State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry

State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Motto	"Improve Your World"
Established	1911
Type	Public
Endowment	$18 million (2010)[1]
President	Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr.
Academic staff	127 full-time[2] 47 part-time
Students	2,778 (2010)[3]
Undergraduates	2,200
Postgraduates	578
Location	Syracuse, NY, USA
Campus	Urban and Rural
Colors	green, white & gold
Athletics	USCAA
Sports	basketball, cross-country, golf, soccer, woodsman
Nickname	Mighty Oaks
Mascot	Oakie
Website	www.esf.edu

The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) is an American, specialized, doctoral-granting institution based in the University Hill neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, immediately adjacent to Syracuse University, within which it was founded, and with whom it maintains a special relationship. ESF also operates facilities in the Adirondack Park (including the Ranger School in Wanakena), the Thousand Islands, elsewhere in central New York, and Costa Rica. The College's curricula focus on the understanding, management and sustainability of the environment and natural resources. It commemorated its centennial in 2011.^[4]

Founding [edit]

The New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University was established in 1911 through a bill signed by New York Governor John Alden Dix. The previous year, Governor Hughes had vetoed a bill authorizing such a college.^[5] Both bills followed the state's defunding, in 1903, of the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell.^[6][7] Originally a unit of Syracuse University, in 1913, the College was made a separate, legal entity.

Hunter Mountain, Twilight (1866) by Hudson River school artist Sanford Robinson Gifford, showing the devastation wrought by years of tanbarking and logging.

Syracuse native and constitutional lawyer Louis Marshall, with a summer residence at Knollwood Club on Saranac Lake and a prime mover for the establishment of the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve (New York), became a Syracuse University Trustee in 1910. He confided in Chancellor James R. Day his desire to have an agricultural and forestry school at the University,^[8] and by 1911 his efforts resulted in a New York State bill to fund the project: the aforementioned appropriation bill signed by Governor Dix.^[9] Marshall was elected president of the college's Board of Trustees at its first meeting, in 1911; at the time of his death, eighteen years later, he was still president of the Board.^[10]

The first dean of the College was William L. Bray, a Ph.D., graduate from the University of Chicago,^[11] botanist, plant ecologist, biogeographer and Professor of Botany at Syracuse University. In 1907 he was made head of the botany department at Syracuse, and in 1908 he started teaching a forestry course in the basement of Lyman Hall. Bray was an associate of Gifford Pinchot, who was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service.^[12][13] In 1911, in addition to assuming the deanship of forestry, Bray organized the Agricultural Division at Syracuse University. He remained at Syracuse until 1943 as chair of botany and Dean of the Syracuse Graduate School.^[14]

In 1915, the same year that Dr. Bray published The Development of the Vegetation of New York State, he became one of the founding members, along with Raphael Zon and Yale School of Forestry's second dean, James W. Toumey, of the Ecological Society of America.^[15] In 1950, the 1917 "activist wing" of that Society formed today's The Nature Conservancy.^[16][17]

Most of the professors, in the early years of the College of Forestry at Syracuse and the Department of Forestry at Cornell's New York State College of Agriculture were educated in forestry at the Yale School of Forestry. The forestry students at Syracuse but not at Cornell were referred to as "stumpies" by their classmates.

Fifty-two students were enrolled in the school's first year, the first 11 graduating two years later, in 1913.^[18] One of the hallmarks of the College, its research, dates back to 1912, beginning with a study on what firms were using lumber in the state of New York as well as the wood species and quantities. In 1912, the College opened its Ranger School in Wanakena, New York, in the Adirondacks. The College began enrolling women as early as 1915, but the first women to complete their degrees—one majoring in landscape engineering and two in pulp and paper—graduated in the late 1940s.^[19]

In January 1930, Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, recommending an allocation of $600,000 towards construction of the college's second building, in honor of Louis Marshall, recently deceased, noted that: "under [Marshall's] leadership and the leadership of its late dean, Franklin Moon, the School of Forestry made giant strides until it became recognized as the premier institution of its kind in the United States".^[20] The cornerstone of Louis Marshall Memorial Hall was laid in 1931 by former Governor and presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith who was elected to assume the presidency of the college's Board of Trustees.

