VIRGINIA
TECH PROFESSOR AWARDED
SHELTON SHORT PROFESSORSHIP
OF FORESTRY
BLACKSBURG,
Aug. 8, 2002 - The Honorable
and Mrs. Shelton H. Short
Jr. Professorship of Forestry,
which was established by
the generous gift of Shelton
H. Short III and his wife
Jean Snyder Renner Short,
has been given to John R.
Seiler, a professor in Virginia
Tech's College of Natural
Resources.
Seiler, who joined the Virginia
Tech faculty in 1985, has
consistently ranked among
the department's top five
faculty in teaching load
while maintaining excellent
student evaluations. Seiler
has twice received the college's
Curriculum Clubs' Outstanding
Faculty Award. In 1994,
he received a Certificate
of Teaching Excellence,
and in 1997 he was honored
with the William E. Wine
Award for Excellence in
Teaching.
The State Council of Higher
Education for Virginia gave
Seiler the Outstanding Faculty
Award this year. Along with
two colleagues, he also
received the XCaliber Award
for excellence in teaching
from Virginia Tech. In 2001,
he received the Food and
Agricultural Services Excellence
in Teaching Award from the
U.S. Department of Agricultural.
Seiler also excels in service.
Despite having no formal
Virginia Cooperative Extension
appointment, he has delivered
numerous continuing education/outreach
presentations. In 2000,
he received the Association
of Natural Resource Extension
Professional's Silver Award
for Computer-Based Extension
Natural Resource Material.
Seiler has published 64
refereed research articles
and has received more than
$1.7 million in external
research funding.
In
1998 the Society of American
Foresters awarded him the
nationally-recognized Carl
Alwin Schneck Award for
excellence in the field
of forestry education and
devotion to the art of teaching.
In addition, he was recognized
nationally for the development
of innovative teaching tools
at a National Science Foundation
education conference.
Shelton and Jean Short created
the professorship in honor
of his parents and as part
of their commitment to promoting
forestry and conservation
in Virginia. "The Shorts'
interest in bettering the
community lies at the heart
of all they do, including
their support of Virginia
Tech," noted Greg Brown,
dean of the College of Natural
Resources.
"Virginia Tech graduates
go out into the world to
make a difference,"
said Shelton Short. "Tech
produces people who do a
whole lot of general good
for our state and nation,
not simply in forestry,
but in agriculture, engineering,
and many other facets of
life."
Though the Shorts have endowed
scholarships and research
grants at Tech, as well
as many other state universities,
the Virginia Tech forestry
department holds the only
professorship. "We
wanted to do a little something
extra for Tech," Short
said. The professorship
previously was held by forestry
professor David W. Smith,
who recently retired.
The Shorts own and manage
nearly 5,000 acres of forest
in Virginia. In 2000, both
Shelton and Jean Short received
honorary Doctor of Humane
Letters degrees from Randolph-Macon
College in Ashland, Va.
The degrees honored their
commitment to forests and
wildlife, as well as to
historic preservation, education,
and humanitarianism. Shelton
Short has a Ph.D. in history
from the University of Edinburgh
in Scotland and has served
for many years as a state
and national representative
to the United Nations.
The Short's longstanding
relationship with the university
community has fostered deep
ties with several Virginia
Tech faculty members. "The
close match between the
Shorts' values and Seiler's
program accomplishments
highlight each of their
impacts on the field of
forestry, the Commonwealth,
and the nation," said
Brown.
The
Shorts and Dr. Seiler.
