Spring 2020

When opportunity knocks: Desire to make a difference drives business graduate’s career

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:31:08 +0000

When opportunity knocks: Desire to make a difference drives business graduate’s career salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 09:31

As a business student, Rachel Jackson ’18 came to love the small-campus advantages offered at ��Ƶ.

She never dreamed that her education would land her on one of the biggest campuses in the world — NBC Universal in New York City.

Jackson worked as a campus programs coordinator with advertising sales recruiters for the CNBC network and the popular NBC late-night talk shows, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Late Night with Seth Meyers.

Considered the “backbone of the team,” the campus program coordinators also served as points of contact for the nearly 200 NBC interns while handling the onboarding process, executing recruitment initiatives and internal events. After completing her bachelor’s degree in business administration, Jackson fulfilled the contract role between April and August 2019.

“I grew up in Stockbridge, New York (a small rural hamlet in Madison County), so it was a completely different type of life,” Jackson said. “It’s one of the biggest companies in the world, and there are so many people that you look up to in the field, so it was just incredible.”

Jackson discovered Morrisville through her sister, who studied nursing, and decided to pursue applied psychology at the college. The decision came with an “incredible” scholarship offer that helped seal the deal.

She realized in her sophomore year that she had greater interest in business. “After that, everything fell into place; that was for me,” she said.

She immediately formed a bond with Morrisville’s business professors, who challenged her through their own real-world experiences in their teaching methods and final projects.

“That’s the type of relationship that’s really important to me because I’m always trying to learn from people and their experiences,” Jackson said.

One professor in particular helped shape her future.

“Every time somebody asks who impacted me the most in human resources, I tell them it was (professor of business & entrepreneurship) Al Muss,” Jackson said. Muss served as a human resources manager for 10 years prior to teaching, bringing to the classroom real-life scenarios similar to those unfolding in Jackson’s current career.

For Muss, one of the best parts of teaching comes from watching students grow.

“Rachel’s success comes from her curiosity about the world and her desire to make a difference,” Muss said. “What I see in Rachel is a genuine concern for people, combined with positive energy and business savvy. Over her time here, she really grew, took chances on herself, and it paid off.”

That was evidenced after her junior year, when she sought out an internship with global manufacturing company Terex Corporation in Westport, Connecticut, during the summer of 2018. With her passion for HR evident right away, Terex offered her a part-time co-op campus recruitment position, allowing her to work remotely as she completed her final semester.

Author

Eugenio Mercurio

I grew up in Stockbridge, New York, so it was a completely different type of life.

Rachel Jackson

Terex remained in touch with Jackson after her graduation as she pursued the opportunity with NBC. The connection helped land her current position as a human resources generalist — a role she looks forward to every day.

“I want to be an expert in my field and help recreate HR,” she said. “Sometimes it has a negative outlook, but we are here to help you. At the end of the day, I just really want to help people.”

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

Investing in futures: Scholarships play an integral role in opening doors for students

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:28:01 +0000

Investing in futures: Scholarships play an integral role in opening doors for students salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 09:28

For Tristan Archambault ’22, receiving a scholarship changed his college experience. It gave him the opportunity to take summer classes, stay on track with his degree and be a member of the Mustang men’s ice hockey team.

“I could not have been more proud and honored to accept such a high honor here at ��Ƶ,” Archambault said of the Crawford Scholarship he received. “Scholarship support is a very important part of helping students advance their education.”

Last fall, more than 130 students and scholarship donors shared his sentiment as they gathered in Seneca Dining Hall to celebrate the return of ��Ƶ’s annual Scholarship Brunch. On hiatus for the past several years, the brunch was restored to its annual tradition form this year to celebrate the important work of scholarship donors and the accomplishments of student recipients.

“A significant number of our students experience a gap between all the aid for which they qualify, including parent loans, and the cost of college attendance,” ��Ƶ President David Rogers shared in his remarks. “Scholarships are a critical tool in filling that gap and are an investment in a generation of students and our community.”

Affordability, along with the chance for the high school hockey standout to play collegiately for the Mustangs, was a persuasive incentive for Archambault, a human performance & health promotion bachelor’s degree major from Plattsburgh, New York.

“Morrisville does a great job accommodating students in every way possible,” Archambault said.

Scholarships are among the many ways.

During the 2019-2020 academic year, the Morrisville College Foundation scholarship program provided scholarships for 505 students. Scholarship support totaled $581,000, a more than $100,000 increase from the previous year, thanks to an outpouring of support from generous alumni, parents, faculty, staff and other college supporters.

The academic year also saw the endowment of two new scholarships: The Joan Johnson Memorial Scholarship and the Ralph Whitehead Memorial Award. Endowed scholarships must reach a minimum threshold of $25,000 and then provide an award to a student each year in perpetuity.

“My advice for anyone thinking about applying for a scholarship is to go for it,” Archambault said. “It is impossible to get what you want if you don’t try.”

His Morrisville education came packed with opportunities. “I have embedded myself as deeply as I can in all the college has to offer,” he said.

In addition to playing hockey, he works as an admissions ambassador, giving tours to potential students. The applied learning in his classes has netted more than he ever could have imagined.

Author

��Ƶ

I am in a place that cares so much about my education. I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world.

Tristan Archambault '22

“I feel like I would not have the experiences Morrisville is providing me anywhere else,” Archambault said. “I am in a place that cares so much about my education. I wouldn’t trade this for anything in the world. For sure.”

