MORRISVILLE, NY–Six Morrisville State College faculty/staff members were recently honored with Chancellor’s Awards for Excellence by the State University of New York and SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher.
Recipients will be recognized during the college’s 106th commencement ceremony, which will be held May 6 at 1 p.m. in the recreation center.
Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service is: Stephen L. Hinkle of Madison
The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service recognizes faculty members for excellence in teaching techniques, scholarship and professional growth, student services and academic standards.
Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching is: Kelly Hennigan of Morrisville
The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching recognizes professors who show outstanding skill in the classroom, scholarship and professional growth, commitment to students and high academic standards.
Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service is: Seth A. Carston of Eaton
The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service recognizes outstanding job performance by professional staff in administrative positions who have transcended the normal definitions of excellence.
Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching is: Katey B Cordary of Wampsville
The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching recognizes adjunct faculty members for excellence in teaching techniques, scholarship and professional growth, student services and academic standards.
Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship is: Angela M. Rhodes of Hamilton
The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Librarianship recognizes those who demonstrate extraordinary performance in librarianship, service to the university, scholarship and continuing professional growth.
Receiving the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service is: Melissa Pearson of DeRuyter
The SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Classified Service recognizes employees who have consistently demonstrated superlative performance within and beyond their position.
Stephen L. Hinkle
Hinkle, professor of humanities, has served as director of theater and music since 2001. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of college plays from casting, directing, lighting, sound, scenery, vocals, music, choreography, costumes and makeup. His extensive career in theater also includes building sets for MSC plays.
Hinkle serves as a vocalist for the college’s Student Government Organization, the Paragon Jazz Ensemble and choir. He also teaches public speaking and is a presenter on ethical leadership for the student leadership series, Educating Leaders in Transformational Excellence (ELITE).
He has taken an active role in the United University Professions (UUP) union, currently serving as president while previously holding roles as delegate, secretary treasurer and vice president for academics.
His campus service also includes serving on an array of committees and advising the Friars Club.
Hinkle has received numerous awards throughout his career, including the SUNY Disability Services Council Award for Campus Access and SGO Best Faculty Advisor in the School of Liberal Arts.
Prior to Morrisville, he taught in many areas of theater and public speaking and worked as a director, technical director, artistic director, actor and stage manager.
Hinkle earned an M.F.A. in directing from the University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, and a B.A. in theatre and music from Augustana College, Rock Island, Ill. His graduate school thesis project at the University of South Dakota was performed at the Kennedy Center for American College Theater Festival, a national theater program which involves 20,000 students from colleges and universities nationwide.
Hinkle and his wife, Stephanie Lawhorne, live in Madison.
Kelly Hennigan
Hennigan, associate professor of horticulture and chair of the Horticulture Department, joined the Morrisville State College staff in 2002.
Through one of many grants she obtained for the horticulture program, she started the college farm as an organic fruit and vegetable operation that includes a season-extension high tunnel and a hops yard demonstration. She also organized the Morrisville Tree Inventory Project, a collaborative effort between the village and MSC to increase community awareness about the benefits of the urban forest.
Throughout her tenure, Hennigan has been instrumental in curriculum and course development. She has left her mark in the community as strongly as on campus, teaching professional workshops and training classes.
Hennigan is a member of the Pi Alpha Xi, Collegiate Honor Society in Horticulture.
She earned her M.S. and B.S. in horticulture from Cornell University and an A.A.S. from Sullivan County Community College.
She lives in Morrisville with her husband, Joel Marshall.
Seth A. Carsten
Carsten has served as an instructional support assistant at Morrisville State College since 2005. His career began in the Aquaculture Department and has expanded to the Environmental Sciences, Renewable Energy and Agricultural Engineering departments.
In his current role, Carsten serves as instructor of MSC’s heavy equipment operation course and also provides instructional and laboratory support for a variety of courses within renewable energy and environmental science.
Carsten has been instrumental in the growth of multiple facilities on campus, including the expansion of the fish hatchery and the completion of the controlled environment agriculture greenhouse. He has also played a major role in the recent renovation of Crane Lodge, used primarily for environmental science fieldwork, in nearby Georgetown.
