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

1
A Brief History of Forestry Education and
Forestry Collections in the U. S.
2
The Unanswerable and Unanswered Questions

• 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)

3
Influences on Forestry Education

• Morrill Act establishing Land Grant Colleges
• Timber Famine
• Society of American Foresters Accreditation
  Standards
• Employer needs
• Regional politics and issues
• College and University structures

4
Early Schools

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

5
General Trends in Forestry Education

• 1935 - curricula based on forest and timber
  management and utilization
• 1962 - curricula not much changed
• 1970s - consolidation of programs and name
  changes
• 1990s integration of disciplines
• liberal arts, technical skills, specialization
  

6
Forestry Schools accredited in 1935 and in 2005

• University of California, Berkeley 1914
• University of Idaho 1909
• Iowa State University 1904
• Michigan State University 1902
• University of Michigan 1902
• University of Minnesota 1903
• Montana State University 1913
• SUNY- ESF 1911
• Oregon State University 1929
• Pennsylvania State University 1907
• University of Washington 1907
• Yale University 1900

7
Name Changes

• State University of New York
• 1911 New York State College of Forestry
• 1972 SUNY College of Environmental Science and
  Forestry
• University of Minnesota (LG)
• 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

8
Name Changes cont.

• Oregon State University (LG)
• 1896 First Forestry Courses
• 1908 Department of Forestry
• 1913 School of Forestry
• 1984 College of Forestry
• University of Washington
• 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

9
Status of Forestry Collections and Libraries

• University of California, Berkeley LG branch
  merged
• University of Idaho main
• Iowa State University LG main
• Michigan State University LG main
• University of Michigan science
• University of Minnesota LG branch
• Montana State University LG main
• SUNY-ESF independent
• Oregon State University LG main
• Pennsylvania State University LG science
• University of Washington branch merged
• Yale University independent

10
Case Studies

• University of Minnesota
• University of California, Berkeley

11
University of Minnesota

• Land Grant University
• 1889 Forestry coursesSchool 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

12
U. Minnesota, Cont.

• Curricula 1935 (Chapman)
• General Forestry
• Commercial Lumbering
• Forest Technology
• Pulp and paper
• Other Wood products
• Grazing
• Game Management
• Forest Science

• 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

13
U. Minnesota, Cont.

• 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

14
U Minnesota Forestry Library

• 1898 small faculty collection
• Departmental Library for School 1935
• .5 staff (students)
• 900 books, 1400 pamphlets, 16 forestry
  periodicals
• Full-time Librarian prior to 1962

• 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

15
University of California, Berkeley

• 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

16
UC Berkeley, Cont.

• 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

• Curricula 1962 (Dana and Johnson)
• Forestry
• Forest Management
• Range Management
• Wood Utilization
• Range Management with Ag. College.
• Wildlife Conservation in Dept. of Zoology

17
U. C. Berkeley, Cont.

• After 1974 College of Natural Resources
• Department of Forestry and Range Management
• Forestry
• Wood Science and Technology
• Pest Management
• Soil Resource Management
• Evolved into broader departments
• 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
• Ecosystem Science
• Insect Biology
• Society Environment

18
UC Berkeley cont

• 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

19
UC Berkeley Forestry Libraries

• 1915 Reading Room
• Both Departmental Library and Univ. Lib.
• 1935 First Professional Librarian
• Budget
• 968 salaries
• 725 materials
• Collection
• 2400 books
• 7100 pamphlets
• 72 forestry periodicals

• 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

20
Significant Publications in Forest Education

• 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
  1934-1935.
• Dana, Samuel Trask and Evert W. Johnson. 1963.
  Forestry Education in America Today and Tomorrow.
  
• The Literature of Forestry and Agroforestry 1996.
  eds Peter McDonald 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

21
1995 Program Trends (Sample 2000)

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

22
Some tentative conclusions

• Growth of forestry within agriculture, sometime
  restricts its 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.