Alumni

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.

Tossing a lacrosse ball back and forth was a big part of Louie ’15 and Nick Geswaldo’s childhood. While others were playing video games, the brothers were shooting and catching, from dawn to dusk, in the backyard of their LaFayette, New York, home.   As they got older, their love for lacrosse deepened their brotherly camaraderie and spread to a college community. “We’re very close,” Nick said. “We’ve always had the same interests and hobbies and ended up always doing them together.”

After playing a major role in the revitalization of industrial hemp in New York State, SUNY Morrisville is rolling out a new minor in cannabis studies that will prepare students for the rapidly growing medicinal and recreational marijuana industry.

Breaking into the upper echelons of professional horse training isn’t easy, especially for east coast riders who aren’t from horse families. Jeremy Gates ’99 is proving that hard work and determination can overcome geographical boundaries and a later introduction to the horse industry. His career boasts one of the highest scores in a National Reining Horse Association (NRHA) event, as well as world and reserve world championship titles. "I had never ridden a reiner before coming to school. It opened up a whole new world of opportunities,” he said.

MORRISVILLE, NY—SUNY Morrisville graduates celebrated commencement day with family and friends amid a stage adorned with ferns and flowers grown and arranged by students in the college’s horticulture program. Noteworthy about this year’s graduates is the first cohort of nursing bachelor’s degree students. SUNY Morrisville President David Rogers was joined by Provost Barry Spriggs, school deans and members of the College Council in presiding over the ceremony, which began with the Syracuse Scottish Pipe Band leading graduates into the formal commencement exercises.

This semester has been anything but ordinary for SUNY Morrisville student Emilee Niejadlik.  Through an internship as an aquarium fellow at the world-class Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC), she interacted with octopuses, helped heal a wolf eel, and saw firsthand the magnificence of a sunflower sea star, the largest many-rayed sea star in the world.  The internship, a requirement for her bachelor’s degree in renewable resources technology, is the culmination of hard work leading up to graduation day.  

MORRISVILLE, NY—Faculty, staff and students are gearing up for two agricultural and dairy events this weekend: the sixth annual Milk Run on Friday, May 3, and Dairy Showmanship on Saturday, May 4. The Milk Run is a family-friendly, five-kilometer run, walk or crawl open to all skill levels. A one-mile fun run begins at 5:30 p.m., followed by the 5K run beginning at 6 p.m. in front of Marshall Hall. The Milk Run is part of the Route 20 Road Race Challenge.

MORRISVILLE, NY—SUNY Morrisville students Zainab Jimoh, of Staten Island, and Layne Martin, of Cazenovia, have been honored with the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Student Excellence. The prestigious award recognizes students who have best demonstrated the integration of academic excellence with accomplishments in the areas of leadership, athletics, community service, creative and performing arts, campus involvement, or career achievement. It is the highest honor bestowed upon a student by SUNY.  

MORRISVILLE, NY—Did you know that the average Holstein dairy cow drinks 25-30 gallons of water per day? Or that cows can smell something up to six miles away?  Learn more about cows, agriculture and SUNY Morrisville’s programs and dairy complex during Spring on the Farm, Saturday, April 27. The event, which is free and open to the public, is from noon-4 p.m. at the SUNY Morrisville Arnold R. Fisher Dairy Complex, located off of Eaton Street.  

MORRISVILLE, NY— Gilligan’s Ice Cream loves its fans so much, they are letting them choose a new SUNY Morrisville indulgence through a Mustang Ice Cream Contest.  SUNY Morrisville alumni Andy Lagoe ’92 and Gil Hodges ’92 along with partner Mike Lagoe, owners of Gilligan’s Ice Cream, (www.gilliganssherburne.com), located in Sherburne, devised the contest, which lauds their Mustang pride.