National Capacity in Forestry Research (2002) / Chapter Skim
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4. Preparing Forestry Scientists and Users of Forestry Science
4. Preparing Forestry Scientists and Users of Forestry Science
Pages 82-104
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From page 82... ...
Longstanding issues, such as how to provide forest products in an economically efficient and environmentally sound manner, and many new issues such as environmental justice, inequities in resource availability, habitat fragmentation, endangered species, and urbanization, have entered the public discourse. Both new and old issues often seem acutely complex, and their solutions are rarely straightforward.
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From page 83... ...
Creative approaches to disciplinary integration at the undergraduate level have been implemented and evaluated in several forestry programs, including those of the University of Vermont (Ginger et al., 1999) and Northern Arizona University (Fox et al., 1996~.
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From page 84... ...
Too much attention has been paid in forest science to the collection of data and facts; too little effort has been invested in developing the theoretic framework for the social and biologic sciences that are commonly applied to resource management. Without a framework, we are limited to an endless litany of empirical studies whose results have predictive value for a narrow range of conditions.
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From page 85... ...
Many forestry programs now include education and research beyond the traditional "forest science." The Food and Agriculture Education Information System (FAElS) collects similar data on natural resources, agricultural sciences, and other programs.
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From page 86... ...
Master's: Forest sciences 1341 1267 1137 1248 1238 1236 1162 (12.0) Natural resources 2715 2352 2557 2566 2481 2376 2339 (24.1)
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From page 87... ...
In both undergraduate and graduate professional programs, however, requirements for specific "professional skills", the accreditation of professional-degree programs by professional societies, and in some cases external licensing requirements force (or are thought to force) a tighter external specification of the content of a course of study.
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From page 88... ...
Land-grant colleges and other state-assisted forestry schools now educate all the undergraduate foresters in programs accredited by the Society of American Foresters, SAP (7419 in fall 19981. They also enroll 96 percent ofthe master's students and 99 percent ofthe doctoral students in the forest sciences (FAElS 1999a)
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From page 89... ...
The "undergraduate professional" model says that a forestry professional can be created through four years or more of relatively highly specified study at the undergraduate level strengthened with basic liberal arts components meeting university core education requirements and that further formal study, although probably beneficial, is not necessary. The undergraduate model has much to recommend it.
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From page 90... ...
Many of the students who enter forestry graduate programs were forestry undergraduate students. Thus, undergraduate education should be as broad as necessary to cover forest science well and as deep as possible to provide insights about basic principles and skills.
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From page 91... ...
. Undergraduate students should be provided with a broad education in the traditional fields of forest science, but opportunities for specialization or diversification should be encouraged for later graduate education.
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From page 92... ...
A goal common to schools of natural resources is to generate knowledge through research and teaching and to help to apply it to meet the hill range of human needs on a sustainable basis. That goal is best accomplished through joining disciplines and approaches.
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From page 93... ...
Some fields that are represented in only a few schools are fire ecology and behavior, pulp and paper science, wilderness management, forest soils, tropical forestry, forest biotechnology, forest products marketing, and forest engineering and harvesting. New scientists can be produced in those fields, but there are few faculty members to produce them.
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From page 95... ...
, 1993-1999. 9s Number of Students Specialization and Degree 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Forestry, General Bachelor's 3098 2956 3086 3467 3349 2882 2462 Master's 360 322 235 285 342 379 354 Doctoral 183 157 119 163 161 181 170 Forest Harvesting and Production Bachelor's 0 5 ~ 76 94 70 50 Master's 6 0 0 4 5 5 3 Doctoral 3 0 4 5 5 3 4 Forest Products Technology Bachelor's 55 60 67 116 155 115 147 Master's 20 6 ~ 14 21 18 17 Doctoral 53 9 3 6 17 6 4 Timber Harvesting Bachelor's 7 ~ 9 13 4 0 0 Master's 3 0 0 7 4 2 0 Doctoral 1 0 2 0 0 0 0 Forest Sciences Bachelor's 377 396 424 421 452 456 433 Master's 197 201 208 207 182 167 206 Doctoral 87 95 90 79 90 109 145 Forest Biology Bachelor's 325 359 396 456 461 477 464 Master's 152 155 197 228 225 201 174 Doctoral 128 139 142 151 153 143 128 Forest Engineering Bachelor's 188 198 194 218 264 292 216 Master's 72 21 14 11 ~ ~ 15 Doctoral 37 16 11 ~ ~ 7 10 Forest Hydrology Bachelor's 0 0 10 15 22 20 18
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From page 96... ...
