News

Ernesto Mitchell ’23 went from chasing a dream to having a dream college career. Mitchell, who graduated this May with a degree in criminal justice, wrapped up his collegiate playing career as one of the most decorated student-athletes in the history of the Mustang football program.

Leonard Cunningham came to SUNY Morrisville in the fall of 1913, a member of the third entering class in the school’s young history. It was a relatively short trek in those days; Cunningham’s father worked as a farmhand at a Cazenovia farm, just over 11 miles to the west on Route 20 — a hilly dirt road that would remain unpaved until the early 1930s.

Noah Greger ’18 knew one thing growing up — he loved cars. He had a knack for mechanics, rebuilding engines and fixing motors long before he was old enough to be in the driver’s seat. The first spark was his longing to restore a rundown Datsun sitting in a neighbor’s yard, in his Danbury, Connecticut hometown, and later fixing the engine on the ATV his parents bought him when he was 11.

From their offices at SUNY Morrisville, nursing professors Norma Swartout and Jane Stephenson marveled at where their students were completing online courses for their bachelor’s degree curriculum. One student was logging in from Europe, where her husband was stationed in Germany. Another had traveled to visit family in India, while another had returned home to Africa to complete her internship and coursework.

William K. “Bill” Guglielmo, Morrisville Class of 1969, died in February after leading the Rome Area Chamber of Commerce for more than 25 years.

Student Recreation Center “What a great day for Morrisville!” That sentiment was shared by SUNY Morrisville President David Rogers as he addressed the sizeable crowd gathered for the ribbon-cutting ceremony to unveil SUNY Morrisville’s new Student Recreation Center.

Staring down into the crystal-clear waters of the Caribbean Ocean, Lilo Starr came across a breathtaking sight. While snorkeling off Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, Starr observed a magnificent display of multicolored fish just a few feet below them. The beautiful underwater scene captivated the 19-year-old SUNY Morrisville sophomore from Pearl River, New York.

Justin Redivivo didn’t set out to work in the agriculture field. He grew up in Canada, completed high school there and came to the United States to join his family and seek employment. He worked at Foxwoods Resorts Casino in Connecticut and attended college briefly to study hospitality. “College wasn’t my thing,’’ he said.

Janis Barth, owner and editor of New York Horse Magazine, shares a firsthand story about donating her beloved horse to SUNY Morrisville’s equine program. Sunday morning. The air is crisp with blue-ribbon dreams and the first intercollegiate horse show of the season is ramping up at the SUNY Morrisville Western barn.

As the world came together to acknowledge Earth Day this year, SUNY Morrisville was planting a new seed — a campus tradition that joined acts of kindness with sustainability to celebrate the day.

Walking across campus, Sheila Marshman greets a group of students with a wide grin, chatting about her daughter’s recent performance at the All-American Dairy Show in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Visiting an alum at a local farm later that day, she doesn’t hesitate to hop up on a forage harvester to pose for a photo, striding across the hay fields with confidence.

The story of George and Barb Elias is a perfect reminder that anyone can leave an extraordinary legacy. George Elias ’70 (instrument technology) endowed a scholarship in honor of his late wife, Barb ’81 (horse husbandry), the Barbara A. Elias ’81 Endowed Scholarship Fund.  Barb left a trail of giving that spread from New York State to Colorado and many places in-between. The scholarship George created will continue her legacy.

As a child, Tweh Johnson would often get in trouble for the numerous science experiments he concocted through his wild imagination. While they didn’t always go as planned, they all played a role in helping him discover his insatiable thirst for knowledge. That same inquisitiveness has now led him to a degree in the field of his dreams, thanks to SUNY Morrisville.

Wendy Groves can still remember that first day of drop off at the Children’s Center on the SUNY Morrisville campus nearly 30 years ago.

With the college’s official launch of the Campaign for Morrisville, an initiative that will strengthen resources for generations of Mustangs, there’s never been a more exciting time at SUNY Morrisville. “We’re laying the foundation for the next 100 years of applied education,” said Theresa Kevorkian, vice president for Institutional Advancement. “This transformative campaign is going to change the future of our college.”

Megan Viera ’18 concentrates on her footing as she walks up a wooden ramp leading to the porch of a two-story farmhouse. A prominent sign hanging by the door — “It’s so good to be home” sums up a near decade of perseverance for the 27-year-old Sherburne, New York, resident.

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.

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.