Joan Johnson Memorial Scholarship

The newly endowed Joan Johnson Memorial Scholarship honors beloved faculty member Dr. Joan Johnson ’74. Johnson served as an associate professor of travel & tourism and resort & recreation management from 1981 until her passing in 2018 and was instrumental in the growth of these programs. Her scholarship was awarded for the first time for the Fall 2019 semester and is awarded every year to a continuing student enrolled in a hospitality program.

Ralph Whitehead Memorial Scholarship

The Ralph Whitehead Memorial Scholarship has been endowed after a passionate fundraising campaign by former students and colleagues of retired professor Ralph Whitehead, who taught agricultural engineering at Morrisville for 28 years. Retiring in 1983, Whitehead is remembered not only for the impact of his teaching, but also for his connection to his alumni. Whitehead’s scholarship will be awarded to a student in the agricultural engineering or diesel technology programs starting in Fall 2020.

Leave a Legacy!

Scholarships are the most common gift designation. You can designate your gift to general scholarships or direct your gift to one of the more than 100 existing named scholarship funds by visiting morrisville.edu/give. To leave a lasting legacy at the college by setting up your own named scholarship, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at 315.684.6020 or visit giving@morrisville.edu.

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

A College Standard Bearer

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:22:04 +0000

A College Standard Bearer salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 09:22

A beacon for generations, no end in sight for professor Shirley Crawford, ��Ƶ’s longest-standing faculty member

Social science professor Norman Dann, Ph.D., recalls very clearly the day he returned to his office on the ��Ƶ campus to find a young faculty member, in her first days on campus, waiting outside his door.

“She had this idea for a cross-disciplinary course that would combine sociological themes with science,” said Dann, now an emeritus. “She was very clear about the concept, and I was very interested.”

That diminutive 30-something faculty member was professor of biology Shirley Crawford, who reported for work at ��Ƶ on August 1, 1973. This fall, she will begin her 47th year on the job — the longest faculty term in the college’s 110 years of instruction.

She has become the standard-bearer — literally and figuratively — for excellence among her faculty peers, leading numerous campus committees, the Faculty Senate and even the annual procession at commencement. And to several generations of students, she has been a bridge between their varying levels of indifference to the physical sciences and a new appreciation for biology — and for academic excellence itself.

Her student evaluations through the years include oft-repeated expressions of praise:

“An awesome teacher!”

“Best professor I’ve ever had.”

“She motivated me to do my very best in everything.”

“When I sat in her classes, I realized how thirsty my mind had been.”

“Her lectures were special. I never missed a day.”

The Road to Morrisville

The road that led her to Morrisville — and the love of the place that made her stay — are as unique as the woman herself. Born in a small town in Pennsylvania, she developed a strong work ethic at an early age under the eyes of two parents who “valued education and had high expectations for me in all areas of life,” she said.

Soon after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in biology from Penn State University, she was working as a research chemist when she was visited by a fellow Penn State grad who was wearing “a brand new U.S. Air Force uniform with 2nd-Lietuenant bars on his shoulders.” It wasn’t long before they were married.

She accompanied and supported her husband, Jack Crawford, through a 23-year career in the Air Force that included two tours in Vietnam and placements in California, Alaska and Florida. She taught at every stop, becoming a charter faculty member in 1967 at the newly opened Valencia College in Orlando, Florida. Her master’s degree in biology came from Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida.

Jack’s final military assignment was in Syracuse, New York, and it was there that Shirley enrolled in a Ph.D. program in water resources at the SUNY College of Environmental Science & Forestry, located at the south edge of the main campus of Syracuse University. On the same day she enrolled, she stopped by the then Morrisville Agricultural and Technical College 35 miles to the southeast, “to see what the future might be for me.”

She left campus that day as a member of the biology faculty. And perhaps predictably, the overachiever who had delivered newspapers as a youth in her rural hometown where she also stocked shelves at the local grocery store, and who had taught secondary and college biology while she raised their three children at multiple stops during the Air Force years, found herself with the dual tasks of full-time faculty member and full-time doctoral student.

Author

Brian McDowell

Three years later, she was awarded Ph.D.s from SUNY ESF and Syracuse University. “The ‘boys’ were not too fond of that,” she recalled of her male colleagues at the two institutions. “But a lot of the courses I took counted for both degrees, so there it is,” she summed up with her typical matter-of-fact style.

Retired Vice President of Administration Larry Baker noted that Crawford rose through the college ranks when female faculty members were a rarity in the physical sciences. “She never apologized for who she was, and she never made it more difficult for anyone else, regardless of who they were,” Baker said. “Shirley has been such an important, influential member of the Morrisville faculty for so long that it’s impossible to overstate what she’s meant to us.”

Shirley and Jack, who found his second career as Morrisville’s bursar, also donated more than a few paychecks over the years, and Baker says they are far and away among the college’s top lifetime donors.

Shirley has been such an important, influential member of the Morrisville faculty for so long that it’s impossible to overstate what she’s meant to us.

Larry Baker

In return, the college honored the couple with the renaming of the former Laboratory/Classroom Building as Crawford Hall.

The Start of a Legacy

Dann had earned his doctorate in interdisciplinary social sciences and had been working on developing interdisciplinary studies since the early ’60s, at a time when most college campuses were collections of separate academic departments that operated mostly independent of one another. So when Crawford approached him on that first day of August in 1973, it was as if the universe had connected him to a kindred spirit.

The course the two developed, with the assistance of a former natural science professor, Kingsley Greene, was Science and Society. For more than two decades, it would serve as a three-credit course that was cross-listed to fill students’ needs for a physical science, a natural science or a social science. For many liberal arts students in particular, it replaced a lab class in biology that they would prefer not to take, and it was no easy ‘A.’

