MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY 2013 DEPartment OF FOrestry | www.for.msu.edu | taBLE OF COntents 2013 10 FEATURE: 3 Dean’s Letter Stronger & Broader 5 Chairperson’s Perspective An update from David MacFarlane 6 Letter from FAA President on the new undergraduate curricu- lum, as well as information on the 7 Alumni Notes recent scholars program, Forests 10 FEATURE: Stronger & Broader Forever, from new Undergraduate MSU Forestry updates undergraduate program Advisor, Walter Chomentowski. and launches new scholars program 12 Field Studies 2013 Field studies report from David MacFarlane, Michael Walters and Greg Kowaleski 14 MSU Forestry News 18 Faculty & Staff Notes 21 Giving Back Alan L. and Connie M. Fowler Endownment 22 News from Our Centers Tree Research Center, Kellogg Experimental Forest and Forest Biomass Innovation Center 2 | WINTER 2013 dean’S letter | Dear MSU Forestry Alumni and FRiENDS, I am writing to assure you that I see a bright future for the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University. I recognize that the Department went through some challenging times recently, as the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources struggled to reorganize and redefine department boundaries. In my view, the upheaval and strained relationships caused by the proposed restructuring would have been too great a cost to pay for changes that would have yielded negligible or no increase in administrative efficiency. But that era is in the past. I would rather focus on the future. CANR has made a number of investments in Forestry—investments that originate from the confidence that we have in the De- partment’s faculty and leadership. CANR’s most substantial investments are repre- sented by the hiring of two new tenure-track faculty members: Dr. Jessica Miesel and Dr. Phoebe Zarnetske. CANR and AgBioResearch also have made substantial investments in lab renovations and development of online courses. In a state that is 55% forested and in a world that is increasingly discovering the important con- tributions of forests to human well-being and environmental quality, it is hard to imagine how MSU could fulfill its land grant mission without a Department that is focused on forests. My optimism is bolstered by the Department of Forestry’s innovation and assump- tion of a leading role in CANR and MSU. An overhauled undergraduate curricu- lum, in effect Fall 2013 semester, has attracted healthy Freshman and Sophomore cohorts, reversing a trend of declining enrollments. The Department also created a new program to attract and retain high-achieving undergraduates, the Forests Forever Scholars Program, which leveraged more than $44,000 in matching schol- arships from the Provost’s Office in the program’s first year. An important addition to the graduate curriculum is the new certificate in Forest Carbon Science, Policy and Management, the first of its kind in the US and perhaps the world. The Forest Carbon Certificate will be offered fully online during the 2013-14 academic year, enabling students from throughout the world to enroll. Please know that the Department of Forestry has my full backing. Thank you for all of your contributions to this proud Department and for your continued support. Best wishes, DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY | 3 2013 MSU FOrestry PHOTO Winner Red Cedar Snow Storm - Bridge over the Red Cedar on Harrison Road. - Evan Farinosi, photographer The Michigan State Forester is a publication of the Depart- Address regular or e-mail correspondence and address ment of Forestry. It is mailed free-of-charge to members changes to: of the Alumni Association and is freely distributed to MSU students, staff, faculty, and friends. Juli Kerr Department of Forestry Editorial Staff: Michigan State University Sarah Finley & Juli Kerr Natural Resources Building 480 Wilson Road, Room 126 MSU Forestry Alumni Association: East Lansing, MI 48824-1222 USA Bill Schmidt, John Anton and Jim Kielbaso (517) 355-0090 [email protected] 4 | WINTER 2013 CHAIRPersON’S PersPective | Dear MSU Forestry Alumni and FRiENDS, Undergraduate education is at the core of what we do. As detailed in this issue of the Michigan State Forester, the Department of Forestry has taken several steps to strength- en that core. We overhauled our undergraduate curriculum. The new curriculum is at the forefront of knowledge for future forestry professionals and leaders. At the same time that we are highlighting hands-on teaching and learning, we are mak- ing an effort to increase online instruction. This may seem to run counter to the grain of hands-on learning. However, these approaches complement each other in important ways. First, good online teaching IS interactive and often requires students to answer questions, solve problems, or collect ‘field specimens’ with a camera before moving on to the next lesson. In addition, using online lessons to cover fundamentals frees up time for hands-on learning. We are excited about the creative potential that