Oklahoma State University excels in forestry education

Monday, February 3, 2014

Since 1988 The Society of American Foresters has presented the Carl Alwin Schenck Teaching Award to individuals to recognize outstanding performance in the field of forestry education.

The professional society for foresters throughout the United States reviews applications from the 50 accredited programs and recognizes the one each year who most exemplifies the founder of the Biltmore Forestry School, the country’s first forestry school, Carl A. Schenck. Of the few recipients of this esteemed award, three of them have come from Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

OSU is the only university to have won this award three times, all of which came from the department of natural resource ecology and management (NREM).

“This award recognizes an individual faculty member as an outstanding instructor. Having three faculty members win the Schenck Award shows that we have outstanding faculty and that NREM places a large emphasis on teaching forestry students,” said Keith Owens, NREM department head. “Collectively these award winners have taught at OSU for 99 years.”

Tom Hennessey, professor of forest biology, was the most recent recipient. Tom Kuzmic, professor and Director of Forestry Summer Camp, received the award in 2004. David Robinson, emeritus professor, was honored with this award in 1992.

“A common trait of these award winners is that they really care that students understand forestry principles and can apply them,” Owens said. “One of their basic beliefs is that if a student is shown how a topic in classroom teaching can affect their life, then it becomes much more meaningful to them. Essentially they make the link between ‘book learning’ and the real world."