“I believe Science and Society was the first class I was in at Morrisville,” said Michael Gormley, a 1981 graduate from the college’s Associate in Applied Science program in journalism technology. “I remember it well. It was amazing. For the first time, I had seen how academics truly intersected with real life, how what we studied could be used to improve the world.

“I was also floored by Dr. Crawford. At first she seemed like just another friendly, good teacher. Then she explained complex concepts so well that I realized I was in the presence of a high-level of intellect and skill I hadn’t yet encountered. It was so damned cool!”

The three faculty would each take part of the lecture in each class, one after the other, and on Fridays the two sections of the course, 220 students in all, would meet for an afternoon lecture in the college’s theater, with frequent guest lecturers from the three disciplines.

After Greene retired, they continued to use his lectures on videotape.

When Dann retired in 1999, the college had trouble finding a social scientist with the interdisciplinary background to make Science and Society work, so the course was discontinued after 25 years.

Baker, who retired as administrative vice president after more than four decades of work at Morrisville, recalls that he had been on campus as dean of the School of Business when Crawford arrived in 1973.

“Shirley was always a leader and a great teacher for our students,” Baker said. “There are a few of us who worked a long time at Morrisville. Then there’s Shirley, who is the longest-serving faculty member of all.

“She’s meant so much to this place.”

Crawford said one thing has remained the same through her tenure. “I like our students,” she said. “Some of them come from a diverse background where maybe they never have fallen in love with a subject. The most satisfying thing of all has been the opportunity to help change their lives — sometimes in small ways, other times to see your efforts actually produce an excited lifelong scholar.

“If the student will stay with me and work with me, we can make some progress.”

Among her fondest memories of campus have always been the annual scholarship dinners for the college’s outstanding students. “It’s always remarkable,” she said with a broad smile, “to listen to the professors talk about their students. There was a kind of a general dedication among these students to their scholarship, and they had that in common.” Not surprisingly, the Crawfords help fund several academic scholarships.

Crawford also enjoys her perennial role as mace bearer at commencement each spring, leading the academic procession of faculty and staff into the graduation ceremony.

Does Morrisville’s longest-serving faculty member have a timetable for leaving?

“Not at all. No end in sight,” she said. “I just like the students. As long as that continues, I’ll still be here.”

Did You Know?

During the height of the AIDS crisis in the mid-‘80s, Crawford developed an artificial blood testing kit that was sold to high schools and colleges across the country — and still is today. Every penny of profit from those sales went into the Morrisville College Foundation, as did the proceeds from all of her study guides that her students purchased for her classes and a project that shows the visual effects of pollution on a living organism.

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

��Ƶ Grad is Department's First Female SWAT Officer

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:17:02 +0000

��Ƶ Grad is Department's First Female SWAT Officer salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 09:17

Justanna Bohling ’13 keeps a bag packed with her firearm, a helmet with night vision goggles and heavy plated armor that will stop rifle rounds.

She is trained in searching for fugitives, responding to active shooter situations and assessing radiological threats, and is constantly prepared to be deployed to any part of New York State.

Bohling is the first female member of a special operations team assembled by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to assist law enforcement officers in crisis situations.

“We are sent where we are needed,” Bohling said. “You have to be ready, you have to be packed, and you have to go where they say.”

She was sworn in last summer, after completing rigorous training that assessed her physical capabilities, her shooting skills and her ability to respond under pressure.

The designation is the latest honor in Bohling’s career, which has focused on protecting both the people and the natural resources of New York State.

“This is my dream job,” she said.

Author

Alaina Potrikus Beckett

A love of the outdoors

Growing up in Homer, New York, Bohling fell in love with the outdoors while hiking with her grandmother at Tinker Falls and Song Mountain.

She chose ��Ƶ to pursue a bachelor’s degree in renewable resources, which prepares students for jobs in planning and managing in natural resources, soil and water conservation, environmental science, environmental technology, wetland management and aquaculture and aquatic science.

“They prepared us to go out into the field,” Bohling said of faculty and staff in the hands-on program. “It didn’t matter if it was snowing or icy or raining — we were out in the elements, just like a full-time job.”

Her senior internship with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation turned into a job after graduation in the forestry division, overseeing state lands in the Mohawk Valley and planning annual harvests to keep woodlots healthy.

She then moved on to managing private properties, connecting homeowners with tax credits for keeping portions of their properties wild.

But her sights were set on becoming an environmental conservation officer, a force of sworn police officers that enforce the state’s environmental laws and protect natural resources. The job required a six-month training academy in Pulaski, New York, where Bohling took on physical challenges to test her endurance and learned about firearms.

“Most people who are hunting or fishing are carrying a firearm or a knife,” she said. “You have to be ready for any scenario; you can’t underestimate a situation.”

The six-month residential academy was followed by a post on Long Island, New York, where Bohling fell in love with the landscape and the job.

“It is a beautiful place to work,” she said. “I have loved it so much.”

A typical day for Bohling could include checking licenses for freshwater fishermen, monitoring waterfowl and sport hunting, or making sure out-of-town visitors aren’t clamming in uncertified waters.

“It’s a lot of outreach and education,” she said. “Those positive interactions with law enforcement can make a difference.”

A higher calling

Even as she excelled in her role as an environmental conservation officer, Bohling pursued a calling that she discovered during her first days on the job.

With an active shooter barricaded in a building across the street from her office in Herkimer, New York, Bohling and her coworkers were told to shelter in the basement.