online instruction offers. Rapid progress in our undergraduate program has been facilitated by establishing a Direc- tor of Undergraduate Studies. DR. LARRY LEEFERS served as director for the first year of the position and did a fantastic job of re-invigorating our undergraduate program on several fronts: curriculum, recruitment, scholarships, and marketing. DR. DAVE MAC- FARLANE is continuing this work and has provided crucial leadership in implementing our new curriculum. For the first time in our 110 year history (to my knowledge), the Department of Forestry has a dedicated Undergraduate Academic Advisor. MR. Walter Chomentowski, who holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in Forestry, started this position in January and has made great strides in providing our current and future undergraduate students advice on schol- 2013 MSU FOrestry PHOTO Winner arships, course schedules, internships, and careers. A major thrust of our recruiting efforts is the Forests Forever Scholars Program, which provides outstanding students renewable scholarships and opportunities to develop as leaders. I am delighted that in the first year of Forests Forever program, we have an in- coming cohort of eight outstanding new freshman and sophomore Scholars, coming from as far away as California and Nevada. It is a wonderful time to be a Forestry major at Michigan State University. We have an exciting, cutting edge program with dedicated faculty, outstanding students, and gener- ous scholarship support. Our current enrollment is ~45 students. Our goal is to reach 100 students after three years under the new curriculum. And I am asking for your help in keeping this momentum going. Please direct outstanding high school students our way! All my best, DEPARTMENT OF FORESTRY | 5 | letter FROM FAA President DEAR FOLkS, I just returned from a week-long fishing trip in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and I marvel at this wonderful natural resource base! Forests, lakes, mountains, swamps, barren plains and all sorts of wonders to behold. There are mosquitoes, too, lots of ‘em, but they add to the ‘adventure’ that comes from spending time and enjoying the unique outdoor setting. It makes me proud to have pursued a career in natural resource management—not that I had a lot to do with managing the resource attributes in the Upper Peninsula—but that I was part of an undeterminable number of men and women who followed similar pathways and through study, hard work, and mountains of dedication were able to forge careers protecting and managing and utilizing these awe-inspiring realms, not just in Michigan, but throughout the world. I’m proud to be a forester! I get that same kind of ‘proud’ feeling while sitting at the luncheon for the Forestry Graduating Seniors hosted by the MSU Forestry Alumni Association (FAA) in order to congratulate the graduating seniors on their successful completion of obtaining a degree in Forestry. I take comfort in their energy, enthusiasm, their wide-spread ac- complishments and their desire to move out beyond the campus and find their niche in some aspect of Forestry. I feel proud, too, of the many men and women who help instruct, encourage and nurture these students during their time at Michigan State University. The efforts of professors, associate professors, instructors, staff and support personnel, and many others, yield BIG DIVIDENDS for the future of the students as well as for the well-being of the natural resource base. To that end, therefore, I feel privileged to work with RiCh Kobe, the Forestry Depart- ment Chairman, in order to provide support, encouragement, and advice from the FAA. Rich has the enthusiasm and desire to see the Forestry Department make long strides from the nearly catastrophic events of two years ago where the Department was on the verge of elimination. Your FAA Officers and Chairman Kobe have established a sys- tem of regular meetings that are designed to hash-out ideas, discuss priorities, provide feed-back and enhance communication between alumni and the Forestry Department. The first two meetings were filled with great discussion and forward-thinking opportu- nities! More to come on that front to be sure. In addition, the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Alumni Association (CANRAA) Board has asked for a representative from the FAA to serve as an ‘ex-officio’ member…we’re going to do that…and that can be another opportunity to network with other alumni organizations to share ideas, experiences, and opportunities to build suc- cess. 6 | WINTER 2013 That’s where YOU become a very important person. Your ideas and input are a necessary attribute to support the future of the Forestry Department and the FAA. I encourage you to check out the MSU Forestry website (www.for.msu.edu) which features an ‘Alumni Section’, and feel free to send me your ideas for making FAA a better, stronger, and more responsive organization. Feel free to contact me at: [email protected] with ideas, suggestions, and offers to help.