At the end of each academic year, graduating students at SUNY New Paltz have an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments with a day dedicated to their achievements.
Minds @ Work is a day that brings together the different disciplines that make up our campus - the arts, the sciences, the humanities, business and education - reminding us of our connections and unity. Hundreds of family, friends, faculty and staff come out to support the up and coming graduates.
It's a day to witness the fruits of our students' creative vision, intellectual curiosity and determination before they cross the stage during Commencement weekend.
This year, it was held on Friday, May 2, where students gathered across campus for events including:
- Honors Program Thesis Presentations
- Annual Engineering Design EXPO
- Graphic Design and Digital Design & Fabrication's Design Show
- BS/BA Art Exhibition: Visual Symphony
- Celebration of Writing
- Student Research Symposium
- BFA Exhibition II
- The School of Business Awards & Graduation Ceremony
2025 Engineering Design Expo
This end-of-year tradition for the Division of Engineering Programs is the culmination of the Senior Design Project, a two-semester sequence that challenges engineering undergraduates to use their technical skill and their creativity to solve real-world challenges. Within a year, future engineers learn to address real-world problems with original projects or improve upon existing structures from previous capstone courses, while being guided by exceptional faculty.
Projects and prototypes at the EXPO bring together students from mechanical, electrical and computer engineering backgrounds, creating an atmosphere where students learn quickly how to meld these backgrounds together while ironing out the inevitable kinks that come with design and construction of technological innovations.
This year's highlights included a bi-pedal robot intended for educational and experimental use, an adjustable height bed lift to enhance the comfort and independence of disabled individuals, and an autonomous food delivery car to enhance and address time management issues.
To read more about the 2025 Engineering Expo, click here. For more photos, click here.
Student Research Symposium
Coordinated by the Research Scholarship & Creative Activity program, the Student Research Symposium is its end-of-year celebration of faculty-mentored student scholarship. It allows undergraduate and graduate students to present their original projects under faculty supervision. That includes as part of an independent study, honors thesis, Master's thesis, seminar study or other supervised work. This year, it featured 69 presentations by 110 students in 15 departments, covering material from disaster mental health to ornithology.
“In the future, I plan to go to medical school, so working on all aspects of this research helped inform that this was the path I want to go on,” said Alisha Mokal '26 (Biochemistry).
Presentations featured included topics on when do people help and why, rational expectations in housing markets and multiple first responder roles and mental health. For the full Symposium program, click here.
The RSCA Advisory Board also continued its annual tradition of recognizing an exceptional faculty mentor at the Symposium, honoring their dedication to the often time-intensive work of guiding students in an open-ended project. This year’s Faculty Mentor Award went to Associate Professor of Psychology Doug Maynard.
To read more about the Student Research Symposium, click here. For more photos, click here.
Design Show 2025
The work of graduating students in the BFA Graphic Design and MA Digital Design & Fabrication programs was showcased in the annual Design Show. Usually held in Wooster Hall, a last-minute venue change due to an electrical outage brought the show to the South Classroom Building on the other side of campus. With nearly every building and space on campus unavailable due to other important events, they were left with very few options that could accommodate the size and needs of the event.
Still, the event drew over 200 guests including family and friends from out of state, alumni, local professionals and the campus community.
"With only a few hours to spare, tables and equipment were moved, catering was redirected, the new location was publicly promoted, and students quickly adapted their work and exhibition plans to the new space," said Amy Papaelias, Associate Professor of Graphic Design, in an email to campus.
Designs included mini packets on the art of bookbinding, art science kits for curious minds, little letters for big smiles, a self-guided beginner piano lesson booklet and more.
For more photos, click here.
BFA & MFA Spring 2025 Thesis Exhibitions and 2025 Senior Art Exhibition: Visual Symphony
Housed in the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, BFA II students put their work on display for an opening reception on May 2. The prior week, BFA I students exhibited their work. And it's not too late to see exhibitions from MFA I and MFA II students, who will be on display starting May 9 and May 16, respectively.
These shows are the culmination of years of research, experimentation, and creative growth brought to life in public. Spanning a wide range of disciplines and media, these exhibitions showcase a new generation of artists as they share their unique visions with the world.
Next door, hosted in the Fine Arts Building on May 2, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts students exhibited their work for the 2025 Senior Art Exhibition, Visual Symphony. Visitors enjoyed refreshments and live music while looking at the soon-to-be graduates' work.
The School of Business Awards & Graduation Ceremony
On May 2, the School of Business held its annual end-of-year award ceremony honoring 276 graduates-to-be before an audience of friends and family at the Lecture Center on campus. Dean Kristin Backhaus led the faculty in officially inducting the new class of Alpha Mu Alpha, the international Business Honor Society, and the ceremony also saw the presentation of the Exceptional Student Leadership Award to Pavlo Mysak '25 (Business Analytics).
Enjoying reading about what our students are working on? Head over to the News Hub to explore additional features on student research at SUNY New Paltz.
