkson University’s 2019 commencement in May.

Dorr B. Begnal, a 1983 Clarkson graduate and university board of trustees member, is a co-founder and managing director of Winthrop Square Capital (WSC) and co-founder of Park Street Capital (PSC), with experience in venture capital, investments, growth equity, and buyouts.

Begnal is a seasoned private markets investor, and company co-founder and managing director. He helped raise and invest capital for 11 funds-of-funds partnerships totaling approximately $3 billion. Begnal has served on Clarkson’s board of trustees and sits on the boards of several other non-profits, including Farm Sanctuary and Father Flanagan’s Fund for Needy Children.

Prof. Gregory Verdine, the Evring Professor of Chemistry at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School, is a pioneering scientist and innovator, life science entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and successful biotech company-builder. His distinguished academic career has spanned three decades at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School.

Verdine founded two fields of sciences that meld basic research and new medicines discovery. In his academic research, he has invented a powerful new class of therapeutics which enable intervention into diseases previously considered “undruggable.” Verdine is also responsible for the creation of 10 biotechnology companies.