February 11, 2025
By Paul Welker
Alfred State is expanding their Electric Vehicle (EV) and Hybrid vehicle training to prepare Automotive students for what they will see more of in garages. Recently the faculty and staff in the department learned the inner workings of a new cutaway car in preparation to teach their students.
An Appalachian Regional Commission Area Development grant has allowed the department to not only purchase the Toyota Prius cutaway car but to purchase three 2024 EV vehicles, a Ford F150 Lightning, a Subaru Solterra, and a Ford Mach E Mustang.
AVI Instructor Larry Cardell led the instruction with a clear goal. “The goal of the day is to remove the fear of working on hybrid electric vehicles. We use this training aid to teach all facets of hybrid electric vehicles. Hybrid electric vehicles share 100% of components in common. Everything you learn on this applies to every electric or hybrid vehicle on the market today.”
“We can bring the cutaway car into a lab, and everybody can stand around it and see what we’re doing,” commented Automotive Trades Department Chair Brad Smith. “We’re seeing the actual car and it’s going to allow us to do it as a training opportunity for 20 plus students at a time.”
Cardell noted that in 2021 well over a million hybrid electric vehicles hit the market. “It’s not very common for a college to invest this kind of money into hybrid and electric. It’s awesome that Alfred State is doing this to provide their students with the latest and greatest. If students are able to work on them it’s going to put them ahead of the game when it comes to the industry.”
Smith detailed plans to take the cutaway car to show high school students. “We are going to take it to some local BOCES and show the students this is what we do at Alfred state. Hopefully make it to where students want to come learn more about EV and learn about the future.”
“It’s extremely exciting to think that there’s over $200,000 worth of product sitting here right now that we were blessed with to be able to teach. With this we can teach the students to go make six figures because they understand electricity.”
Also, the Alfred State College (ASC) Culinary Arts department will host a spaghetti dinner on February 27 at the Culinary Arts Building on the Wellsville campus. Proceeds of the event will benefit the program’s scholarship fund.
The dinner will include:
All-you-can eat spaghetti with your choice of meatball or house made Italian sausage and your choice of marinara or alfredo sauce.
Breadsticks
Soup: Italian wedding or minestrone
Garden salad with house vinaigrette
Cannoli
Tiramisu or Italian lemon cake
The cost of the sit-down dinner is $20. Call (607) 587-3175 or email ScottKE@alfredstate.edu to make reservations. Seating times range from 5 – 6:30 p.m. and there will no takeout available.
In other Alfred State College news, six architecture students were inducted in the second class of Alfred State’s Tau Sigma Delta honor society. Tau Sigma Delta Honor Society in Architecture and Allied Arts is the only national honor society for architecture and design majors that is accredited by the Association of College Honor Societies.
The honor society recognizes intellectual achievement, effort, and initiative as well as leadership and character. This prize of membership acknowledges undergraduate and graduate students who attain high scholastic standing in their field.
Abagail Jones (Pittsford, NY), student president of the Alfred chapter, was excited to honor her classmates. “The 2025 class is full of passionate and self-motivated students who are particularly well-equipped to be successful within the field of architecture and design. I am honored to be surrounded by like-minded, highly capable, and creatively enthusiastic people. I look forward to witnessing the continuing growth of these students into professionals and the future endeavors of this distinguished organization.”
Fifth year student Katie Petix (Bloomfield, NY) was joined by fourth year students Olivia Ekstrom (Frewsburg, NY), Brianna Fagan (Spencerport, NY), Selena Fullone (Webster, NY), Isabelle Warfield (Schenectady, NY), and Nicole Youngberg (Falconer, NY).
