The mission of the Fund is to memorialize the achievements of Sandy Cochran by helping others work to achieve his visions.

As an Extension Specialist, Sandy promoted the best for Allegheny Hardwood forests and the people who work with them. Sandy helped found the Kane Area Loggers and Sawmillers Safety Committee, and the Northeast Petroleum - Forest Cooperative. He promoted cooperative short courses that provided managers with up-to-date research results. He helped found the Allegheny Hardwood Utilization Group, a 14-county industrial association concerned with promoting the wood products industry and Allegheny Hardwood forests of Pennsylvania.

The counties of the Northern Allegheny Region served by the Sandy Cochran Memorial fund are Cameron, Clarion, Clearfield, Crawford, Elk, Erie, Forest, Jefferson, Lawrence, McKean, Mercer, Potter, Venango and Warren in Pennsylvania and Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua in New York.

Administration of the Fund
The funds of the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund are administered by the ESF College Foundation, Inc, affiliated with the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY CESF). Disbursements from the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund are made through the Chair of the Faculty of Sustainable Resources Management at SUNY CESF in consultation with the Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund Committee, which meets twice yearly.

The Sandy Cochran Memorial Fund Committee operates under the umbrella of the Roach-Bauer Forestry Forum Committee, a group that Sandy also helped to create, and which is comprised of forestry, environmental science and resource management professionals from across the Northern Allegheny Region.  Rotating committee members represent a cross section of these applied disciplines, including professional forestry organizations, public land management & research agencies, industrial landowners, wildlife conservation organizations, academia, hardwood associations, timberland investment entities and hardwood industry companies.

The Committee has developed forms and procedures, along with this web site.  We publicize fund availability and provide for additional contributions to the fund through an online contribution form.  We meet twice annually to review applications for scholarships (awarded in April) and projects (awarded in July and on an on-going basis as funding allows).  As decisions are made, the Committee submits recommendations for funding of scholarship/project recipients to the Chair of Sustainable Resource Management Faculty, SUNY CESF.