While other officials resolved the situation that day, the experience confirmed for Bohling that she wanted to be a part of responding to difficult situations

The urge to serve was cemented in the summer of 2015, when Bohling was part of a 20-member crew of forest rangers and volunteers from the DEC who traveled to eastern Oregon to help contain a 26,000-acre forest fire. In 16-hour shifts, the team battled through smoke-filled air to help control the wildfires for two weeks.

So when a special division of environmental conservation officers was created to assist law enforcement officers in crisis situations, Bohling knew she had found the next step of her career.

The team was recruited after DEC officers played a pivotal role in the manhunt for escaped convicts Richard Matt and David Sweat from Clinton Correctional Facility in rural Dannemora, New York. The skills of the foresters were noted in the aftermath of the 23-day search involving more than 800 law enforcement officers from state, local and federal agencies.

“They knew how to cut trails, to follow and track people in a wooded area,” Bohling said.

The 21 members of the special weapons and tactics team (or SWAT) are stationed across New York State. They train twice a month and have to be prepared to respond to a call at any time.

“When people are in trouble, they call the cops; when cops get in trouble, they call SWAT,” Bohling said in a video on the DEC website. “I wanted to give my skills to other officers and be able to support and help them.”

The weekend after she graduated from SWAT training, Bohling was dispatched to Bear Mountain to help track an armed fugitive who had killed his wife.

“We knew he had a rifle and he was hiding in a tent in the woods,” she said. “That was all the information we had.”

Other missions have included helping U.S. marshals execute arrest warrants and providing maritime security when New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched an artificial reef down near Long Island.

A member of the team

Bohling said she doesn’t dwell on her status as the first female member of the special operations group.

“I don’t feel the gender difference — I’m treated the same as everyone else on the team,” she said. “We know and trust each other, that someone is there to back us up.”

She is proud of her role as a drill instructor at the academy for new environmental conservation officers, assisting with physical fitness and defensive tactics training.

“It feels good to be able to help the future generations of officers,” she said.

On her days off, Bohling enjoys running with her dogs, knitting and baking cakes for friends.

“When you take a job like this, it becomes a lifestyle,” she said. “It’s not something you can turn off.

“One of the hardest things to do is to take care of yourself, because self-care is important.”

Despite the stress, Bohling continues to push herself, training for new certifications that will help protect both the environment and the people of New York State.

“I would not trade my job for anything in the world,” she said.

Finding ways to give back

Two weeks after graduating from officer training, Justanna Bohling lost her husband in an ATV accident in Lewis County.

Timothy Bohling grew up in Sauquoit, New York, and received his bachelor’s degree in renewable resources from ��Ƶ in 2011. The couple had met as students at ��Ƶ and were married in June 2013 by professor Bill Snyder.

A lover of the outdoors, Timothy enjoyed hunting, fishing and hiking with his wife and the couple’s two dogs.

After her husband’s death, Justanna threw herself into her work and leaned on her coworkers for support.

“This position gave me mental sanity,” she said. “It helped me be able to focus my energy.”

The assistance she received inspired her to join the department’s critical incident stress team, which offers support if a fellow officer is involved in an accident or shooting.

“I’m very humbled and honored,” Justanna said of the role. “I would love to be able to help other people the way they helped me.”

A nonprofit foundation in Timothy’s honor has awarded more than a dozen scholarships to graduating seniors in Upstate New York.

To learn more about the scholarship program, visit timothyabohlingfoundation.org.

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

Designing a dream: Architectural studies graduate builds career through ��Ƶ, Cornell and Harvard

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:15:02 +0000

Designing a dream: Architectural studies graduate builds career through ��Ƶ, Cornell and Harvard salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 09:15

Julio Torres Santana ’07 didn’t speak English when he arrived in New York City as a teenager.

No one in his family had ever graduated from college, and his childhood in the Dominican Republic was marked with poverty and hardship.

But his drive to succeed and passion for architecture pushed him to complete an associate degree at ��Ƶ and become the school’s first architectural studies student to be accepted into the bachelor’s degree program at Cornell University.

Now, after completing his master's degree at Harvard University, Santana is ready for the next step in a career that once seemed beyond reach.

“When you grow up like I did, you have that urge of wanting to change things for the better,” he said. “I have the responsibility to make a difference, to help society. It is part of my nature.”

A difficult childhood

Santana was raised by his great-grandfather in a primitive, handmade shelter covered by a corrugated tin roof in the La Romana province of the Dominican Republic. The family often spent days without electricity and water, and Santana was sent into the street after school to make money by looking for shoes to shine, and selling candy and ice cream.

Despite the difficult economic circumstances, Santana discovered his love of architecture at age five, when his brother showed him a set of blueprints.

“I was always attracted to form and drawings,” he said. “It was kind of an eye-opening moment for me, that I could do this and make a living.”

��Ƶ was the only college that accepted him after finishing high school in the Bronx, where he lived with family and struggled to keep up academically because of language barriers.

But Santana thrived at Morrisville, where professors praised him as a mature, responsible go-getter.

"When you're poor, you realize the only chance you have to be something is through an education," he said in an interview as an undergraduate at Morrisville. "This is my chance; I have to take advantage of it.”

His studies in the United States expanded his horizons further. At Cornell, he spent a semester abroad in Rome, Italy, and traveled to South America studying the architecture of Ecuador, Peru, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

The Harvard program took him to Tibet and the Philippines, where he participated in a design exhibition to create modular housing for impoverished communities using recycled shipping containers.

