Dr. Scott Ferguson
Chief Economic Development Officer, Executive Director, The Institute for Rural Vitality at SUNY Cobleskill
Dr. Scott Ferguson is a tenured Professor at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Agriculture and Technology at Cobleskill where he serves as the Chief Economic Development Officer and Executive Director of The Institute for Rural Vitality. He previously served as the inaugural Chief Diversity Officer and has been involved in numerous campus, community, and economic development initiatives. Dr. Ferguson has experience teaching a variety of Business and Management courses. He is a multi-faceted professional, entrepreneur, consultant, and executive who has over twenty years of leadership experience managing up to 25 direct reports and $10M+ in budgets. He has proven ability in business management, business plan development, change leadership, diversity strategy development and planning, employee relations, entrepreneurial ventures, facilitation, manager and executive coaching, negotiation, organization design and development, staffing, and strategic planning.
Dr. Ferguson has been successful with small, mid-cap and Fortune 500 companies. He has consistently improved and optimized all operating and support areas through the development of corporate cultures, re-alignment of organizational infrastructure, the selection and development of key personnel, and the installation of rewards systems. Throughout his career, he has grown businesses and merged acquired organizations. He is skilled at managing changes designed to build profitability, elevate morale and provide cutting edge services to both internal and external customers. He is proficient at cultivating and nurturing relationships.
Among his many accomplishments, Dr. Ferguson has owned, developed, managed, and profitably grown five small businesses. He has international experience through his education and his global responsibilities in business. He has served as an officer of companies, a member of corporate and non-profit boards, President of a Chamber of Commerce board, and been selected to participate in numerous cross-functional task forces.
