Richard “Dick” Kluender (’66 B.S. forest management, ’71 M.S. forest economics, ’83 Ph.D. forest operations) has been inducted into the Arkansas Foresters Hall of Fame for outstanding contributions to the forestry profession spanning more than 40 years.

A former Corps of Cadets member, Kluender served in Vietnam before returning to Virginia Tech for graduate school. Shortly after, he held positions as district forester for Stone Container Corporation in Ohio and division forester for the American Pulpwood Association in Mississippi.

Upon earning his doctorate, Kluender joined the faculty at the University of Arkansas–Monticello. In 2000, he became dean of the university’s School of Forest Resources and director of the Arkansas Forest Resources Center, where he oversaw the forestry and wildlife research and outreach programs.

Kluender was an active member of the Society of American Foresters, serving on the organization’s Accreditation’s Committee in the early 2000s, and the Arkansas Academy of Science, where he served as president in 2000. He was also appointed by the governor to chair the Arkansas Board of Registration for Professional Foresters.

He credits Virginia Tech and the college for preparing him, and many of his colleagues, for success in their careers. “You can come out of the college and do anything, because the program really is incredible,” he said. “At a National Association of University Forest Resources Programs meeting, I looked around the table of 15 college deans, and only one did not hold at least one degree from the college. It’s quite the testament to the program.”

“I was very surprised and honored to receive this award. My whole life, I’ve continued to come back to the values of the cadets and the Ut Prosim (That I May Serve) mentality.

The measure of a man isn’t what he does himself, but what he allows God and others to do through him,” he added.

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