Author

Alaina Potrikus Beckett

A career in progress

Using networking connections he made at the inauguration of the Sheila Johnson Design Center at ��Ƶ, Santana got his first job at KPF, a large architecture firm in New York City with offices across from Bryant Park.

But he left the corporate job to join the founder of the Latin Baseball Hall of Fame in creating a place of honor much like the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York.

“Many Latin players don’t make it to Cooperstown, even though they have great numbers and careers," he said. “They deserve a place to be recognized.”

Santana’s innovative and contemporary design for the complex spoke to many cultures, with a wide public plaza, baseball fields and an iconic accordion-like structure.

But when plans for the proposed museum fell through, Santana’s design work was also shelved.

It was an early lesson in how projects don’t always materialize, no matter how inspired.

“You can have the best idea in the world, but if you don’t have the means to make it happen, it stays on paper as an idea,” he said.

He returned to his hometown to work on designing villas for wealthy residents, acknowledging the disparity between his own upbringing and the homes of his potential clients.

“You can clearly see the division between the poor side and the wealthy side,” he said. “I left with a dream of coming back home and being able to help and give back.”

He finished his studies at Harvard last year and is working as a real estate agent as he tests for his architecture license. He also taught summer classes at Harvard.

“This little kid from a poor town in the Dominican Republic, teaching at Harvard?” he said. “It’s just unbelievable.”

A legacy in the making

Santana said one of his proudest moments was learning that his siblings were preparing for college programs in the Dominican Republic.

This little kid from a poor town in the Dominican Republic, teaching at Harvard? It’s just unbelievable.

Julio Torres Santana

He recalled a conversation he had with his mother as an undergraduate student.

“During winter break, she said, ’Mi hijo, tu sabes que tu eres la columna de esta casa’ [my son, you know you are the column of this house],” he wrote in his senior profile published in the Cornell Chronicle.

Santana said he has learned from both his successes and missteps and hopes to carry those lessons into the next phases of his career.

“I think this is a process that I needed to go through,” he said. “The social responsibility I feel to give back, it will take some time. But my story can motivate and encourage others, and I’m learning very valuable lessons that I can use in the future.”

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

Joseph Nassimos, former dean and professor, is remembered by colleagues and former students

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:09:43 +0000

Joseph Nassimos, former dean and professor, is remembered by colleagues and former students salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 09:09

A supportive professor who infallibly made himself available to his students, even long after they graduated; A hard-working dean always at the center of the action — that is how colleagues and students are remembering faculty emeritus Joseph Nassimos.

Author

��Ƶ

Nassimos, of Hamilton, New York, passed away in January at the age of 83.

“Joe’s legacy will live on in the work he accomplished and the thousands of lives he impacted,” said Larry Baker, a member of the College Council, Foundation Board and a former Dean of the School of Business. “He will be missed by many.”

Nassimos came to ��Ƶ in 1965 as an accounting professor. He was promoted to Dean of the then School of Business before returning to teaching, then retiring in 1995. While serving as dean, he also taught accounting and business classes, a role that bestowed on him the honor as one of the first recipients of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

His merit in the classroom earned him the admiration of colleagues and students, who fondly remember him as a caring teacher who kept in touch with them after they graduated and continued to advise them in their lives and careers.

He was equally distinctive in his role as dean. The college experienced significant growth during his tenure, with Nassimos leading faculty in expanding the offerings and complexity of the school’s programs and curriculum, and championing the School of Business and the college as a whole.

He was instrumental in starting a college chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society and established numerous articulation agreements with local colleges to ensure that students had ample transfer opportunities after completing their degree at ��Ƶ.

“He will always be remembered for working so diligently to advise students on paths leading to successful careers or continuing education after they graduated,” ��Ƶ President David Rogers said.

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

Blazing saddles

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:03:58 +0000

Blazing saddles salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 09:03

Only a lucky few know exactly what they want to be when they “grow up,” but most figure it out mid-way through college. When Jimmy Sardelli enrolled in ��Ƶ’s equine science program, he was still trying to find his path in life.

Sardelli was born and raised in Gloversville, New York, about two hours east of Syracuse. His stepfather moved the family to Ohio when Sardelli was a teenager. After high school, he enrolled in The Ohio State University’s pre-veterinary program, thinking careers in the industry were limited to medical care or training. Immediately, he knew it wasn’t for him and quit.

He went back to working at a stable, riding and doing chores. Every time he talked to his cousins back home in New York, they raved about ��Ƶ’s dairy science program. Ready for a change, he investigated the equine science program. The day he started class, he was the only male and the oldest new student at age 22. Neither attribute bothered him.

“What appealed the most to me about the program was the philosophy for learning to do it all,” he said. “Some schools focus on riding, but not necessarily learning why we wrap legs, or why we give that supplement or why use we that technique. At Morrisville, students are expected to learn the why behind everything.”

In 2006, Sardelli completed his associate degree in equine science & management and, a year later, earned his bachelor's degree in equine science. He spent a few years riding privately owned horses for well-known figures in the industry and founded his own farm, Springbrook Sporthorses in Chester County, Pennsylvania.

While riding and showing for private clients, a sales position opened at elite saddlemaker Hermes USA and Sardelli applied. He quickly became the company’s number one salesperson worldwide. Never forgetting his alma mater, he orchestrated the donation of 10 saddles, valued at nearly $100,000, and provided a free saddle fitting clinic for ��Ƶ’s equine programs.

In August 2019, he had six job offers from other well-known equestrian brands. Ultimately, he accepted a position with Lugano Diamonds, a prestigious, international diamond and jewelry company.

