Alumni

For four SUNY Morrisville horticulture alumni, the path from the college’s greenhouses and growing fields to a career at Tap Root Fields has been a natural fit. Kate Bolen ’25, Curran McGowan ’25, Kannon Kuhlmann ’26 and Ella Williams ’26 are all SUNY Morrisville graduates who have found their way to the sustainable, regenerative farm in Skaneateles, NY. There, they are putting the knowledge and hands-on experience they gained at Morrisville to work in a professional growing operation.

For Danica ’14 and Michael Adarkwah ’15, SUNY Morrisville is more than a place where they earned their degrees. It is where they met, became involved with campus life, built lasting friendships and made memories that have stayed with them long after graduation.   The couple returned to campus this year for their second Mustang Weekend celebration, bringing their daughters Madeline, 2, Madilyn, 4, and Madison, 6. Danica and Michael married in 2018, with Sharry Woodcock ’89, a former Morrisville student activities member they knew as students, officiating their wedding.

It looks like a simple cow pasture, but there’s much more happening beneath the surface. Students in Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins’ Pasture Management & Forages Production class are getting hands-on experience studying how pasture plants recover and compete for resources — right in SUNY Morrisville’s own fields. As part of a pasture plant recovery and competition study, students are identifying and evaluating plant growth in the fields, taking a closer look at how different forage species respond to grazing and environmental conditions.

SUNY Morrisville is gearing up for Mustang Weekend, Friday, Sept. 18 and Sat. Sept. 19, welcoming alumni, students, families and friends for two days of activities, athletics, food and fun. The two-day celebration offers opportunities to reconnect with classmates and friends, explore campus, experience Morrisville’s hands-on programs and cheer on the Mustangs in various athletic competitions.

SUNY Morrisville’s annual Autumn Review Sale is Saturday, Sept. 19. The sale starts at 11 a.m. at the Groves Barn, 5350 Hart Road in Morrisville, near the Arnold R. Fisher Dairy Complex off Eaton Street. There will also be an open house on Friday, Sept. 18, from 4-8 at the Groves Barn for anyone who wants to learn more about the sale or is interested in buying an animal.

When Tilly Couture arrived at SUNY Morrisville from Nova Scotia, Canada, she came with two goals: to earn a degree in residential construction and compete for the Mustangs women’s ice hockey team. Two years later, she has accomplished both. Couture graduated from SUNY Morrisville this year with an associate degree in residential construction and just wrapped a summer internship with Cooper Construction in Hamilton. Now, she is preparing for the next chapter of her journey.

First day of classes and horticulture students are jumping right into hands-on learning! They’re kicking off the semester by planting 1,900 poinsettia plugs as part of the college’s Greenhouse Management class. The course gives students hands-on experience with greenhouse operations, plant care and producing commercial floriculture crops, including poinsettias. Throughout the semester, students will care for the poinsettias until they’re ready for their big debut at the annual poinsettia sale in December.

Mustangs are returning to campus and President Michelle Coach is right in the middle of the action, helping students and their families carry boxes, settle into residence halls and begin their new academic year at SUNY Morrisville. Just two days into her tenure as the college’s ninth president, Coach is already getting to know the Mustang community, connecting with students, families, faculty and staff as residence halls fill and campus comes alive for the start of the semester.

A new chapter is beginning at SUNY Morrisville as Dr. Michelle A. Coach takes the helm as the college’s ninth president. Coach officially begins her tenure this week as Morrisville prepares to welcome hundreds of students to campus for the start of the fall semester. Since arriving at Morrisville, Coach has been making her way across campus, meeting faculty and staff, getting to know the people who make up the college community and looking toward the opportunities ahead.  

The State University of New York Board of Trustees voted today to name Dr. Michelle Coach as the ninth president of SUNY Morrisville. Dr. Coach currently serves as Dean of the School of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at Connecticut State Community College. Dr. Coach's appointment is effective on August 19, 2026, as she takes over following the retirement of Dr. David Rogers, who served as SUNY Morrisville's eighth president since 2015.