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CNRE Sesquicentennial Celebration

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Students gathered around an instructor next to a tree

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Past, present, and future, it’s the people that make CNRE special

Community and caring drive the College of Natural Resources and Environment and offer inspiration for all Hokies during Virginia Tech’s Sesquicentennial

If you’re looking for a description of the work and the culture that distinguishes the College of Natural Resources and Environment at Virginia Tech, you’ll find it in the words of Dean Paul Winistorfer: It’s all about the people, all the time.

Our journey began more than 100 years ago with the hiring of the first faculty forester. From a department, to a school, to the emergence of a new college at Virginia Tech in 1991-1992, many individuals paid it forward to create what we are today, beginning with School Director John Hosner, who is credited for having the vision of a separate college at Virginia Tech and who rallied the forest industry around this vision. Through the ensuing three decades, the faculty, staff, and students of the college have cemented our place as a national leader.

The hallmark of a CNRE education has always been and continues to be hands-on experience. Our students learn by doing and emerge as career-ready alumni who are putting their passion and knowledge to use every day. They work side-by-side in classrooms, in labs, and in the field with top-notch faculty who are applying their research expertise to some of the worlds’ most wicked challenges.

Today’s students and faculty may look and dress a little differently, but you’ll still find them on campus or in the woods, following John Seiler or Marcella Kelly from tree to tree with a measuring tape on their belt or a camera trap in their hands. You’re also just as likely to find them in a high-tech lab, learning about geographic information systems from Santosh Rijal or crushing cross laminated timber with Dan Hindman.

Wherever you find CNRE, we’ll still be getting our hands dirty and our feet wet. We’ll be solving big problems and striving for a better tomorrow because, and again in the words of Dean Winistorfer, “What we do in this college matters to the future of the planet."

We figured out a long time ago that the work matters—but what matters most is the people.

Creating the academic core and community

We’ve been digging through the archives, old boxes, and digital files to find some historic—and groovy!—photos of CNRE students and faculty back in the day. You can scroll through the small collection below, but if you want to see more, check out our social media platforms every Thursday in October for “Throwback Thursday.”

A group of students standing on and around a flat bed truck preparing to move a tree to plant
Two female students looking at maps laid out on a table
A student in a forest measuring a tree
Man typing on a keyboard looking at a graph on an old computer screen
Two students displaying the wing span of an eagle.
Students sitting on the ground in the shade having a picnic
Students in a grass field playing volleyball
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Leading the way through hands-on learning

Transforming knowledge and research

  • Article Item
    A map of the eastern central United States, with a darker shaded region.
    A new map reconstructs the social landscapes of Southwest Virginia prior to European arrival , article

    The map was a collaborative project, bringing together the mapping skills of College of Natural Resources and Environment advanced instructor Stewart Scales with knowledge and input from professors, historians, and members of Virginia tribal communities.

  • Video Item
    Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech uses a unique approach to biological systems analysis
    Sustainable Biomaterials at Virginia Tech uses a unique approach to biological systems analysis , video

    Jennifer Russell, assistant professor of sustainable biomaterials at Virginia Tech, uses a unique approach to biological systems analysis. By looking at a facility as an organism, she compares the material inflows with the material outflows (trash) to determine the health of the facility. In Russell’s examination of the outflows of a Retirement Unlimited, Inc. (RUI) senior living residence, she found not only food waste, but also a lively dialogue about sustainability with its residents and an extended commitment. Russell hopes to build on this foundation of research by obtaining sponsored research grants in order to have broader impacts and improve sustainability at assisted living facilities.

Exemplifying Ut Prosim (That I May Serve)