“I thought, if you’re going to do something, make it a bold move,” Sardelli said.

It was through ��Ƶ that Sardelli found a true calling as a salesperson for high-end brands serving some of the wealthiest hunter/jumper riders in the industry. His jobs have taken him to prestigious shows across the United States, Canada and France.

Sardelli’s success comes as no surprise to Lisa Eklund, ��Ƶ professor emeritus, who remembers he never passed up an opportunity to get involved in her class. He traveled with the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association Hunt Seat team as an alumni rider (as a transfer student, he was ineligible to compete). And, he was always the first to volunteer.

“I had to do an emergency trip to Cornell with a horse. He went along and was so helpful,” she said. “We had a great conversation on that trip and it seemed to help him find more direction as to what he wanted to do.”

His desire to learn and do more gave him access to some of the English riding industry’s top trainers. For two years, he was a working student under Marcia Kulak, who has successfully competed on the world's biggest stages and was short-listed for the Olympics twice.

“She’s tough and has quite high standards and I ate it up,” he said. “I got to ride some really nice horses.”

Perhaps more than Sardelli’s work ethic and willingness to go above and beyond, Eklund attributes much of his success to his sense of humor, ability to lead people, and communication skills.

Author

Katie Navarra

At Morrisville, students are expected to learn the 'why' behind everything.

Jimmy Sardelli

“His dynamic personality makes him instantly likeable and trustworthy — critical traits for any salesperson, especially for someone specializing in luxury products,” she said. “He has a tremendous ability to think outside the box and use critical thinking skills in every situation.”

Shelia Marshman, associate professor of agricultural business, remembers that in addition to being an excellent student, Sardelli was always concerned about his classmates and sought out ways to ensure their success.

Even after graduating, he’s continued to make sure current students have access to what they need to succeed. He helped negotiate the donation of Mr. Bojangles, a horse used in Morrisville’s equestrian program, from a client for whom he once rode.

“He was a team player and always willing to help his classmates,” Marshman said.

At Morrisville, Sardelli's commitment to the program allowed him to learn about horses and horse care, as well as to hone his management, leadership, organizational, business and people skills. He took the reins on every opportunity to grow and learn and connect with professionals in the horse industry, reasons Eklund attributes to his success.

“He has become very well-known and trusted in the horse industry, but he has not forgotten his roots at Morrisville,” she said. “He has helped to give back to the program and he is a great representative of and for the Hunt Seat program.”

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

“The Making of a Billionaire:” Alumna gives inspirational speech on Entrepreneurs’ Day

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 13:01:01 +0000

“The Making of a Billionaire:” Alumna gives inspirational speech on Entrepreneurs’ Day salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 09:01

Sheneya Wilson ’13 commanded the room. Wilson, a Ph.D. student, Forbes 30 Under 30 Scholar, author and business owner, visited campus to deliver the keynote lecture for Entrepreneurs’ Day, held February 27.

The title of her lecture, “The Making of a Billionaire,” flashed across the screen and immediately caught the attention of the college-aged audience. She employed music artist and executive Jay-Z as her case study, explaining the celebrity business owner’s seven streams of income, which include businesses Tidal and Roc Nation along with other investments, artwork and real estate.

Wilson broke down the basic tenets of budgeting, saving and investing in an easily comprehensible format while simultaneously throwing out staggering statistics about the average American’s savings, credit card debt and financial literacy. Students and faculty repeated key messages after her: “We don’t save to save, we save to invest!”

Author

��Ƶ

Celebrating Entrepreneurs’ Day

In celebration of Entrepreneurs’ Day, the college hosted a panel on entrepreneurship, moderated by Sheneya Wilson ’13. The panel, comprised of alumni and local entrepreneurs Terry Bartholomew ’85, Heather Beebe, Frank Faulring ’74, Kristin Koehler-Jeroloman ’04 and Andrew Lagoe ’92, shared their down-to-earth stories about loan applications, course corrections, successes and failures and how they ultimately grew their businesses.

They each discussed their decisions regarding branding and marketing, finding their niches in the market and being true to their own goals and objectives.

Lagoe has owned Gilligan’s Ice Cream in Sherburne, New York, with his twin brother, Matt Lagoe, since 2007.

Speaking about the path to business success, Lagoe credited their focus on a good product, excellent customer service and the community. “We’ve always found at the restaurant that the best marketing is word of mouth marketing,” he said.

Asked about Gilligan’s decision to launch a line of alcohol-infused ice cream, Lagoe talked about the importance of partnerships and finding a place in the market.

“We knew we had a niche that nobody else had. We had the ability to take our customized ice cream to local breweries and wineries and collaborate with another small business to create a product that benefits us and them.”

Those partnerships helped in growing the business. “Everybody wants to make money, but finding success while seeing other people’s success, that’s a driving factor in being an entrepreneur,” he said.

Competition promotes business startups

Celebrating the theme of Entrepreneurs’ Day, the college hosted the Fourth Annual Cotton Business Idea Competition.

In an effort to promote entrepreneurial activities among students, former Morrisville College Foundation Board director, Doug Cotton, and his wife, Susan, endowed the Douglas L. & Susan M. Cotton Fund for Entrepreneurial Development in 2006.

“I want the first-place winner to leave here with at least $1,000. This is a good investment,” Cotton said regarding the motivation to hold the annual event. “If these students can take their idea and make it happen, we’re investing in new businesses that are going to be here, in our area.”

