News

Three SUNY Morrisville faculty and staff members were recently honored with Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence by the State University of New York and SUNY Chancellor John B. King.   Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service is: Laura Pierie, of Morrisville, associate professor of humanities

Step into SUNY Morrisville professor Elisa Livengood’s classroom and you’ll find yourself surrounded by oversized tanks teeming with vibrant fish, anemones, clownfish, seahorses and a world of aquatic wonder. Here, hands-on projects and cutting-edge research aren’t just part of the curriculum — they’re the foundation of an immersive learning experience that brings marine science to life.

SUNY Morrisville graduates Laura Bedell, of New Hartford, and Vidya Jawahir, of Oxford, have been recognized with the prestigious Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence (CASE), the highest honor bestowed by the State University of New York (SUNY). The award celebrates students who have successfully integrated academic excellence with leadership, campus involvement, athletics, community service, the arts, or career achievement.

Each spring, the SUNY Morrisville greenhouse comes to life, overflowing with vibrant blooms in all shades imaginable. Students move with purpose — trimming, watering, transplanting and caring for flowers and plants in preparation for the college’s annual spring plant sale, a tradition that has become a favorite for the campus and local community.

SUNY Morrisville welcomes Bin Zhu as the next Dean of the School of Agriculture, Business & Technology (ABT), effective July 1, 2025. “Please join me in extending a warm Mustang welcome to Dr. Zhu as he joins SUNY Morrisville,” said SUNY Morrisville Provost Suzan Harkness. “We are excited for the depth of experience, expertise, leadership and scholarship he brings, and look forward to the impactful work he will make in supporting our mission, vision and strategic goals.”

It’s a unique hands-on learning experience. Students in SUNY Morrisville’s residential construction program are rolling up their sleeves to build a small house right inside their lab. The ambitious 14-week project is more than just an exercise in construction — it’s a lesson in teamwork, problem-solving and real-world application of classroom concepts.

Two SUNY Morrisville students are making a meaningful impact through their dedication to community service. Michael Roberts, a game programming B.Tech. student from Brooklyn and Harper Callard, an aquaculture and aquatic science associate degree student from New Hartford, were honored with Empire State Service Corps Awards for their significant contributions.

SUNY Morrisville is hosting a Renewable Energy Spring Institute on Friday, March 14, for current high school and BOCES students, educators, guidance counselors and college transfers, to learn more about renewable energy. The free event, from 9:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m., at the college’s Agricultural & Clean Energy Technology Center (ACET), features demonstrations in the center’s six state-of-the-art renewable energy labs.

On any given day, SUNY Morrisville professor Brendan Kelly and his environmental students can be seen trekking to the college’s forests or in other areas of the community to conduct field work. Donned in hard hats, sturdy boots and neon attire, they brave most any elements for the hands-on experience his labs are known for. Esteemed by his students for his approach to teaching, his efforts go far beyond the classroom and labs.

SUNY Morrisville students were among those championing for additional legislative funding and support for students with disabilities enrolled in colleges and universities across New York State during this year’s Student Empowerment Day.

When sisters Haley and Hannah Gill first arrived on the SUNY Morrisville campus, they were among many students to join the college’s Advancing Success in Associate Pathways (ASAP) and Advancing Completion through Engagement (ACE) programs.  

Interested in making a game and being part of a global experiment in creativity? SUNY Morrisville is once again serving as a host site for Global Game Jam® (GGJ), the world’s largest game jam event, taking place Friday, Jan. 24-Sunday, Jan. 26. During the worldwide event, participants are given a central theme and just 48 hours to create a video or board/card game.

Six SUNY Morrisville students were part of this year’s National Wildlife Society’s Annual Conference, one of the largest gatherings of wildlife professionals and supporters in North America. The conference, held this year in Baltimore, Maryland, spotlights the latest advancements in wildlife management and research while providing opportunities for networking and career advancement. Engaging speakers and immersive workshops were part of the agenda.

In all of his time as an automotive professor in SUNY Morrisville’s automotive technology Ford ASSET program, professor Dan Akers saw his largest freshmen class this year.   Known for intensive labs, top-notch facilities and capstone internships, it’s one of the reasons why the two-year program is a popular choice for automotive students who want to lock in a career even before they graduate.

Tis the season of giving and SUNY Morrisville and the Morrisville-Eaton Central School (MECS) District are teaming up to provide families in need with food for the Thanksgiving holiday.   Seventeen families, chosen by the MECS School District, will benefit from the effort, started by MECS social studies teacher Meaghan Palmer and coworkers 15 years ago to address food insecurities in the district. The generosity multiplied when the two schools joined forces.  

The SUNY Morrisville campus came together to celebrate World Sustainability Day on Wednesday, Oct. 30, with presentations and demonstrations, which included turning sunflowers into oil for biodiesel, installing owl boxes along a nature trail and prepping a wildflower pollination meadow. Sustainability Day raises awareness of the importance of sustainable living and promotes environmental stewardship.

The SUNY Morrisville Theater Department and Student Government Organization present the musical Kinky Boots, Thursday, Oct. 31, Friday, Nov. 1 and Saturday Nov. 2, at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. in the theater of the college’s John W. Stewart Center for Student Activities (STUAC).

SUNY Morrisville horticulture students joined thousands across the globe, participating in The Society of American Florists (SAF) annual goodwill initiative, Petal it Forward. They handed out flowers and bouquets to unsuspecting community members and passersby, encouraging recipients to keep one and share the other with someone else.

Having a support system, a mentor, career development, extra money for books and gas to travel home on the weekends — it’s all making a difference for SUNY Morrisville ASAP|ACE students like Malcom Hernandez, Juliana Kucera, Abigail Gracey and Julian Wilcox, so they can focus more on their academic careers.

SUNY Morrisville has been recognized again for its excellence with numerous listings in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. The annual report ranks colleges and universities nationwide according to their performance on diverse measures of academic quality. Regional universities and regional colleges are divided and ranked in four geographical groups: North, South, Midwest and West.

Working on cars wasn’t totally new, but learning how to remove their hood and trunk was for some. Auto body technology freshmen Juliana Kucera, of Elma, and Simarah Samson Davall, of Augusta, tackled it with ease during Alex Graf’s Auto Body Fundamentals lab.  

SUNY Morrisville added to the excitement of its new semester, announcing an 11% increase in enrollment for fall 2024.   The increase marks a significant milestone in the institution’s ongoing efforts to expand access to higher education and deliver top-tier academic and hands-on learning experiences.

SUNY Morrisville’s annual Autumn Review Sale, “Magic of Morrisville,” is Saturday, Sept. 21. The sale starts at 11 a.m. at the Groves Barn, 5300 Hart Road in Morrisville, near the Arnold R. Fisher Dairy Complex off of Eaton Street. The sale features 54 live lots up for consignment plus 10 embryo lots. See more at https://www.facebook.com/MSCAutumnReview/

The Great New York State Fair wrapped up this week, providing countless experiences for not only visitors and participants, but volunteers, too! For SUNY Morrisville students, faculty and staff who volunteer every year, the fair is an experience beyond 13 days of iconic culinary options, thrilling amusement rides and captivating entertainment.    

SUNY Morrisville Professor Christopher Scalzo has been sharing his business knowledge globally for more than two decades. Next year, it will take him to India through a prestigious Fulbright Specialist Program Award he received from the U.S. Department of State and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.