Welcome to the College of Natural Resources and Environment

I have the best job on the planet. I am surrounded by smart, passionate, and accomplished faculty who care deeply about student education and preparing the next generation of scientists, managers, business owners, agency leaders, meteorologists, foresters, biologists, technicians, leaders, entrepreneurs, and more. We are researchers, mentors, and colleagues, but, most importantly, we are teachers.

We like to say that our college is laid-back but intense. I think you’ll like our warm and caring culture. People are friendly and will help you at every turn — I see students helping students every day. But this is also an accomplished place. In fact, CNRE has been ranked the best college for natural resource management and the best college for forestry. CNRE is also the No. 2 best college for meteorology, the No. 5 best college with wildlife and fisheries management, and the No. 5 best college for packaging science. Earning these rankings reflects our passion, commitment, drive, and standard of excellence in all that we do.

You will be challenged here. Our expectations are high, but we know you can meet them. If we set the bar low, you will jump over it. But if we set the bar high, you will stretch, grow, learn, synthesize, and comprehend in ways you never imagined. When you make it over that high bar, there is absolutely no limit to what you can accomplish.

Our college is wide and deep in all that we do, and that creates unlimited opportunities for you as a student. And, of course, Virginia Tech is one of the best universities in the nation, made up of committed faculty and staff members who are here for you. There is no better place to build a foundation for wherever life takes you.

I come to work each day at the best program in the U.S., on a spectacularly beautiful campus, in a small town nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains, where we always have a breeze and get the best of the four seasons. More importantly, I come to work with many of the leading faculty in the nation — and the world — who will help you find your path and ignite your passion. Come join us!

Paul Winistorfer, Ph.D.
Dean and Professor