Mohawk Valley Community College’s Foundation has chosen five new members for its Hall of Fame. Due to COVID-19 regulations, a ceremony will be held in 2021.

The MVCC Hall of Fame recognizes individuals who have embraced our community, modeled the way, inspired confidence, and encouraged excellence at MVCC. Selections are also based on business or professional achievements or awards, leadership service to the local community, personal achievements, leadership support and involvement at MVCC, significant contributions to MVCC athletics, and any other appropriate qualifications.

This year’s inductees have made significant contributions that will have a lasting effect on the development, progress, and success of MVCC.

Department Head/Professor Emerita Josephine Alexander worked at MVCC for 46 years, initially serving as an adjunct instructor before transitioning to Associate Professor and Coordinator in the Psychology, Human Services and Education Department. She was promoted to Department Head in 1993 and continued to serve in that position until retiring in 2001. After her retirement, she has continued ongoing service as an adjunct instructor to support the next generation of Human Services professionals.

Alexander put extraordinary effort into growing the Psychology, Human Services, and Education Department at MVCC. Her accomplishments include developing the Chemical Dependency Counseling Program and its related courses; aiding in the development of handbooks for the Human Services Internship Program; developing strong relationships with local organizations to ensure students had access to high-quality experiential learning sites; and coordinating development of the MVCC/SUNY Oneonta joint program in education. She also served as MVCC Senate Chair for 10 years, served on Curriculum and the Policy and Standards Committees, and acted in many other leadership capacities across the College. She was a mentor and role model who achieved a strong impact on the professional development of her students and colleagues.

Alexander’s efforts were honored with the MVCC Excellence in Teaching Award; the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching; the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development (NISOD) Excellence in Teaching Award; and she was named the Surrogate Decision Making Committee Panelist of the Year. In addition to her outstanding service for the College, Alexander has maintained extensive involvement in the community. She was appointed by the governor to serve on the Board of Visitors for Mohawk Valley Psychiatric Center (where she also served as Board President), and has also served as a member and President of the New York State Association of Boards of Visitors, the Peacemaker Program, Junior Junction Day Care Center, Child Care Consulting Committee OMH BOCES, and is a member or past member of the Surrogate Decision Making Committee, the State Association of Administrators of New York, the American Psychological Association, and Uarda Temple #24, Daughters of the Nile.

During Alexander’s time at MVCC, she was instrumental in developing key programs and building the staff capacity to continue and strengthen the College’s contributions to the community and region. She played a key leadership role in establishing her department’s reputation in the community.

Associate Dean/Professor Emerita Nancy Caputo served MVCC for more than 30 years, beginning as an Instructor of Nursing in 1978 and working her way up to Professor, Health Services Department Head, and finally Associate Dean for Nursing and Allied Health in the Center for Life and Health Sciences in 2010.

Caputo’s tireless efforts on behalf of the Nursing program made an incredible impact that still can be seen today. She established many articulation agreements to seamlessly transfer students to continue their education, and developed 2+2 programs with Le Moyne College, Utica College, SUNY Upstate Medical Center, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, and more. A major accomplishment was her development of a relationship with Rome Hospital that led to a Rome Campus Nursing program with an externally funded, full-time staff person. During her tenure in leadership at MVCC, the Nursing program achieved accreditation from the National League of Nursing Accreditation Commission for the maximum number of years awardable. Caputo is still empowering nursing students on an individual level through a scholarship she began when she retired, an active reminder of her multi-faceted legacy.

Caputo’s leadership was recognized with the NISOD Excellence Award in Teaching in 1992; the MVCC Award for Excellence in Faculty Service in 2006; the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Faculty Service in 2007; and the Genesis Award for Nurse Educator in 2008. Caputo’s impact on the healthcare of the region stretched beyond MVCC. She founded the Nursing Executives in Education and Service (NEXES) Group for professional development, and her deep commitment to the region’s healthcare led to her becoming a sought-after resource for advice and assistance by local leaders. During her time at MVCC, she served on many boards and many advisory committees and even through retirement she still volunteers with the American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association, and the American Cancer Society.

Caputo’s personal leadership and drive focus on the success of each student, the College, and her community made an incredible impact on the advancement of the healthcare programs at MVCC. She was a role model who inspired her colleagues to believe as deeply as she did in the power of education, and motivated the entire community to pursue excellence in healthcare.

Evon Ervin ’97 is an MVCC alumna who has demonstrated a lifelong dedication and drive to serving her college and community. A Human Services graduate who went on to become Deputy Director of the Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency, Ervin has been an outstanding role model who is quick to reach out to students and share her personal journey. Ervin has overcome the challenges of growing up in a low-income neighborhood and has struggled with a disability and the trials of single motherhood, all while balancing education, work, and family. In addition to service as an inspirational speaker at events and graduation, Ervin also is a member of the MVCC Alumni Association, which plays an important role in keeping alumni connected to the College and supporting the next generation of students.