With the formation of the State University of New York (SUNY) in 1948, the College became recognized as a specialized college within the SUNY system, and its name was changed to State University College of Forestry at Syracuse University. In 1972, the College's name was changed yet again to State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Unlike other state-supported degree-granting institutions which had been created at private institutions in New York State, the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University was an autonomous institution not administratively part of Syracuse University. In 2000, SUNY System Administration established ESF's "primacy" among the 64 SUNY campuses and contract colleges for development of new undergraduate degree programs in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies.^[21]

Campuses [edit]

Main campus [edit]

The Syracuse campus is ESF's main campus, and is where most academic and administrative activity takes place. It is made up of seven (soon to be eight) main buildings:

"Young Abe Lincoln on Horseback", sculpture by Anna Hyatt Huntington, on the SUNY-ESF campus

• Baker Laboratory: Named after Hugh P. Baker, Dean of the College from 1912–1920 and again 1930-33. The building is the location of several computer clusters and auditorium-style classrooms. It is home to the Department of Construction Management and Wood Products Engineering, and the Department of Environmental Resources and Forest Engineering. The building recently underwent a $37 million overhaul; providing updated space for the Tropical Timber Information Center and the Nelson C. Brown Center for Ultrastructure Studies. When the renovation is complete, Baker Lab will be the site of ESF's NASA-affiliated Research Center. Baker Laboratory houses two multimedia lecture halls, a "smart" classroom outfitted for computer use and distance learning, and two construction management and planning studios. It also has a full-scale laboratory for materials science testing, including a modern dry kiln, a wood identification laboratory, shop facilities (including portable sawmill) and wood preservation laboratory.^[22]

• Bray Hall: The building is the oldest on campus, completed in 1917, the largest building devoted to Forestry at the time. It is named after William L. Bray, a founder of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University and its first Dean, 1911-12. It is the location of most administrative offices, and the Department of Forest and Natural Resources Management.

• Gateway Center: The campus' newest building, opened in March 2013, "sets a new standard for LEED buildings, producing more renewable energy than it consumes," according to ESF President Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr. The building is "designed to achieve LEED Platinum Certification".^[23][24]

• Illick Hall: The building was completed in 1968, and is home to the Department of Environmental and Forest Biology. It is named after Joseph S. Illick, a dean of the State University College of Forestry at Syracuse University. There is a large lecture hall (Illick 5) in the basement. Several greenhouses are located on the fifth floor. The Roosevelt Wildlife Museum is also located in the building.

• Jahn Laboratory: Named after Edwin C. Jahn, a dean of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. The building is the newest on the campus, completed in 1997. Home to the Department of Chemistry.

• Marshall Hall: Named after Louis Marshall, one of the founders of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. Home to the Landscape Architecture and Environmental Studies departments. The Alumni (Nifkin) Lounge, Gallery (snack bar), Campus Bookstore, and Marshall Auditorium are located within. Twin brass plaques in the entryway commemorate the contributions of Marshall and his son, alumnus Bob Marshall.

• Moon Library: Dedicated to F. Franklin Moon, an early dean of the College. Completed in 1968, along with Illick Hall. A computer cluster and student lounge are located in the basement.

• Walters Hall: Named after J. Henry Walters, who served on the College's Board of Trustees. Completed in 1969. Home to the Department of Paper and Bioprocess Engineering. The pilot plant in the building includes two paper machines and wood-to-ethanol processing equipment.

Bray Hall, Marshall Hall, Illick Hall, and Moon Library border the quad. The college's first-ever, on-campus dormitories, dubbed Centennial Hall after the institution's 100th anniversary, opened for student occupancy in August 2011. Other buildings on the Syracuse campus include one for maintenance and operations, a garage, and a greenhouse converted to office space. Among planned new buildings is a research support facility.

The historical Robin Hood Oak is located behind Bray Hall. The tree is said to have grown from an acorn brought back by a faculty member from the Sherwood Forest in England. It was the first tree to be listed on the National Registrar of Historic Trees in the United States.

