Jack Ingels, a former professor at SUNY Cobleskill, passed away earlier this fall.
Ingels earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Purdue University, followed by a Master of Science from Rutgers, and continued post-graduate studies at Ball State University and College of St. Rose.
He started teaching at SUNY Cobleskill at age 24 in 1966 and retired in 2013. He was instrumental in developing its landscape program.
He also served as the chairman of the Department of Plant Science and chair of the department’s committees on landscape curriculum and landscape facilities development. In 1978, Ingels was awarded a grant of $33,000 for the addition of a greenhouse that would accommodate the special needs of physically handicapped students.
“At SUNY Cobleskill, his legacy lives on in the program he created over the course of so many years as a professor and so many leaders/titans of the landscape industry owe a great deal to Jack and his mentorship and guidance both inside and outside the classroom,” says Ed Furner, territory vice president of maintenance with Mariani Landscape.
Ingels also wrote two textbooks – Landscaping: Principles and Practices and Ornamental Horticulture: Science, Operations, & Management.
Ingels received the SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professorship in 1990. He received the NALP Foundation’s Outstanding Educator of the Year Award in 2007 for his dedication and enthusiasm to educating future leaders of the landscape industry.
“He knew very early that Cobleskill needed to be connected and participate in events and education provided within the association,” says Brett Lemcke, CEO of R.M. Landscape. “He connected us quickly with the resources NALP offers and showed us how to lean on those to accelerate our careers. He was always making sure his students connected with industry members, knowing these connections had high value for everyone.”
Ingels also led SUNY Cobleskill as the host of ALCA Field Days in 1993, now known as NCLC.
Known as a gentleman scholar who taught every class in a jacket and tie, Ingels had a desire to educate the whole person. He held his students to a high standard, including their etiquette skills.
“Our first-year design class would be all about the principles of design, but there was one lecture that would break from the norm,” Lemcke says. “He would share a VHS of proper dining etiquette! Most of us, likely all of us, had no clue what dining etiquette meant, but he knew if we were to be at dinner with industry leaders, we needed to represent ourselves and Cobleskill well.”
Ingels would also organize a senior year Landscape Firm Management class trip that would tour landscape companies and learn how they operate.
“There would be coursework and papers we would have to write on what we learned, but the trip itself created lifelong friendships with classmates, and we got to know Jack well beyond just being our professor,” Lemcke says. “Jack understood the importance of learning more than the trade; he knew we needed to understand how to navigate social situations and how to handle ourselves in professional settings. He cared as much about the people we were to become as making sure we received a degree.”
Furner says Ingels brought his students to NCLC annually and was one of the first professors to take his students to the annual conference, now known as ELEVATE.
“He invested not only his time but even personal finances to help mentor and foster future leaders of the industry,” Furner says.
Ingels made a lasting impression on many of his students and was a professor they stayed in touch with long after they graduated. Lemcke says that Ingels was a true friend who helped him learn who he was and who he wanted to become.
“He was my professor but more than anything I remember him as my friend,” Lemcke says.
To recognize the many contributions that Ingels has made over the years to the landscape industry, former students, colleagues, and friends joined together to create a scholarship fund in his honor through the National Association of Landscape Professionals Foundation. You can donate to this scholarship here.