Carsten is involved with numerous MSC student organizations, including the Outdoor Recreation Club, Renewable Energy Club, Conservation Tri-Society and Agriculture Engineering Club. He also played an integral role in forming the school’s Woods Sports Team through the development of a traditional woods skills course, in which he serves as instructor and volunteer head coach.
A 1993 graduate of Morrisville, Carsten excelled as a wood products technology student, graduating as valedictorian of the then-School of Agriculture and Natural Resources. His student accolades include the SUNY Merit of Academic Excellence Award, induction into the Phi Theta Kappa National Honors Fraternity and a Scholastic Excellence Scholarship from Gutchess International and North Eastern Kiln Drying Association.
Carsten is co-owner and operator of Upstate Hardwoods Ltd., a small hardwood lumber manufacturing facility housed in Eaton.
He and his wife, Kathleen, have a son, Logan. They reside in Eaton.
Katey B Cordary
For the past nine years, Cordary has been an adjunct instructor at MSC, teaching various psychology and child development classes in the School of Liberal Arts.
She also has served as an instructor in the Educational Opportunity Program and in the OnCampus SUNY program, and has worked as a professional tutor in the Academic Enrichment Center.
Outside of MSC, Cordary worked with the Madison County Employment and Training Center as a career counselor, case manager and job links workshop instructor. She also performed volunteer work for a local animal shelter.
Cordary earned a Ph.D. in psychology with a specialization in educational psychology from Capella University, Minneapolis, Minn., an M.S. in education (certificate of advanced study-school counseling) from Alfred University and a B.S. in psychology from the State University of New York at Cortland.
Angela M. Rhodes
Rhodes, associate librarian at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses, has worked at MSC since 2010.
Throughout her tenure, she has implemented technological advancements in the college library and also increased library programming.
Her exemplary service includes her involvement on SUNY-wide library initiatives in systems and cataloging. She is currently serving on the SUNY-wide steering committee charged with moving 64 SUNY campuses to a single bibliographic environment on a new platform.
Active on campus, she serves as co-chair of the Eighth Science, Technology and Society Symposium Planning Committee, co-advisor of the Competitive Gaming Club and as a member of the Professional Development Committee.
An avid volunteer, Rhodes serves as president of the Hamilton Lions Club and is a member of an international group that distributes baked goods for charity.
Her affiliations include the American Library Association, State University of New York Librarians Association and Beta Phi Mu (International Library and Information Studies Honor Society), Syracuse University.
Rhodes earned an M.L.S. in library and information science from Syracuse University and a B.S. in criminal justice from the University of South Carolina.
She, her husband Don, and son, David, reside in Hamilton.
Melissa Pearson
Pearson serves as Secretary 1 in the Morrisville State College Facilities Department, a role she has held since 2013 after working three years in the school’s Nursing Division. She previously served as a Stores Clerk II in Facilities from 2006-2010.
Pearson is involved with all departments within facilities, including the central heating plant, maintenance operations center, energy management system, water and wastewater treatment facilities, grounds, custodial, garage, shipping and receiving, environmental health and safety and construction site representatives.
Pearson’s responsibilities include overseeing the work order system, managing direct reports for the director of facilities, reviewing transactions, preparing and comparing financial reports, and recording purchase and yearly budgets requests. Her role also involves coordinating documentation with a variety of vendors and contractors for construction projects and material procurements.
Within the community, Pearson serves as coach and concessions manager for her hometown’s pre-K through fourth-grade youth soccer team and is a notary public.
She and her husband, Drew, have two children, Kolbie and Mari. The family runs a beef and hay operation on their farm in DeRuyter.
Morrisville State College’s curricula are enriched with applied learning and pave the way for opportunity at both the Morrisville and Norwich campuses. An action-oriented, interactive learning lab, the college is a national leader in technology and has been lauded for its exemplary, innovative and effective community service programs.
The college was ranked among the Best Regional Colleges in the North by U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges 2017 issue and was also recognized in the Top Public Schools, Regional Colleges North in the 2017 Best Colleges rankings.