• 

  Jahn Laboratory

• 

  Marshall Hall

• 

  Moon Library

• 

  Illick Hall

• 

  Gateway Center

• 

  Robin Hood Oak

SUNY-ESF Ranger School, Wanakena

Wanakena campus [edit]

Students in the forest and natural resources management curriculum spend an academic year (48 credits) or summer at the Ranger School, as it is simply called, to earn an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree in forest technology, surveying, or environmental and natural resources conservation.^[25] The campus, established in 1912,^[26] is situated on the east branch of the Oswegatchie River that flows into Cranberry Lake, in the northwestern part of the Adirondack Park. It includes the 3,000-acre (12 km²) James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest, named after a former director of the Ranger School.^[27][28]

Field stations and forests [edit]

New York

Newcomb campus, c. 1973

• Cranberry Lake: The College's environmental and forest biology summer field program is located at the Cranberry Lake Biological Station, on Cranberry Lake in the Adirondack Park.^[29]
• Newcomb: The Adirondack Ecological Center and Huntington Wildlife Forest, a 6,000 hectares (15,000 acres) field station in the central Adirondack Mountains, are located near Newcomb, New York.^[30] The site includes the Arbutus Great Camp, bunkhouses, and a dining center, among other facilities.
• Syracuse: The Forest Experimental Station is located in the City of Syracuse.
• Thousand Islands: The Thousand Islands Biological Station and Ellis International Laboratory are situated in the Thousand Islands, New York.
• Tully: The Svend O. Heiberg Memorial Forest and Genetic Field Station are located near Tully, New York.
• Warrensburg: The Charles Lathrop Pack Demonstration Forest and NYS Department of Environmental Conservation's Environmental Education Camp, are located near Warrensburg, New York.

Costa Rica

• The Arturo and Maria Sundt Field Station, ESF's first international field station, is being used for both research and teaching. A former farm, it is located near the town of Coyolito, in the province of Guanacaste, Costa Rica, "about a mile from the Gulf of Nicoya on [the country's] west coast."^[31]

Academics [edit]

The ESF mission statement is "to advance knowledge and skills and to promote the leadership necessary for the stewardship of both the natural and designed environments."^[32] ESF is a "specialized institution" of the State University of New York, meaning that curricula focus primarily on one field, the College's being environmental management and stewardship. Students supplement their education with courses taken at Syracuse University. ESF has academic departments in the fields of chemistry; construction management and wood products engineering; environmental and forest biology; environmental resources and forest engineering; environmental science; environmental studies; forest and natural resources management; landscape architecture; and paper and bioprocess engineering. Interdepartmental environmental science programs offer students integrative degrees across the natural sciences.

ESF is considered a very competitive school. Admission is more selective, with an acceptance rate of 39.7 percent for fall 2011.^[33] ESF is ranked at 32nd, ahead of all other SUNY schools in the 2013 US News & World Report rankings of the top public national universities.^[34] Furthermore, ESF is ranked 77 in the 2013 US News & World Report list of the best National Universities (both public and private), also ahead of all other SUNY schools.^[35] The Washington Monthly College Guide ranked ESF No. 49 among the nation's top service-oriented colleges and universities for 2012 (and 6th in "community service participation and hours served").^[36]

Forbes Magazine ranked SUNY-ESF #54 in its listing of “America’s Best College Buys” for 2012.^[40] Forbes.com has also ranked SUNY-ESF at No. 3 on its 2010 list of the 20 best colleges for women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). SUNY-ESF is listed at No. 2, ahead of top programs like Duke, Cornell and Yale, among the best college environmental programs in the nation by Treehugger.com, a website devoted to sustainability and environmental news.^[41] In 2007, DesignIntelligence magazine ranked ESF's undergraduate and graduate programs in "Landscape Architecture", respectively at No. 12 and No. 9 in the United States.^[41]

Campus life [edit]

Many students identify themselves as a "Stumpy" (or "Stumpie"). The nickname was given to students by their neighbors at Syracuse University, probably in the 1920s, and most-likely refers to forestry "stump jumpers". Although originally used as an insult, today, most students embrace the nickname with pride.

Students at the Syracuse campus enjoy many activities on and off campus. There are a number of student clubs and organizations at ESF, including the Undergraduate Student Association, Graduate Student Association, Woodsmen Team, Bob Marshall Club, Alpha Xi Sigma Honor Society, Soccer Club, Sigma Lambda Alpha Honor Society, The Knothole (weekly newspaper), Papyrus Club, The Empire Forester (yearbook), Landscape Architecture Club (formally the Mollet Club), Forest Engineers Club, Environmental Studies Student Organization, Habitat for Humanity, Ecologue (yearly journal), the Bioethics Society, Green Campus Initiative, and Baobab Society. Wanakena students have their own woodsmen and ice hockey teams. A number of professional organizations are also open to student membership, including the Society of American Foresters, The Wildlife Society, Conservation Biology club, American Fisheries Association, and the (currently defunct) American Water Resources Association.