Honing their business idea, along with the growing prize money, motivated 21 students to enter the competition. Six finalists were selected to compete and presented in front of their faculty, peers and a panel of judges which included Doug Cotton and local entrepreneurs Kerstin McKay and Joseph Anderson.

Agriculture-related businesses won the top two prizes, with Charles (Jacob) Ax IV taking first place for his plan to use drones to provide crop scouting and field analysis for local farmers.

Marjorie Donahue took second prize with her proposal, EquaHeat, producing woodstove pellets made from horse waste, bedding and other recycled wood.

Both Ax and Donahue have launched their businesses already and plan to use their prize winnings toward necessary start-up costs.

Third place went to Collin Worthington with Recycled Homes, a plan to convert unused shipping containers into housing for the homeless.

“It was the best yet,” Cotton said of this year’s competition. “We have never seen students turn up so prepared not only to present but also to answer the judges’ questions. They’ve really done their homework and they’re ready to make a success of these plans.”

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

Alumnus harvests lifetime of agricultural memories

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 12:59:00 +0000

Alumnus harvests lifetime of agricultural memories salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 08:59

At 97 years old, Richard “Dick” McGuire ’42 acts as a living historian.

He’s physically spry enough to trudge around in a half foot of snow serving as a tour guide for his 12 museums on his lifelong home of Penope Farms in the rural town of Jackson, N.Y. And he is mentally sharp enough to recollect specific use of 19th and 20th century farm equipment that was critical to the time for food production in America.

Author

Peter Holehan

McGuire, who is one of ��Ƶ’s oldest living alumni, graduated with degrees in animal science and rural engineering. While those programs are no longer still offered, they supplied him with the knowledge and tools for a larger-than-life resume chock full of accomplishments.

Among them are his themed barn museums, where he has preserved the history of agriculture, noting the days of bottled milk, tools like one-handed plows, milking machines, household furnishings and utensils, books and amusements, and cars and sleighs reflecting farm life of yesteryear.

Meticulously arranged, McGuire labels each item to include the year and description during that time period in his Penope Farm Museum, an exclusive spot visited by thousands every year. A recent visit to his farm affirms his affinity and passion for farming and agriculture, which grew exponentially through the years and earned him the Distinguished Alumni Award from ��Ƶ in 1985.

McGuire’s path to Morrisville began, in part, because his uncle had attended the college and it offered classes that interested him. But what ultimately sold him was his love for football, a sport that eventually led to an invitation to try out for the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles. McGuire, declined to tend to the family farm instead.

That decision was made easier thanks to his home at Morrisville.

“I was very pleased,” McGuire said. “The extra-curricular activities that Morrisville provided—prepared me and gave me a lot of the confidence I needed to get involved in social life and off the farm. It shows what a person, after having the experience and education that ��Ƶ offers, can accomplish.”

McGuire worked on the school farm, from 5-8 a.m. each day, earning $15 per week to pay his meal tickets.

Outside of the classroom, he was a three-sport athlete, playing football, baseball and basketball, eventually going on to play semi-pro basketball for Salem in Washington and Saratoga Counties.

His sites set on attending Cornell University after he graduated, those plans changed with America’s entry into World War II.

“Pearl Harbor happened during my senior year and suddenly the whole thing changed,” McGuire recalled. “Dad’s hired man was drafted. People joined the Air Force (because the country was looking) to rapidly develop pilots. I had to have permission because I was only 19 years old. Dad said that he had to probably stop farming because he lost his help, so instead I decided to come home to the farm.”

Exempt from being drafted into the war due to the farm business, McGuire served that duty in full.

The following years garnered growth. He expanded the 65-acre farm owned by his grandfather in 1895to 440 acres by 1944. Admittedly, McGuire could not imagine what would be in store for his highly decorated life to come.

It started with a call from then New York State Gov. Mario Cuomo, who offered him the post of Commissioner of Agriculture for New York State. He served there for seven years after serving as President of the New York State Farm Bureau for 14 years.

“Animal science was probably the most important thing that I studied at Morrisville because I learned how to be a farmer and involved in local affairs,” McGuire said. “I won the public speaking contest and did a lot of work with agriculture and communications. So, I got involved in all the farm organizations. From there, I became the President of the Farm Bureau.”

During his distinguished career, McGuire implemented agricultural policies with prestigious figures, meeting with four U.S. Presidents, spanning the terms of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.

Other awards he received included being named Outstanding Commissioner of Agriculture by the National Biotech Industry, as well as Distinguished Service to Agriculture by the American Farm Bureau.

While McGuire admits he had no aspirations set in stone as to what ventures he would take on next, he was always willing to say yes.

“Ninety-seven years,” McGuire said. “It took me a long time to get here. It has been an interesting and exciting journey.”

Published date

May 22, 2020

News Type

Couple’s life is Anything But Bland

salibalr — Thu, 21 May 2020 12:52:16 +0000

Couple’s life is Anything But Bland salibalr Thu, 05/21/2020 - 08:52

When Alexandra “Ali” Bland ’09 was pregnant with her first child in 2015, she asked her husband if he could build a radiator cover that could double as a changing table in their nursery. Before long, Thomas Bland ’09 had created a rustic piece with a drawer, small cupboard and an eye-catching herringbone-patterned top made from pallets.

He completed the project with such efficiency and enthusiasm that she found herself wondering what else he could make. The couple was in the process of renovating a stately 1920s-era house on Parkwood Boulevard in Schenectady, New York, and woodworking came naturally to Tom. For his next project, he used reclaimed wood to make Ali a Pottery Barn-style kitchen island with slatted shelves. She used it for less than a month before they sold it on Craigslist.

