SUNY Professor Hammond to Serve as Director of the College’s New Training Center

COBLESKILL — Agricultural Engineering Professor Doug Hammond has been appointed a Director of the College’s newly established Northeast Regional Technical Training Center, helping to address the growing need for trained equipment technicians necessary to keep New York State’s agricultural, construction, and transportation fleet moving.

The Center is made possible through a long-running partnership between the College and the New York State Department of Transportation (DOT). In an expansion of the partnership, the DOT has allocated up to $1 million over the next four years to train and retrain their technicians at SUNY Cobleskill in courses taught by the College’s professors. In this role, Hammond will oversee the operations of the Center, curriculum development, assessment of current and future industry training needs for the DOT and other industry partners.

To date, SUNY Cobleskill has provided 1,182 hours of training and interaction for 2,648 DOT employees, high school students, and BOCES instructors. The College is now working on expanding its offerings in this area, with future courses to include Advanced Electrical and Hydraulics, Air Conditioning, Air Brakes, Diesel Engines, OSHA Safety Training, and Electric Vehicle Training.

"Through the collaborative efforts of Mr. Hammond and the College’s Agricultural Engineering faculty, this program is poised to expand training opportunities and significantly impact regional workforce readiness in a critical industry, especially as New York embraces the transition to electric vehicles,” said Dr. Darcy Medica, SUNY Cobleskill’s Provost and Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs. “Doug is the visionary behind this program, and I am thrilled that he will be at the forefront of bringing it to fruition and building upon the groundwork he’s put in place.”

Hammond has served SUNY Cobleskill and its students for 27 years, fulfilling several roles, including John Deere Construction and Forestry Program Coordinator, Interim John Deere Tech Program Coordinator, Professor, and Department Chair. Most recently, he was appointed as Director of the Diesel Technology Workforce Development Outreach Project. The mobile trailer, purchased and outfitted as part of a $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor in partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission, travels the state introducing high school students, technology instructors, and equipment dealers to the experiential learning opportunities SUNY Cobleskill offers.

“I look forward to working with the many partners we’ve teamed with during the Workforce Development Outreach Project. The project got the wheels turning and has had many positive spin-off outcomes,” said Hammond. “This new training center will help bring more technicians into our industry and to continue to train those already working to be prepared to service our rapidly changing heavy equipment products.”