In addition to her incredibly impactful work for the MVCAA, Ervin has served on the Oneida County Board of Legislators (including on the Economic Development & Tourism and the Health & Human Services committees); as the Vice President of Utica City School District Board of Education; as a Board member for the Arc, Oneida-Lewis Chapter, the Utica Public Library, and Oneida-Herkimer-Madison BOCES; on committees for the NYS School Boards Association; as Treasurer for the city of Utica’s Harbor Point Development Corporation Board of Directors; and more. Ervin’s deep commitment to her community has been widely recognized through professional awards and honors. She was named the MVCC Alumna of Merit for 2015; received a Community Service Award from the NYS College Trustees Association in 2016; received the Salute to Outstanding Women Human and Public Services Award from the YMCA in 2014; and in 2008 received the Women of Worship: Deborah Award recognizing leadership and wisdom.

In her service both to MVCC and the broader community, Ervin has consistently demonstrated the dedication and drive of a true leader. Her success in the face of multiple barriers is a testament to her hard work and unwavering pursuit of her goals, and her passionate support of the next generation of MVCC students has had an incalculable impact on their future successes. Ervin is an outstanding member of the MVCC alumni community, and she attributes the accomplishment of so many milestones to the help of her husband, Venice. 

Professor Emeritus William Hysell began his career at MVCC in 1981 and provided invaluable service as a faculty member for 37 years, also serving as Humanities Coordinator, coordinator of MVCC’s College in Prison program, and as interim Department Head for Humanities on two separate occasions.

Hysell was strongly focused on working with vulnerable and underserved populations. He demonstrated extraordinary talent and success as an instructional designer, advocate, and pioneer of student-centered learning through the “flipped classroom” and other innovative models. His contributions included early designing of learning communities, linking disciplines to enrich learning; design of ED100 courses based on the On-Course for College philosophy to ensure a stellar first-year experience; design of multiple courses to enhance the student experience; first design of an Eastern Philosophy course at MVCC; and co-design of EN106 to support students needing additional developmental reading support. He was the first MVCC faculty member to pioneer a textbook readability study, and this work laid the institutional foundation for student success initiatives such as Achieving the Dream.

Hysell’s exceptional service was recognized with multiple excellence awards, including a 2005 Disability Recognition Award; 2010 MVCC Heart of the Hawk Award; 2008 MVCC Award for Excellence in Teaching; 2011-2012 Teaching Fellowship at the North American Council for Staff, Program, and Program Development; 2015 MVCC Award for Excellence in Faculty Service; and more. He supported multiple committees and initiatives including service as an MVCC Teaching Fellow and Coordinator of Faculty and Staff enrichment; 2016 Title IX Core Workshop Facilitator and Host; MSCHE Workgroup member for Standard II Ethics and integrity; as facilitator and presenter for multiple Cultural Series events; and more. Always ready to expand his learning, in 2010, he served as MVCC’s Visiting Professor to Kieng Giang Community College in Vietnam. He was awarded Sabbatical Leave in 2013 to study Mindfulness in Education, which enabled him to later make numerous professional development presentations for his colleagues on mindfulness, as well as on student self-efficacy and a wide range of other topics.

Hysell’s service as an innovator, instructional designer, and faculty member made outstanding contributions to the quality of learning and student-focused practices in the MVCC Humanities Department. His work laid the foundations for major student success initiatives that transformed the way the College operates.

John Stetson served on the MVCC Board of Trustees for 23 years from his appointment by the governor in 1997 until his retirement in 2020. A New York State-registered professional engineer and CEO of his own engineering firm that ranked in the top 200 nationally, Stetson leveraged his invaluable expertise to shepherd the MVCC Board of Trustees through major design and construction projects including both the massive Robert R. Jorgensen Athletic and Events Center and the $30 million redesign and renovation of the Rome Campus John D. Plumley Complex. His dependability and broad expertise made him an invaluable resource and driving force behind multiple construction achievements to upgrade the learning facilities of the College.

In addition to his service to MVCC, Stetson has continued to be a stalwart and dependable supporter of a variety of community organizations. He also is an American Society of Civil Engineers member who founded Stetson-Harza Architects, Engineers, and Construction Managers, an engineering firm in Utica for which he served as CEO and spearheaded planning, concept development, and project management for major projects. While Stetson was CEO, the company employed more than 320 architects, engineers, and technicians, and was ranked No. 198 in Engineering News Record’s list of the country’s 500 largest design firms in 1992. Beyond his 1993 retirement, Stetson continued to actively contribute to the community through service to nonprofit and organizational boards including the Holland Patent Central School District’s Board of Education, Presbyterian Homes and Services, the Stanley Theatre Restoration Committee, and Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute.

Stetson’s incredible wealth of knowledge and engineering skill, supported by his dependability and dedication, made him an incredible resource and invaluable member of the MVCC Board of Trustees during a season of tremendous growth and progress at the College. During his 23 years of service to MVCC, his expertise and effort made incalculable contributions to major construction projects that have enriched the collegial experience and learning environment, and will continue to have a positive impact on students, staff, and the broader community for generations to come.

More information on each inductee is available at halloffame.mvcc.edu.