POTSDAM - Graduating senior Matthew R. Gammariello of Webster was awarded the Levinus Clarkson Award during Clarkson University’s 119th commencement ceremony today. He was selected for the $1,000 award by a vote of the full university faculty based on his scholarship and promise of outstanding achievement.

The Levinus Clarkson Award was established by University founders Elizabeth and Frederica Clarkson in memory of their brother, Levinus, and was first awarded in 1909. This award and the Frederica Clarkson Award are traditionally given to the two top students in the graduating class.

Gammariello, a member of Clarkson’s Honors Program, received both a bachelor of science degree in global supply chain management and a bachelor of science degree in financial information and analysis. Additionally, he has earned minors in economics and in project management. For his honors thesis, he studied the impact of short-term working capital management on profitability.

He met his research mentor, Economics and Financial Studies Professor Allan A. Zebedee, during his freshman year while taking corporate finance, a junior-level course. Since then, Gammariello has worked on a number of projects under Zebedee’s direction.

During his sophomore year, Gammariello and a panel of students convened at an international equity conference with their counterparts from Steyr University in Austria. He would later travel to Steyr, between his junior and senior years, to attend a two-week global management program with students from around the world.

During his senior year, Gammariello was part of a new course offering at Clarkson University in professional portfolio management. Through this class, he and a group of peers placed fourth out of 18 teams in a regional portfolio competition. In addition, he and his classmates also served as the inaugural fund managers for the Clarkson Student Managed Investment Portfolio.

Gammariello began work on his thesis in spring 2011, in which he analyzed the impact of the net trade cycle on profitability as demonstrated by stock returns. By analyzing a sample of roughly 130,000 manufacturing companies from 1970 to 2010, he showed that value was generated by firms focusing attention on short-term working capital management. This value is shown in the form of significant excess stock returns of companies with the lowest 10 percent net trade cycle compared to the highest 10 percent net trade cycle from the 1980s and 1990s. In short, Gammariello and his mentor brought insight into an area of finance where quantifiable results were previously limited.

Gammariello has also been an active member of several Clarkson organizations. He has served as the chief financial officer, as well as the financial chair of the business development team, for Clarkson’s chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO). Additionally, he served as an active member and officer of Clarkson’s Strategic Investment Group.

He also was a varsity member of the cross country running and Nordic ski teams for four and two years, respectively. While on these teams, he served for three years on the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.

Academically, Gammariello will graduate with a 4.0 GPA. He has been a presidential scholar for the seven semesters he has been on campus.

He has received numerous awards from the School of Business, including the Ilse J. Shaw School of Business Freshman Award, the Gregory P. Arnold Memorial Prize, the Eugene R. Yeager, Jr. Memorial Award, and the John W. Graham Jr. Leadership Award.

Additionally, Gammariello received a Commendable Leadership Award from Phalanx, Clarkson’s highest honorary society. In the spring of 2011, he was inducted into Phalanx, where he served for a year as secretary. He was also inducted into Clarkson’s chapter of the Beta Gamma Sigma business honor society.

During his time at Clarkson, Gammariello served as a tutor for supply chain economics and a teaching assistant for global sourcing & supply chain design. He also worked for nine months as a supply chain co-op for Newport News Shipbuilding: A Division of Huntington Ingalls, located in Newport News, Va.

After graduation, Gammariello will start his career in Reston, Va., as a financial analyst for BAE Systems. He will be a member of their three-year financial leadership and development program. In his third year, he will pursue either an MBA with a concentration in operational finance, or a master of science in finance.

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