Colleagues,

I wish to announce our intention to establish a new Center at the College. The Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest (CSF-PF) will engage in discovering, teaching and demonstrating the concepts and practices of sustainable forestry, with special focus on advancing the strategic themes of the College. The new Center will undertake programs of research, continuing education, outreach and service providing programmatic substance to the concept of sustainable forestry.

The Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest will encompass the proposed new programs of sustainable forestry as well as management responsibilities for the forest properties at Pack and the conference center facilities. It is expected that the Center will be self-sustaining, initially funded using forest revenues and other temporary sources, and later entirely external funds. John Calhoun, Interim College Lands Manager, will be consulting widely with members of the College community as he further develops proposals for operations and leadership of the Center. Leadership and program development will likely require establishment of non-tenured faculty positions at the Center.

Attached is further information regarding the purpose, vision and mission of the Center for Sustainable Forestry at Pack Forest and an explanation of the purposes of the programs, forest operations and the conference center. The Center offers an exciting new chapter in our long history of forestry education leadership at the College and at Pack Forest.

B. Bruce Bare, Dean