Richard Chapman Voted Best Professor by Monterey County Weekly's BEST OF Readers Poll

Richard Chapman, Professor of Agricultural Mechatronics at Hartnell College, recently earned Monterey Weekly’s badge for Best Professor in Monterey County! When asked what makes him passionate about teaching, Chapman said, “I’m helping prepare students for high demand, high paying, local jobs. The needs of our valley are booming when it comes to Agricultural Technology. This program is a great investment in our community for our students to learn new skills.“ Chapman has been teaching at Hartnell, Alisal Campus, since 2021. When he first arrived, there was no Agricultural Mechatronics program at Hartnell. “It was called Manufacturing Technology and focused on industrial power and farm machinery. We’re now focused on smart manufacturing technologies and looking at tech coming up in the near future instead of trying to catch up,” Chapman added. When given credit for revitalizing the Manufacturing Tech program into the Ag focus it has today, he quickly acknowledges how involved and supportive the local community has been in this development. “The community said there was a need: here are the skills and abilities we’re looking for. We have the most amazing agricultural community here. Not only are they generous, but they’re hard-working, enthusiastic, excited about what they do, and eager to help us.” In a few words, we can undoubtedly say Richard Chapman is creative, innovative, and passionate about our students, and we could not be more proud to have him as part of the Hartnell team. Congratulations Richard!