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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.

As vehicles approached the entrance to Mohawk Hall on the SUNY Morrisville campus, there wasn’t a lack of hands reaching out to help. Members of the Mustangs football team, clad in matching green jerseys, were at the ready to move freshmen into their new residence halls during the college’s Welcome Weekend, which started with freshmen move-in Thursday, Aug. 22.

Horses, dairy cows and cockroach composting. What do they have in common with this year’s Great New York State Fair? SUNY Morrisville! The college can be spotted throughout this year’s fair, which runs Wednesday, Aug. 21-Monday, Sept. 2.

It was feeding time at the SUNY Morrisville livestock barn and Ophelia didn’t hesitate to let dairy student Rosie Hines know she wanted her attention. Poking her head through a stall, the cheerful goat let out a buoyant bleat, begging for a pat on the head before nibbling from a pile of grain.  

Call it a labor of love. When Kate Bolen traded in her career as an insurance company fraud and abuse investigator for a hands-on education digging in dirt, planting vegetables and caring for grow pods filled with seeds, she unearthed a fulfilling new career.

SUNY Morrisville’s Arnold R. Fisher Dairy Complex is among farms throughout Madison County that will open its doors and showcase its facility to the public during Open Farm Day on Saturday, July 27. Open Farm Day, held from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., offers visitors an opportunity to see working farms in Madison County, meet local farmers, enjoy tours and demonstrations, animals and products tastings.  

Communication and collaboration were key for 15 Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) peer mentors taking part in team-building exercises in preparation for this year’s EOP Summer Academy. More than 100 students are expected to participate in the academy, a four-week intensive summer program designed to assist students with adjusting to college and providing a foundation for academic success. The program runs from July 14-Aug. 10.

SUNY Morrisville has earned a STARS Silver rating in recognition of its sustainability achievements from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE). STARS, the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System, measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education.

Add SUNY Morrisville to your summer plans with free training that earns college credit! Courses are free and lead to a certificate in renewable energy.

SUNY Morrisville student Hunter White is already making his mark in the environmental industry. He is among the State University of New York’s inaugural class of paid student interns from the SUNY Climate Corps Internship Program. Thirty-six SUNY students from eight campuses were selected for immersive, real-life work experiences in research and policy at state agencies with environmental and sustainability missions and SUNY System Administration.

They learned about renewable energy, watched a tower climb demonstration, saw a giant solar array, a dentless auto paint repair, car wrap and detail, and heard how sunflowers can be turned into fuel to run a car.

There were more than 100 students and plenty of robots! SUNY Morrisville’s Science and Technology Entry (STEP) Robotics Team was among 11 schools that put their robots to the test during a Statewide Robotics Competition held May 31 at Adelphi University in Garden City, New York.

SUNY Morrisville is hosting a Human Services Institute Conference: “Strategies for Delivery and Investment in K-12 Mental Health Services,” Friday, June 14, from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. in STUAC at the SUNY Morrisville Campus. 

MORRISVILLE, NY — Four 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, Jr.   Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching is: Julanne Burton, of Earlville, associate professor of social science and coordinator of the SUNY Morrisville Human Services Institute

SUNY Morrisville is offering free training for prospective students, educators, guidance counselors and others interested in exploring opportunities and emerging technologies in automotive, diesel, agricultural technology, agricultural engineering and renewable energy through its Automotive & Clean Energy Summer Institute June 24-27.

When Bret Bossard ’02 and Luke Huysman ’03 were students at SUNY Morrisville, they supplemented their classwork with internships at Barbland Dairy, which began as a potato farm in the 1950s before transitioning to beef and then dairy. 

When he came to Morrisville as assistant professor of environmental & renewable resources in 2019, Mohammadali Azadfar had a dream — and a plan. Azadfar — ‘Ali’ to most who know him — was thrilled with the opportunity to teach in the wood products technology and residential construction degree programs. His plan started with fundamental instruction for the students in his classes — and grew beyond measure with the addition of industry research in his courses.

As most of you journalism (J-grads) now know, Dan Reeder, 74, former Morrisville journalism professor, died Sept. 20, 2023 from complications of lung cancer. In June, Dan and his wife, Janet, relocated from his beloved Lawrence, Kansas, to Texas, to be closer to their son, Tim.

Doyen “Dolo” Grant’s past is always present in his professional life. Hanging on the wall of Dolo’s Fitness — a gym Grant ’09 owns and operates in his hometown of Canarsie, New York — is a dark green SUNY Morrisville football jersey. When his gym opened in 2019, the former Mustangs football captain and star wide receiver had his No. 9 home uniform, flanked by two action photos, mounted in a customized black frame. 

This past summer, the SUNY Morrisville Athletics Department decided to make a bold move. Needing to replace the turf playing surface of Drake Field for the first time since 2006, what set the project apart was the installation of a one-of-a-kind black turf.

Chris Pelrah ’06 and his wife were hiking in the Adirondacks when they came upon a forest ranger heading out to check on a complaint.    “There was some bear activity with people camping in the High Peaks area and the bears were getting into people’s food,” Pelrah said. “I remember the feeling I got — of the ranger helping others — and doing so outdoors. It was an interaction that changed my life.”

Country music bounces non-stop off the concrete bleachers in the cavernous Syracuse Coliseum as the show ring gate swings open and the announcer crackles to life. “Here’s draw number 20, back number 591, Holy Cannoli Katie and RE Sears.” The chestnut mare jogs into the center of the ring and, with nearly invisible cues from Sears — a tap on the neck, a touch of the spur — spins four times to the left, four to the right.

Nova Cadamatre’s time at SUNY Morrisville is etched in her memory. She lived on campus with a roommate before moving to a cozy attic apartment in a house off Route 20 and she appeared in musical theater productions of “Cabaret’’ and “Godspell.’’ The South Carolina transplant recalled the connection she instantly felt with her fellow horticulture classmates.

From a simple knock at the door to knocking on the door of greatness.  From “arriving with nothing” to leaving with everything. From honoring previous Mustang legends to now becoming one.  Those were just some of the memorable storylines highlighting the SUNY Morrisville Athletics Wall of Fame Class of 2023, which honored seven Mustangs: