Frank Schmeler ’64 and Stub Estey ’64 have received the Lifetime Engagement Award from their alma mater, Clarkson University.
The award is presented to alumni who have remained engaged and supportive of Clarkson’s mission since their graduation. Awardees must have received their degree at least 50 years ago.
Schmeler is a native of Kapuskasing, Ontario, Canada and attended Clarkson University from 1959-1964, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration.
Frank is the retired CEO and Chairman of the Board of the Albany International Corp., where he worked his entire 40+ year career. Albany International is the world’s leading producer of custom-designed, consumable fabrics essential for the manufacture of paper products as well as engineered composites for aerospace applications. Frank joined Albany International in 1964 following graduation from Clarkson. He held assignments in sales and marketing in Canada eventually becoming the vice president and general manager of Albany International Canada. In 1984, he relocated to the corporate headquarters in Albany NY where held several positions eventually becoming executive vice president and chief operating officer in 1997. He then served as president followed by CEO and chairman of the board from 2001-2008.
Frank has served on the foundation board of Wildwood Programs Inc., a non-profit group serving people with learning disabilities, neurological impairments and autism. He was an active volunteer for the American Red Cross and following his retirement served as a driver, transporting blood to hospitals throughout the Capital Region. Frank has also volunteered for the past several years at the Annual National Disabled Veterans Winter Sports Clinic held in Aspen, Colorado. He assists his son, Mark, an occupational therapist – assistive technology practitioner, with adapting equipment for the participants.
Frank played varsity hockey for Clarkson University from 1959-1963 with a career team record of 51-20-3. He was a member of the Sigma Delta fraternity. He has served Clarkson in many ways including serving as a Trustee from 2004 – 2014 & 2015 to 2023. Frank is a recipient of the Barben Award in 1990 and the Golden Knight Award in 1994.
Good Knights Guild Frank is a Loyal, Leadership, Legacy and Legend member of Clarkson’s Good Knights Guild.
Frank and his wife of 60 years, Wilma Murphy (SUNY Potsdam class of 1962), reside in Nassau, just outside of Albany, N.Y. They are the parents of four children: Karen who was born in 1965 and died of leukemia at age 4; Mark, age 57 who lives in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; Kathleen, age 54 who lives in Houston, Texas (Clarkson class of 1991); and Nancy, age 53 who lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada (Clarkson class of 1993). Frank and Wilma have 6 grandchildren: Isabelle and Betsy Schmeler; Stephanie and Charlotte and Nelson; and Alex and Julia Brown. Alex just completed his sophomore year at Clarkson University, majoring in Electrical Engineering.
Estey received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from Clarkson University in 1964 and, after working for one year at United Aircraft in Hartford, CT, returned to Clarkson for a Master of Science in Industrial Management in 1966.
After his master’s degree, Stub remained at Clarkson for another year, teaching courses in Statistics and Operations Research in the School of Business. He then spent 30 years as a manager at AT&T, retiring as Government Affairs Vice President. After corporate work, he founded a small management consulting company but retired from that when he was named Executive Director of the Shipley Center for Leadership and Entrepreneurship at Clarkson, also teaching Consulting to undergraduates and Management Skills to MBA students there.
Stub has been active in communities where he and Nancy have lived, in church choirs; administering golfing groups; and on homeowners association committees and boards of directors. At age 72 he founded a bluegrass band, later reactivating his passion for being onstage in community theater productions. He celebrated the year of his 80th birthday by publishing his first book “Oxcart Gold Rush”, now in its second printing.
Since leaving Clarkson, Stub has remained involved with the university, serving on the alumni national executive council for several years; alumni national chair of the Clarkson Fund; president of the alumni association; and he is a proud recipient of the Golden Knight award. In recent years Stub has been an active member of alumni association awards selection committee. He is a Legion and Legacy member of Clarkson’s Good Knights Guild.
Stub and Nancy, his wife of 58 years, live in Haymarket, Virginia, near their daughter Kelley and her family. Their son Chris lives in Charlottesville.