Jessica Hutchison

Jessica Hutchison is a Lecturer in the Department of Agriculture and Veterinary Technology at Alfred State College, where she has taught since August 2010 after six years instructing biology courses at Cameron University. Based in the Engineering Technology Building, she holds a BS in Environmental Soil Science from North Carolina State University and an MS in Agronomy from the University of Georgia.

Her educational credentials include:

• BS - North Carolina State University (Environmental Soil Science)
• MS - University of Georgia (Agronomy)

Dr. Hutchison specializes in sustainable agricultural systems with research emphases on soil health, organic production methods, and ecological pest management. Her teaching philosophy centers on creating nurturing yet challenging environments through active learning techniques, case studies, and group collaboration. She instructs core courses including Botany, Sustainable Vegetable Production, Sustainable Fruit Production, Field and Forage Crops, Soils, Organic and Sustainable Agriculture, and Integrated Pest Management, while developing new offerings like Grafting and Plant Propagation based on student interests.

Her distinguished awards include:

• Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching (2020-2021)

Dr. Hutchison integrates community engagement into her pedagogy through projects like the civic-engagement-intensive Sustainable Vegetable Production course, where students collaborate on initiatives including praying mantis adoption events, soil pH clinics, and NASA SMAP satellite data collection. She also mentors students in course development and participates in oral history documentation of Allegany County's environmental activism history.