MORRISVILLE, NY—Three SUNY Morrisville faculty and staff members were recently honored.
Receiving the SUNY Morrisville Distinguished Faculty Award was Alfred P. Muss II, of Fayetteville, professor of business & entrepreneurship. Muss joined the Morrisville faculty in 2001, where he has been instrumental in the growth of programs, developing numerous courses and degrees, including the entrepreneurship & small business management B.B.A.
Muss, who was interim dean for the School of Business & Hospitality during the spring 2018 semester, has served on numerous college committees and is currently a chair of the Judicial Board and a member of both the Retention Council and the Athletics Review Board.
He has played an integral role in the success of the college’s student-athletes, holding appointment as the NCAA Faculty Athletics Representative (FAR) since 2015 and working with student-athletes to ensure academic requirements are maintained. He also currently serves on both the FAR and Sportsmanship committees for the North Eastern Athletic Conference.
A regular guest lecturer on campus, his dedication to students also includes service as past advisor to Phi Beta Lambda-Future Business Leaders of America and assisting with the establishment of the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) chapter at Morrisville.
The recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2011, Muss has also earned the Student Government Organization (SGO) Best Academic Advisor Award in the School of Business four times.
Muss holds an MBA and a Bachelor of Science degree in management, both from Binghamton University, as well as an Associate of Science degree in business administration from SUNY Broome Community College.
Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching was Brenda Oursler White, of Manlius, associate professor of mathematics.
Oursler White has been a member of the Mathematical Sciences Department since 2000 after joining SUNY Morrisville as an adjunct instructor in 1995.
Since her arrival, Oursler White has strived to use a student-centric teaching approach to enrich the classroom experience while teaching a variety of courses. The quantitative reasoning courses she teaches utilize applied learning in a collaborative environment to make mathematics more relevant to students.
A member of the Carnegie Math Pathways Curriculum Committee, she has authored and reviewed numerous Quantway Fundamentals lessons taught in curriculums across the country. Also serving as a SUNY Quantway faculty liaison and Carnegie Math Pathways faculty mentor, she has presented on a variety of topics on campus as well as at SUNY, state and national forums.
A former department chair, Oursler White has served on numerous college committees and currently chairs both the Judicial Board and her department’s Curriculum Revisions Committee. She is a teaching innovation fellow with the High Impact Learning and Teaching Hub and the team lead for the Strong Start to Finish grant.
Oursler White holds an Associate of Science degree in liberal arts – mathematics from SUNY Morrisville, as well as both a Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree in mathematics education and a Master of Arts degree in higher education – student affairs, all from Syracuse University.
Oursler White resides in Manlius with her husband, Tom White, and their children, Kera and Liam.
The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service was presented to Lamott Wellman, of Sherburne, senior electrician for the Physical Plant for the past 14 years.
Wellman, a licensed electrician, has served the needs and operations of multiple departments and facilities across the college. His extensive knowledge of his trade, along with his creativity, problem-solving skillset and ability to multitask, has helped ensure the college meets new power requirements while using current equipment and maintaining code requirements.
Handling a wealth of tasks ranging from elevator service and lighting maintenance to electrical emergencies, he also has played a major role in the success of the college’s electrical distribution project, which involves an overhaul of the current system.
Wellman currently resides in Sherburne with his wife of 33 years, Kathy, their son, Joshua, and their dog, Arrow.