General

Greg Carroll champions winning culture following 18-year career as athletics director Greg Carroll still remembers his wild first day on the job as director of athletics at SUNY Morrisville. Fresh off a successful 12-year run as the athletics director and director of communications for the Cazenovia (New York) school district, Carroll walked into football check-in day before the 2001 season. Nearly 150 student-athletes flooded campus looking for his assistance.

Andy Lagoe ’92 and Gil Hodges ’92 wanted to come up with a way to show how proud they are to be Mustangs. The duo, owners of Gilligan’s Ice Cream along with partner Mike Lagoe, decided the best way was to do what they do best. So they churned up an ice cream flavor contest at SUNY Morrisville. “We thought, why not reach out to our alma mater to see if they would want to collaborate and create a flavor for Morrisville,” Andy Lagoe said.  

Seeds of popular landscaping & nursery dynasty were planted at SUNY Morrisville They started small, but their dreams grew big. Throughout the past three decades, Lasnicki Landscaping & Nursery’s comprehensive services and family atmosphere have grown to reap the admiration of the local community and far beyond the reaches of its physical location on County Route 32 in Hastings, New York.

Unrelenting spirit of giving drives Volunteer of the Year Patricia “Patty” King ’77 is spirited by helping others. Whether it’s running, racing, volunteering, leading, hiring, mentoring or otherwise, she does all she can to support her career field, her alma mater and the people she serves through both. Her infectious energy, enthusiasm and commitment toward making a difference in others’ lives all played a part in her receiving SUNY Morrisville’s Volunteer of the Year Award.  

Monday morning, the second week of classes, and in the Western barn, the nicker of horses and warmth of well-used leather replaces the starch of lectures and laptops. A palomino named Trigger hangs his head over the stall door and poses for a selfie with a freshman whose experience with horses has been pretty much confined to cell phones. Down the aisle, another newly minted rider is trying to wrap the legs of a fidgety paint. A third is discovering that horses manage to get all sorts of interesting items caught in their tail.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. —SUNY Morrisville criminal justice student Kalif Amritt, of Queens, is among the recipients of SUNY’s inaugural Norman R. McConney Jr. Award for Student Excellence. The award, which recognizes outstanding Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) students for their academic achievements, celebrates students who have overcome significant obstacles in life to achieve their educational and personal goals. The award is named after the late Norman McConney Jr., one of the architects of the statewide EOP and champion of youth empowerment.

NORWICH, N.Y. — Despite a rare degenerative disease that has forced her to change the course of her life, Marsha Friedel is still all heart. And she is putting it to good use.   The New Berlin resident and human services student at the SUNY Morrisville Norwich Campus is going to college at age 52, blazing a trail of giving along the way.   Friedel’s spirit and commitment are among the reasons she earned the State University of New York Association of Council Members and College Trustees Award for Excellence in Student Initiative Scholarship. 

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — An exhibit showcasing art created by SUNY Morrisville student and United States Army veteran Christopher Richards, of Eaton, is on display now through January in the Donald Butcher Library at the SUNY Morrisville campus.  Richards, who served as a combat medic, is an individual studies (pre-nursing) student. His work features charcoal and pencil, and color architectural drawings of countryside barns.  An opening reception will be held on Thursday, Nov. 14, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in the library.

SUNY Morrisville’s mission is to offer diverse learning experiences so that graduates may pursue rewarding lives and careers, become engaged citizens and contribute to our collective future. I was recently offered the opportunity to discuss the importance of providing a high-quality and affordable education to all New Yorkers and others who seek it during the Senate Standing Committee public hearing on Higher Education, held at the SUNY Oswego Syracuse campus.

MORRISVILLE, N.Y. — The SUNY Morrisville Theater Department and Student Government Organization present Tom Griffin’s “The Boys Next Door,” Thursday, Oct. 31, Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Nov.  3 at 2 p.m. in the theater of the college’s John W. Stewart Center for Student Activities (STUAC).   The play, which takes place in a communal residence house in a New England city, provides a humorous commentary on the lives of four men who live under the supervision of a young, burned out social worker.