Related Stories:
|
| Keywords: | |
|
Forestry School Changes Name
For more information on this story contact:
Forestry has become more and more "high tech." It's not all flannel shirts and chain saws. To reflect these changes, the forestry program at Michigan Technological University has adopted a new name.
What was once the "School of Forestry and Wood Products" has become the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. The university's Board of Control approved the change at their October 3, 2002 meeting.
"Today, foresters have broad technical skills and work with a wide variety of natural resource managers," said Glenn Mroz, dean of the school. "Ecologists and environmental scientists have many of the specialized skills needed to manage forest resources."
Mroz said that the environmental concerns facing foresters have grown over the years.
"Environmental impact statements and forest management based on scientific research are the industry standard," he said. "Employers want professionals with diverse skills--at home both in the woods or in front of a computer analyzing satellite images. They want highly trained people who can understand and address the challenges facing us in sustainable forest resource management--people who can both understand and manage the ecosystem."
In addition, Mroz said the new name better describes the school's focus.
"The name is more representative of our undergraduate programs in forestry, and applied ecology and environmental sciences," he said. "We’ve been educating students in forestry since 1936, but we’ve also been educating people in applied ecology and environmental sciences for over five years now, and it was time to reflect this.
"It also describes our graduate programs which span a wide variety of topics in forest ecology and management, as well as the use of wood as a renewable resource. Our research programs support students looking for the practical solutions to problems dealing with ecology, wildlife, and forest production."
It represents the first name change for the school since it grew out of three separate departments in 1967.
For more information about Michigan Tech's programs in forestry and the environmental sciences, call 800-woods-mi or go to the Web: www.forestry.mtu.edu.
|
|
