The Dean's Perspective

At the top of our game

The college has remained at the top of College Factual’s list of U.S. programs for the study of natural resources and conservation since 2015. Our forestry program in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation been ranked No. 1 for the second consecutive year. We should all be very proud of this sustained effort and drive toward excellence that is the foundation of the college. My gratitude and thanks go to our faculty and staff who give it their all each and every day. Their disciplinary passion coupled with an unwavering commitment to our students, their research and discovery efforts, and their work across the commonwealth are simply awesome in every regard.

Success begets success, and we know that prospective students are applying to our programs because of our national rankings. We received a record number of applications and made a record number of offers to high-achieving high school and transfer students for fall 2018. The quality of our applicant pool is ever increasing. Preparation and success in high school is necessary in today’s competitive environment.

Our Department of Sustainable Biomaterials was selected as one of three exemplary departments at Virginia Tech last year. Award criteria were focused on maintaining exemplary teaching and learning environments. The department today has the largest undergraduate enrollment of any such program in North America. Congratulations to our colleagues in Sustainable Biomaterials — well done!

The college’s Sustainability Institute received a 2018 Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award and was the only academic program recognized in the sustainability category. The foundation of the Sustainability Institute has been an intensive two-week training program open to all majors at Virginia Tech. Funded with a corporate gift from the Ingersoll Rand Foundation, the Sustainability Institute has been a very successful three-year pilot program. If this educational opportunity is to resume at some point in the future, we will need to secure a permanent funding source.

Thank you to those who participated in Virginia Tech’s first annual Giving Day. Your generous support enabled the college to raise the second highest level of giving among all colleges at Virginia Tech!

Our alumni are making contributions in many organizations, agencies, and corporations around the world. We are so very proud of those alumni serving in our state agencies, stewarding the commonwealth’s resources. We are thankful for our close working relationship with the Virginia Department of Forestry, and we are especially proud of our alumni who have served and are serving that agency.

From the Chesapeake Bay, to Antarctica, to Bangladesh, to the Paris Climate Conference, the college is engaged locally, regionally, nationally, and globally. From my perspective, we are staying true to our core but embracing opportunities around us. We are committed to our work in the commonwealth but know that resource issues globally are complex and will require the work of many to enable a sustainable future. The biggest risk we have as an organization is not moving forward, so forward we go with a very strong tailwind of success and excellence in all we do. As I have said many times, it is legitimate for us to aspire. What do you aspire to?

Best wishes for a great summer. I hope you will stop on campus if you are nearby; we would enjoy seeing you!

Warm regards from our faculty, staff, and students,