Why CNRE?
To find your path, start with your passion
Selfless. Altruistic. Hands-on. Real-world. Caring. Connected. Ask our students why they chose CNRE and how they describe this community of scholars, and these are the kinds of words they use.
They’ll also often describe a passion for the environment that has grown or strengthened once they began their classes and fieldwork. They become the third generation of their family to pursue a career in the forests where they feel at home, like Caleb Turner. They protect shorebirds and use social media to educate and break down barriers, like Sharon Dorsey. They investigate alternative uses for cannabidiol bioproducts, like Emilie Kohler. Or they turn a fascination with weather extremes into a career in meteorology, like Isaiah Moore.
CNRE students do all this and more.
Our research tackles wicked problems
This is the place where we dig in and get to work. Our research is tackling a host of complex environmental problems in our communities and around the world. We’re putting all our knowledge and expertise to work because it’s on us to preserve our natural resources for the future.
Our learning is hands-on
This is the place where we go out into the forests and fields and step into the labs. Our kind of learning is about being in the world and using the technology to see and do. After all, we’re building future leaders who have the skills to make a difference and the passion to want to.
Our culture is about community
This is the place where we care. Our people are supportive, approachable, and bound together by a shared concern for the environment that drives us forward and pushes us to succeed — together. We are defined by the fulfillment we seek and find in our lives and in our work.
Come join us in CNRE
If you’re still reading, we’re speaking your language. Come join us as we set out to preserve and sustain what we already have, like forests, wildlife, and water. Be a part of the change we’re bringing to Southwest Virginia, the nation, and the world as we take on the challenges of sustainability and make the decisions that will, ultimately, define the future of our planet.
If you’re a prospective undergraduate or graduate student, an alum, an employer, a donor or friend of the college, or a member of the community — come join us and make an impact.