General

Like most first-year students in 2020, Mo the Mustang’s (they/them/their) arrival on campus at SUNY Morrisville was not what they originally had in mind. Wearing a face mask, practicing physical distancing, picking up meals to go and otherwise adjusting to pandemic life were some of the firsts that the college’s mascot experienced at the same time as other students.

Rebecca Werbela ’04 started an agriculture education program at Morrisville-Eaton Middle-High School in a small room with big plans. As they grew, so did the excitement of her students who are grabbing hold of dynamic lessons — getting their hands dirty building and planting, growing vegetables hydroponically and gaining an understanding about the hundreds of careers available to them in the agriculture industry.

It was going to be a memorable spring break in Morocco. As she packed her suitcase, Jessica Miller’s mind drifted to the mountainous country of western North Africa, a March trip she had planned for months to marry her fiancé, Mouaad Essaadi, who lives there.

One large, ongoing art project is how Taylor McDowell describes his life.Why? Because its elements combine to create a portrait of what the 2015 SUNY Morrisville graduate loves: web and game development, drumming, storytelling, art and music. Each has shaped the life of the 28-year-old New Hartford, New York resident, whose palette is a colorful blend of perseverance and will. Despite being born with 80% hearing loss, McDowell has persisted to become a drumming instructor, pit musician, well-known street performer, and a web and game developer.

Brian Simmons’ aunt offered him a job washing dishes on a Friday night when her restaurant in Nunda, New York, was short-staffed. “The rest is history,” he said. Since that day more than two decades ago, Simmons ’01 has built a successful career out of nourishing patrons as owner and chef of The Yard of Ale Restaurant. The casual-fine dining restaurant, located in Piffard, New York, the western Finger Lakes region, offers a diverse dinner menu, as well as a featured menu each week, showcasing specialty and seasonal ingredients prepared by Simmons.

As the COVID-19 pandemic caused the physical world to remain distanced, the virtual world of esports has emerged to connect people like never before. SUNY Morrisville students are among those taking a hold of esports (electronic sports), an organized sports competition featuring multiplayer video games where gamers from around the world can compete individually or as a team. They also can tune in as spectators.

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. Instead of chronicling past events in a classroom, he followed in his father’s and uncle’s footsteps as a harness racing trainer and driver — a career that has saddled him personal rewards running SUNY Morrisville’s equine Standardbred racing bachelor’s degree program and earned him Top Trainer in 2020 at Vernon Downs racetrack.