Alumni News

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — SUNY Morrisville has been recognized again for its excellence with numerous listings in the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings, receiving high marks as a Best Regional College and Top Social Mobility College.   

In addition to great food, eye-opening exhibits and commercial attractions, fairgoers once again got an up-close view at SUNY Morrisville’s innovative programs, one-of-a-kind learning and alluring draft horses during this year’s Great New York State Fair.   Faculty and staff stirred up interest during Agricultural Education Days, providing information about the college’s exciting academic programs and innovative learning going on inside and outside of SUNY Morrisville classrooms.  

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — Before they go out into the field to study reptiles and amphibians, students in Associate Professor Eric Diefenbacher’s Herpetology class get an indoor lesson in how to safely handle them. A table lined with frogs, lizards and snakes in captive tanks set the scene for one of his first classroom lessons this semester, a real-life learning exercise for students who will venture out to study the creatures in their natural habitat in the coming weeks.  

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — SUNY Morrisville automotive professor Ron Alexander, of Fair Haven, spent part of his summer polishing his skills training Mopar dealer technicians at the Mopar Training Center in Rochester.  Alexander, associate professor of automotive technology, assisted with training of a new diagnostic lab scope, which is being implemented in dealership service departments.  

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — SUNY Morrisville is bringing its innovation, competition Belgian hitch and exciting hands-on approach to learning to The Great New York State Fair again this year. 

As a hot housing market and spike in home remodeling propel the need for skilled tradespeople in the residential construction industry, Mike Gridley ’04 is doing his part to ease the demand. The assistant professor of residential construction at SUNY Morrisville has been teaching the tricks of his trade and molding skilled workers for more than two decades in the classroom and as proprietor of Gridley Construction, in Hamilton, New York.

“It’s worth it if you put in the effort,” said Danielle Bunting ’21 while reflecting on her time as a SUNY Morrisville Mustang.

A life once limited is now filled with opportunity and dreams for Dahmili (“Molly”) Pierre Browne ’20. The SUNY Morrisville criminal justice graduate spent most of her childhood moving in and out of motels and living in shelters in a crime-ridden part of Bronx, New York, where sirens saturate neighborhoods and a quarter of all students drop out of high school. So much changed for Browne when the Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) offered her the chance to go to college.

As a single mother, Rolanda Campbell ’22 has faced her share of financial burdens while pursuing her education at SUNY Morrisville. But childcare costs, transportation worries and so many other financial burdens were alleviated thanks to the college’s Student Hardship Fund, which helped her stay on track. The fund supports students who incur a sudden expense or change in circumstances they cannot overcome with financial aid or family support.

As the semester came to an end, three agribusiness students had something a little extra to celebrate. They won the top three prizes in the 2021 Cotton Family Business  Idea Competition, a competition where students have the opportunity to win money and take their ideas to the next level.

There were smiles of joy, relief, elbow bumping, physically distanced selfies and Mustang Pride was in full swing as SUNY Morrisville graduates celebrated scaled-back, in-person ceremonies in lieu of a traditional commencement this year.

“If your goal is to make difference, you start with journalism and Morrisville.” Those words spoken by SUNY Morrisville journalism graduate Mike Gormley are precisely what he has been doing as a reporter covering politics and government for four decades.

Inspiring entrepreneur selected as a Forbes Next 1000 honoree

The future of agriculture, engineering and energy isn’t confined to traditional desks and lecture halls at SUNY Morrisville. Students will begin taking classes this fall in the $16 million Agricultural and Clean Energy Technology (ACET) Center, a 30,000-square foot applied learning technology building that will bolster the renewable energy, agricultural engineering, and diesel technology programs.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — As a student, John Derouchey benefited from myriad experiences in SUNY Morrisville’s renewable energy program. The field work, hands-on learning, networking and faculty expertise packed his portfolio, giving him a full plate of opportunities when he graduated among the college’s first cohort of renewable energy bachelor of technology degree students in 2013.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — SUNY Morrisville welcomes Anthony “Tony” Contento as its new dean of the School of Agriculture, Business & Technology.   “Dr. Contento is an innovative leader who I am confident will continue the tradition of excellence that has made the School of Agriculture, Business &Technology one of the best in the region,” said SUNY Morrisville Provost Barry Spriggs. “Most of all, he has always championed and advanced the mission of student learning and success.”

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — Take a drive to Nelson Farms County Store, in Nelson, and pick up a bottle of Cow Tippin’ Steak Sauce. Students in Assistant Professor Scott Colby’s distribution & marketing of agricultural products class at SUNY Morrisville rebranded the tasty product and earned an award for their marketing plan.  

Thanks to SUNY Morrisville’s Automotive Department, the cruiser of a fallen police officer found its permanent home at the Discovery Center Story Garden, in Johnson City. Faculty, staff and students prepared the car of Johnson City police officer David “DW” Smith, who was killed in the line of duty in March 2014. 

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — SUNY Morrisville has once again been honored for its outstanding support of military service members, veterans and their families, receiving the 2021-2022 Military Friendly® School designation.  The Military Friendly® Schools list sets the standard for higher education institutions to give the best opportunities for veterans and their spouses.

There is always something going on in assistant professor Jen Gilbert Jenkins’ labs, even when the campus is quiet. For instance, in a purple box, miraculous transformations are taking place with worms! Gilbert Jenkins is using vermicompost (worm composting) to convert a combination of waste hemp material and food scraps into a biologically active planting medium. They may not be as cute as some of the other animals on campus, but these worms are hard workers.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — An abandoned piranha, found by a student on the doorstep of an aquarium store, has found a new home in SUNY Morrisville’s aquaponics greenhouse. Assistant Professor Elisa Livengood obtained a permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation and adopted the fish, which will augment lessons in her aquatic science & aquaculture classes and labs.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — A photograph by Timothy Gerken, professor of humanities at SUNY Morrisville, is on display in collaboration with Denniston Hill, as part of For Freedoms’ nationwide campaign “2020 Awakening.” The artist-led collective campaign, which launched on Indigenous People’s Day (Columbus Day) Oct. 12, features billboards that appear in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Many touch on pressing issues of the current political campaign process.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — A new minor in agricultural human resources management is preparing SUNY Morrisville graduates to meet the growing demands of the modern farm business. “The diverse nature of the agricultural industry, increased agricultural labor laws and rapid consolidation of the agricultural industry are all factors influencing and creating the demand for this academic minor,” said Sheila Marshman, associate professor of agricultural business at SUNY Morrisville.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — SUNY Morrisville, in collaboration with International Pathway Programs (IPP), has signed a transfer agreement with Beijing Foreign Studies University's School of English and International Studies (SEIS), one of China’s most prestigious universities. SUNY Morrisville is the first college in the United States to partner with SEIS. Students who successfully complete their degree program receive a diploma from The State University of New York.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — Kerin Warner left Rutgers University with a degree in history, but circumstances and a lifetime of horses led him in a different direction.