About
I believe that figuring out how to live sustainably — in cooperation with others, with nature, and with natural systems — is the hardest and most important challenge that human beings have faced.
-Jennifer Russell, assistant professor of sustainable biomaterials
We’re preparing the next generation of leaders
Since the first forestry professor was hired at Virginia Tech in 1925, our college has been teaching students core skills and maintaining the land grant tradition of community outreach, while pursuing projects at the cutting edge of conservation and sustainability.
We believe we have a responsibility to sustainably manage our natural resources. We're preparing the leaders who will make the world a better place through a focus on real-world experience, professional skills, and career-building opportunities like hands-on field and lab experiences, internships, and research. We’re ensuring that CNRE graduates have the skills employers need and are ready to take on the world’s toughest challenges.
A community of scholars who care
Our faculty are experts in their fields, but they’re also approachable and passionate about wanting to make an impact on our students. That’s our culture: we care about the work, the people, and our community.
Forestry professor Mike Aust is like many CNRE faculty — he has just the right mix of dedication and demanding. He takes his undergraduate students into the field rain or shine, and wherever there’s a flow of multicolored hardhats and neon safety vests, he’s often in the lead. He’s also advised and mentored more than 40 graduate students and has been recognized as a dedicated and approachable teacher who challenges students in an active-learning environment.