Number of Students Specialization and 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 Degree Master's 47 32 43 30 24 35 27 Doctoral 11 11 12 7 6 9 5 Forest Management Bachelor's 1612 1554 1529 1577 1778 1783 1752 Master's 286 287 264 282 258 206 185 Doctoral 141 147 161 183 146 147 151 Forest Mensuration Bachelor's 0 0 9 2 3 0 0 Master's 39 22 13 13 19 26 32 Doctoral 21 17 23 21 17 18 20 Urban Forestry Bachelor's 88 ~ ~ ~ 123 124 129 169 169 Master's 13 24 28 27 23 32 30 Doctoral 5 4 4 2 5 3 4 Wood Science Bachelor's 278 232 260 351 335 334 281 Master's 71 64 70 85 70 76 64 Doctoral 71 58 53 56 71 58 53 Pulp and Paper Technology Bachelor's 607 634 585 606 592 581 543 Master's 10 10 9 ll 14 15 11 Doctoral 7 ~ 12 18 7 12 9 Forest Soils Bachelor's 0 0 2 ~ 0 4 5 Master's ~ ~ 6 4 ~ 14 12 15 Doctoral 3 0 3 5 4 3 4 Forest Sciences, Other Bachelor's 54 104 97 116 132 158 110 Master's 20 21 23 36 37 38 29 Doctoral 32 36 28 32 40 42 44 Source: Food and Agriculture Education Information System (FAEIS 1999a)
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From page 97... ...
in the forest sciences group, general forestry, forest management, and forest biology consistently have the most graduates. Timber harvesting, forest harvesting and production, forest engineering, forest hydrology, forest soils, forest mensuration, and urban forestry have had few or no graduates.
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From page 98... ...
Table 4-4. Forest Sciences Enrollment Statistics by Gender, Ethnicity, and Citizenship, fall 1999.
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From page 99... ...
Women graduates were most heavily represented in wildlife, environmental science and studies, and general forestry, and they were generally scarce in forest engineering, wood and paper products, forest soils, and mensuration and biometrics. Women students were most heavily represented in natural-resource conservation, environmental science and studies, wildlife, forest biology, and general forestry; and there were none in doctoral programs in harvesting and engineering or in hydrology.
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From page 100... ...
To the extent that these kinds of experiences are required of doctoral students, integrative and interdisciplinary awareness and ability might increase. Institutional Arrangements Several examples of successful federal programs represent innovative approaches to education and research and foster collaboration and diversification (Boxes 4-3, 4-4~.
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From page 101... ...
Over 1200 scientists and students investigating ecological processes over long temporal and broad spatial scales conduct research at LTER sites. Researchers are often associated with universities, but research teams also include members from the USDA Forest Service and other federal agencies.
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From page 102... ...
University programs should assume a renewed commitment to the fundamental areas of scholarship and research related to forest sciences that have diminished in recent years, and should adopt an enhanced, broad, integrative, and interdisciplinary programmatic approach to curricula at the graduate level. Basic fields including field biology, population genetics, plant systematics, and plant taxonomy are fundamental to understanding any biologic system.
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From page 103... ...
We need to consider developing curricula that include more mixing of students from various disciplines through seminars, capstone courses and experiences, and the use of multidisciplinary teams in teaching. In the future, teams of scientists from multiple disciplines will carry out much of forestry research, and this requires team behavior.
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From page 104... ...
fields of forestry research where it operates best or has some recognized institutional advantage. One of the ways to increase cooperation is to bring federal, state, and private sector scientists into the academic fabric where needed to augment the expertise of university faculty in preparing future scientists.
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