"Everyone who saw it oohed and ahhed over it and said, 'that's really nice. You should build more,''' Ali said.

And that's how Anything But Bland Designs, the couple's interior, landscape and custom furniture design company, got its start.

Since that time, the Blands have joined dozens of other makers as vendors at Clinton Street Mercantile, an artisans’ co-op in downtown Schenectady, where they offer everything from coasters, candlesticks, cutting boards and hand-lettered signs to furniture-like desks, dining room tables and vanities. Much of the wood Tom uses to make furniture is salvaged from old buildings in Schenectady County.

They’ve also embarked on their biggest project to date: the purchase and renovation of an 8,700-square-foot former warehouse building in Schenectady.

The first floor will house Tom's woodworking shop and Ali's design studio and the second floor will have three large apartments, including one where the Blands and their young daughters will reside. It will have kitchen islands and bathroom vanities made by Tom.

“We are so excited to get this project going,’’ Ali said in January, shortly after the Blands closed on the building. “It will be our base.’’ She called 2019 a year of waiting and patience and expects 2020 to be a year of more patience, hard work and growth. In March, they were awaiting permits and paperwork from the city of Schenectady and hoping to soon begin their build-out. Then the coronavirus pandemic struck and life as they knew it was put on pause.

Author

Margaret McCormick

The Blands are looking forward to pushing forward with their project as soon as it is safe to do so.

“We really wanted to use a blighted building for our space,’’ Tom said. “We trust that this project will not only show our community what can be done when put your trust and hope into something much greater than yourself, but also help lead the revitalization of our new neighborhood. Throughout the whole project we’ve felt like we were being led here.’’

While they were students at ��Ƶ more than a decade ago, Ali said she and Tom, both 32, couldn’t have imagined the unexpected twists and turns their lives would take to get them to this point.

Ali, from Duanesburg, in Schenectady County, and Tom, from neighboring Schoharie (Schoharie County), met at Morrisville in 2008 when Ali’s father introduced them. Tom was studying automotive technology, while Ali was majoring in landscape design & management.

The Beginning

Ali was driving a 1991 Honda Accord with recurring battery issues when Tom jump-started it for her a few times while they were on campus. During winter break, Tom asked Ali what she was doing for New Year’s Eve. Her response: “Probably nothing, my car is dead again.”

“I told her I’d take it to work with me the following week under one condition — she had to pay me with a date. I fixed her car and a few days later we went to a little cafe for dinner. She ordered a cheeseburger and when it came, she pushed up her sleeves, put her hair in a bun and dug right in. We’ve been together ever since.’’

Following graduation, both immediately found jobs in their respective fields. Tom went to work at a car dealership and currently works as a technician for New Country Porsche of Clifton Park, New York. Ali went to work for a landscaper and honed her landscape design skills, which she would later put to use at the house they renovated and sold. In the offseason, when her employer focused on snow removal, she turned her attention to interior design and began to work freelance.

Now, among other things, Ali works with a custom homebuilder in the Capital District who discovered the Blands’ work and projects on Instagram. She helps clients select everything from paint colors to light fixtures to kitchen cabinets. She consults on space and storage planning and also helps homeowners settle on things like exterior color and landscape schemes.

"It's really fun,'' Ali said. "If you're starting from scratch on a house, there are just so many choices and decisions … I help people spend money in smart ways.’’

When they’re not working, the Blands love to spend time with their daughters and families — and watch HGTV (Home & Garden Television), a television channel featuring programming related to home design, decorating and remodeling ideas. Ali said they’re fans of “Home Town,’’ with hosts Erin and Ben Napier, who have a passion for restoring old homes in the South. Ali finds that show especially relatable.

“I was the kid who liked to go to Home Depot when I was little and look at the kitchen displays,’’ she said. “I'd get on Zillow and look at old houses for hours. I always knew I wanted to do home design. It’s cool that's actually happening now.’’

Even with everything they presently have on their plates, the Blands plan to someday renovate more houses and contribute to neighborhood revitalization in Schenectady. Their warehouse will allow them to live in one place while restoring another property or properties.

“We don’t ever want to live through a renovation (of our own property) again,’’ Ali said, “but we will definitely be restoring other homes. One of the main things Tom wants to do is take wood salvaged from demolition and put it back into the home. That way you’re updating but still preserving history.’’

Anything But Bland Designs

Published date

May 22, 2020

Gallery

News Type

Spring 2020

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Investing in futures: Scholarships play an integral role in opening doors for students

Joan Johnson Memorial Scholarship

Ralph Whitehead Memorial Scholarship

Leave a Legacy!

A College Standard Bearer

The Road to Morrisville

The Start of a Legacy

Did You Know?

������Ƶ Grad is Department's First Female SWAT Officer

A love of the outdoors

A higher calling

A member of the team

Finding ways to give back

Designing a dream: Architectural studies graduate builds career through ������Ƶ, Cornell and Harvard

A difficult childhood

A career in progress

A legacy in the making

Joseph Nassimos, former dean and professor, is remembered by colleagues and former students

Blazing saddles

“The Making of a Billionaire:” Alumna gives inspirational speech on Entrepreneurs’ Day

Celebrating Entrepreneurs’ Day

Competition promotes business startups

Alumnus harvests lifetime of agricultural memories

Couple’s life is Anything But Bland

The Beginning

Anything But Bland Designs

��Ƶ Grad is Department's First Female SWAT Officer

Designing a dream: Architectural studies graduate builds career through ��Ƶ, Cornell and Harvard