ESF has an agreement with adjacent Syracuse University that allows ESF students to enjoy many amenities offered by SU. ESF students take courses at their sister institution, can apply for admission to concurrent degree and joint certificate programs, and may join any SU organization except for NCAA sports teams. SU students are also welcome to enroll in ESF classes. Because of this, students feel a certain degree of integration with the Syracuse University community. Every May, ESF holds a joint commencement ceremony with Syracuse University in the Carrier Dome. ESF's baccalaureate diplomas bear the seals of both the State University of New York and Syracuse University.

Students also enjoy a variety of shops, restaurants, museums, and theaters in Syracuse, and nearby Marshall Street and Westcott Street.

Athletics [edit]

SUNY-ESF is currently affiliated with the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), fielding six teams in four sports:

• Cross-country, men's & women's
• Golf, men's
• Soccer, men's and women's
• Basketball, men's

The school's men's cross-country team were the USCAA national champions in 2012 and 2011. The women's cross-country team came in third and second in the same tournaments, respectively.^[42][43] The men's soccer team was invited to the 2012 USCAA National Championship Tournament in Asheville, North Carolina, making it to the semifinals.^[44]

ESF has a long tradition of competing in intercollegiate woodsman competitions in the northeastern US and eastern Canada.^[45] The team came in first in both the men's and women's divisions of the northeastern US and Canadian 2012 spring meet.^[46]

In addition to the intercollegiate USCAA and woodsman teams, ESF students participate on club sports teams at both ESF and Syracuse University.

Affiliation with Syracuse University [edit]

ESF was founded in 1911 as the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, under the leadership of Syracuse University Trustee Louis Marshall, with the active support of Syracuse University Chancellor Day. Its founding followed several years after the cessation of state funding to the earlier New York State College of Forestry at Cornell.^[47]

ESF is an autonomous institution, administratively separate from Syracuse University, while some resources, facilities and infrastructure are shared.^[48] The two schools share a common Schedule of Classes; students take courses at both institutions, and baccalaureate diplomas from ESF bear the Syracuse University seal along with that of the State University of New York. A number of concurrent degree programs and certificates are offered between the schools. ESF receives an annual appropriation as part of the SUNY budget and the state builds and maintains all of the college's educational facilities. The state has somewhat similar financial and working relationships with five statutory colleges that are at Alfred University and Cornell University, although unlike ESF, these statutory institutions are legally and technically part of their respective host institutions and are administered by them as well.

ESF faculty, students, and students' families join those from Syracuse University (SU) in a joint convocation ceremony at the beginning of the academic year in August, and combined commencement exercises in May. ESF and SU students share access to library resources, recreational facilities, student clubs and activities at both institutions, except for the schools' intercollegiate athletics teams, affiliated with the USCAA and NCAA, respectively.^[49]

Traditions [edit]

The best known tradition among ESF students is that walking across the quad is shunned. The tradition, which dates back to at least the early 1960s, is intended to inhibit tracks from being worn into the lawn. Hecklers have been known to yell and even tackle people walking across the quad. However, other activities such as frisbee and soccer playing are encouraged on the Quad.

Eustace B. Nifkin, ESF's previous mascot, is an unofficial student. He first appeared in the 1940s after a group of students summering in the Adirondacks thought him up. Ever since, he has appeared on class rosters, written articles for The Knothole, and sent mail to the College from around the world. He has a girlfriend, the lesser-known Elsa S. Freeborn. SUNY granted him a bachelor's degree in 1972. The Alumni Lounge in Marshall Hall is dedicated to Nifkin.

Another well known legend is that of Chainer or Chainsaw who supposedly graduated in 1993.

Traditional events include:

Alumni [edit]

More than 18,000 have graduated from ESF since its founding in 1911. The college's Alumni Association was founded fourteen years later, in 1925.^[50] Notable alumni include:

• Reginald E. Balch, MS '28, Canadian photographer and scientist
• Bruce C. Bongarten, BS '73, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, SUNY-ESF
• Joseph Buongiorno, MS '69, Class of 1933 Bascom Professor of Forest Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison^[51]
• Roger H.C. Donlon, first man to receive the Medal of Honor in Vietnam
• Ronald J. Eby, BS 1969, PhD 1974 National Medal of Technology award, 2007 for his work in pediatric medicine. A polysaccharide / carbohydrate chemist whose career was devoted to vaccine development.^[52]
• Frank Edwin Egler, plant ecologist and pioneer in the study of vegetation science
• Sol Feinstone, '15, historian, businessman, conservationist^[53]
• Jean Fréchet, MS '69, PhD'71, Henry Rapoport Chair of Organic Chemistry and Professor of Chemical Engineering, UC Berkeley - Dendritic Polymers: Dendrimers;^[54] 2013 Japan Prize Laureate^[55]
• Delfin Ganapin, Jr., PhD '87, Global Manager, Global Environmental Facility Small Grants Program, United Nations Development Program^[56]
• Stephen Kay, BLA '73, golf course architect
• Edwin Ketchledge, BS '49, Distinguished Teaching Professor of Botany and Dendrology, SUNY-ESF^[57][58][59]
• Robin W. Kimmerer, BS '75, author of Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses; Professor of Biology and Director, Center for Native Peoples, SUNY-ESF
• Michael Kudish, PhD '71, author, historian, forester and professor
• Moshe Levy, PhD '55, professor of chemistry, discoverer of living polymerization, and solar energy researcher
• Bob Marshall, BS '24, forester, writer and wilderness activist
• Joe Martens, MS '81, Commissioner, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation^[60]
• Don Moore, BS, PhD, animal behaviorist, zoo-based wildlife biologist, Associate Director of Animal Care Sciences, Smithsonian National Zoo, Washington, DC^[61]
• James Morrissey, BS '58, "first American to climb the east face of Mt. Everest"^[62]
• Clarence Petty, BS '30, forest ranger, conservationist and outdoorsman
• Harry Frederick Recher, ornithologist
• Bruce Shelley, BS '70, computer game designer
• Earl Lewis Stone, Jr., BS '38; In 1948, he became the first endowed Charles Lathrop Pack Professor of forest soils at Cornell University. Retired 1979^[63]
• Lissa Widdoff, BS '79, Executive Director, Robert and Patricia Switzer Foundation^[64]

The accomplishments of additional outstanding ESF alumni are documented at: http://www.esf.edu/success/alumni/default.htm.

Environmental leadership [edit]

From soon after its founding, ESF affiliated individuals have been responsible for establishing and leading prominent scientific and advocacy organizations around the world focused on the environment. Others have provided leadership to governmental environmental agencies.

• Adirondack Council^[65] – Clarence Petty, '30, co-founder, 1975, director^[66][67]
• Adirondack Park Agency – Ross S. Whaley, former ESF President, chair, 2003–07
• Association for the Protection of the Adirondacks – Louis Marshall, President, ESF Board of Trustees, trustee;^[68] Paul Schaefer, Trustee and V.P. for 50 years^[69]
• Ecological Society of America – Dean William L. Bray, and Professor Charles C. Adams, co-founders, 1915^[15]
• Finger Lakes Land Trust – Summer 2011: Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr. named to Advisory Council along with Lynn Leopold, widow of A. Carl Leopold, Founding President^[70][71]
• National Parks Association – Bob Marshall, '24, board member, 1930s^[72]
• The Nature Conservancy – Dean William L. Bray, co-founder, 1950
• Onondaga Environmental Institute — Ed Michalenko, PhD '91, President^[73]
• Society of American Foresters – Ross S. Whaley, former ESF President, president, 1991^[74]
• Taiwan Environmental Action Network – Wen-ling Tu, MS '96, co-founder
• Union of Concerned Scientists – Howard "Bud" Ris, Jr., MLA '75, executive director, president, 1984-2003^[75][76]
• United States Society for Ecological Economics – Dr. Karin Limburg, ESF faculty member, president, 2006–07
• The Wilderness Society – Bob Marshall, '24, co-founder, 1935^[77][78]

See also [edit]

• Adirondack Park Agency visitor interpretive centers
• History of the New York State College of Forestry
• List of heads of the New York State College of Forestry
• State University of New York
• SUNY-ESF Ranger School
• Syracuse University
• François André Michaux laid the foundation for American forestry with his monumental work, The North American Sylva { akin to John James Audubon "The Birds of America"}^[79][80] starting in 1811.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
• Adirondack Ecological Center
• Cranberry Lake Biological Station
• ESF Annual Report
• ESF Athletics
• ESF Centennial Celebration
• Svend O. Heiberg Memorial Forest and Tully Field Station
• Thousand Islands Biological Station

Coordinates: 43°02′05″N 76°08′08″W / 43.034793°N 76.135475°W / 43.034793; -76.135475