A Brief History of Forestry Education and Forestry

A Brief History of Forestry Education and Forestry Collections in the U. S.

The Unanswerable and Unanswered Questions l l What is forestry? What should a forester know? What should a forestry education include? “There has never been a time when foresters were free from doubt about themselves, their education or their mission. ” (Miller & Lewis, 1989)

Influences on Forestry Education l l l Morrill Act establishing Land Grant Colleges “Timber Famine” Society of American Forester’s Accreditation Standards Employer needs Regional politics and issues College and University structures

Early Schools l Carl Schenck - Biltmore Forest School -1898 – l Bernhard Fernow - Cornell - 1898 – l Technical, master-apprentice concept Undergraduate academic program Gifford Pinchot – Yale - 1900 – Graduate program- scientific management

General Trends in Forestry Education l l 1935 - curricula based on forest and timber management and utilization 1962 - curricula not much changed 1970’s - consolidation of programs and name changes 1990’s – integration of disciplines l liberal arts, technical skills, & specialization

Forestry Schools accredited in 1935 and in 2005 l l l University of California, Berkeley University of Idaho Iowa State University Michigan State University of Michigan University of Minnesota Montana State University SUNY- ESF Oregon State University Pennsylvania State University of Washington Yale University 1914 1909 1904 1902 1903 1911 1929 1907 1900

Name Changes l State University of New York – – l University of Minnesota (LG) – – – l 1911 New York State College of Forestry 1972 SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry 1910 College of Forestry 1912 College of Agriculture, Forestry and Home Economics 1962 School of Forestry 1970 College of Forestry 1988 College of Natural Resources 2005 merging with College of Agricultural Food and Environmental Sciences California, Berkeley (LG) – – 1914 Division of Forestry 1946 School of Forestry 1968 School of Forestry and Conservation 1974 College of Natural Resources

Name Changes cont. l Oregon State University (LG) – – l University of Washington – – l 1896 First Forestry Courses 1908 Department of Forestry 1913 School of Forestry 1984 College of Forestry 1901 Department of Forestry 1907 School of Forestry 1910 College of Forestry 1967 College of Forest Resources Yale University – – – 1900 Yale Forestry School 1935 School of Forestry 1972 Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies

Status of Forestry Collections and Libraries l l l University of California, Berkeley University of Idaho Iowa State University Michigan State University of Michigan University of Minnesota Montana State University SUNY-ESF Oregon State University Pennsylvania State University of Washington Yale University LG LG branch merged main science branch main independent main science branch merged independent

Case Studies l University of Minnesota l University of California, Berkeley

University of Minnesota l l l l Land Grant University 1889 Forestry courses—School of Agriculture 1906 Forestry separates from Agriculture 1908 Division of Forestry 1949 School of Forestry 1970 College of Forestry 1988 College of Natural Resources 2005 Merger with College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences

U. Minnesota, Cont. l Curricula 1935 (Chapman) – – – General Forestry Commercial Lumbering Forest Technology l l – – – Pulp and paper Other Wood products Grazing Game Management Forest Science l Curricula 1962 (Dana and Johnson) – – Forest Resources Management Building Materials Management Forest Products Engineering Fish and Wildlife management in Dept of Entomology and Economic Zoology

U. Minnesota, Cont. l 2005 College of Natural Resources – – – Department of Bio-Based Products (formerly Wood and Paper Science) Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology Forest Resources Environment and Natural Resources Recreation Resource Management Urban and Community Forestry

U Minnesota Forestry Library l l 1898 – small faculty collection Departmental Library for School – 1935 – – l . 5 staff (students) 900 books, 1400 pamphlets, 16 forestry periodicals Full-time Librarian prior to 1962 l l 2005 Branch Library of University of Minnesota Libraries Twin Cities Supports five of six curricula in CNR Supports U. S. Forest Service North Central Research Station Services state-wide

University of California, Berkeley l l l 1873 Efforts began for a forestry program. 1914 Division of Forestry in College of Agriculture 1946 School of Forestry 1968 School of Forestry and Conservation 1974 College of Natural Resources – SFC merged with College of Agriculture 1993 Consolidation of Departments within CNR

UC Berkeley, Cont. l Curricula 1935 (Chapman) – Forest economics, forest ecology, range management, wood technology, forest products and lumbering, forest engineering, silviculture, forest protection, forest menseration, and forest management l Curricula 1962 (Dana and Johnson) – Forestry: l l l Forest Management Range Management Wood Utilization – Range Management with Ag. College. – Wildlife Conservation in Dept. of Zoology

U. C. Berkeley, Cont. l After 1974 College of Natural Resources – Department of Forestry and Range Management l l l Evolved into broader departments – l Forestry Wood Science and Technology Pest Management Soil Resource Management Conservation and Resources Studies, Etymological Sciences, Forestry and Resource Management, Plant Pathology and Soil Science. After 1993 Mergers – Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management l l l Ecosystem Science Insect Biology Society & Environment

UC Berkeley cont l 2005 Undergraduate Majors in College of Natural Resources – – – – Conservation and Resources Studies Environmental Economics and Policy Environmental Sciences Forestry and Natural Resources Genetics and Plant Biology Microbial Biology Molecular Environmental Biology Molecular, Toxicology and Nutritional Sciences

UC Berkeley Forestry Libraries l l l 1915 Reading Room Both Departmental Library and Univ. Lib. 1935 First Professional Librarian – Budget l $968 salaries l $725 materials – Collection l 2400 books l 7100 pamphlets l 72 forestry periodicals l l l 1943 Collection – 1000 volumes – 7000 pamphlets 1948 University Branch – Materials from main library returned 1964 Collection – 17, 000 volumes – 15, 000 pamphlets 1988 Collection (with FPL) – 39, 000 volumes – 1400 Serials 1990 Full-time Librarian retired 1995 Merged into Biosciences and Natural Resources Library

Significant Publications in Forest Education l l l Graves, Henry S. and Cedric H. Guise 1932. Forest Education Chapman, H. H. 1935. Professional Forestry Schools Report, giving the comparative status of those institutions that offered instruction in Professional Forestry for the School Year 19341935. Dana, Samuel Trask and Evert W. Johnson. 1963. Forestry Education in America Today and Tomorrow. The Literature of Forestry and Agroforestry 1996. eds: Peter Mc. Donald and James Lassoie. Sample, V. Alaric, et. al. 2000. The Evolution of Forestry Education in the United States: Adapting to the Changing Demands of Professional Forestry

1995 Program Trends (Sample 2000) Four types of programs: l Forestry in context of a larger whole (natural resources, environmental science, ecosystems) l Multiple curricula with multiple choices l Totally integrated curricula (new sub-divisions and disciplines) l New required courses in traditional programs

Some tentative conclusions Growth of forestry within agriculture, sometime restricts importance; forests seen as ‘crops’ Accreditation standards have failed to accommodate new integrative ideas, in recognition of interdisciplinary aspects. “Forestry” as a term has not been able to expand into new meanings. Stereotypes have developed. Forestry has become a ‘hidden discipline’ which may affect structure of educational programs and libraries.