COLUMN: USU has only Natural resource program in the state.
It’s Natural Resources Week. Do you know the College of Natural Resources? It might not be what you expect.
Let me tell you what is in the atrium of our Natural Resources Building. We have live fish. We have elk heads on the wall. Up in the club office there is a really big saw – it was there just yesterday, I checked. Our building has wood paneling. I’ll be the first person to tell you these things are outstanding, but I would like to tell you some things you may have not previously thought about the College of Natural Resources.
Many people are amazed to learn the breadth of resource management which plays a vital part in each of our lives. Our environment and the resources in them constitute the currency of life. There is no aspect of life untouched by our management of them. For this reason, fields in natural resources require expertise such diverse disciplines as the physical, biological, sociological and political sciences, as well as economics, human resources and satellite and geographical information technologies.
Still thinking about the saw? All of the learning in these fields is applied to the principles governing our understanding of and relationship with the resources and environment upon which we depend. But things get even more interesting, I promise.
Given that resources constitute the currency of life, “the plot thickens” when you add the myriad interests in them. Many nations, regions and peoples have vested interest in what is on, under and above our public and private lands and how it is managed. The West by itself constitutes a fascinating example of resource management, due to its uniqueness and resource abundance. All of this contributes to the role of our college.
We are the only natural resources program in the state. This makes the College of Natural Resources the premier forum for research, study and education which provides the necessary understanding to manage our landscape and resource surroundings.
As an endeavor to continue to provide state-of-the-art education and research, the college is now in the process of reorganizing its departments and undergraduate curriculum to accommodate the resource management and job market needs for the 21st century. Various “town hall” style meetings have been held and organized by the CNR Student Council and administration to gather student opinion in this ongoing process.
The administration, staff, and faculty of the college are tremendously supportive of the student body in many ways. The Student Council works regularly in cooperation with these folks to conduct wonderful leadership and learning forums. Our Fall Student Leadership retreat, held at the University Field Camp station in Logan Canyon Sept. 28 and 29, was a tremendous success and a product of this great student-faculty relationship. If you have anything left to wonder, maybe you’ll find some answers in this bit of CNR fun facts:
•We have the “Personal Touch” – our faculty-to-student ratio is 1 faculty member for every 6 undergraduate students.
•Every year we award 110 undergraduate scholarships totaling almost $100,000.
•CNR students have the opportunity to live in the Aldo Leopold Learning Community, a residence hall with programming and activities geared especially toward natural resources students.
•There are two to three natural resources-related summer jobs available for every CNR student. Many of our students have permanent jobs lined up before they graduate.
•The college has its own library where CNR students have access to a computer lab with state-of-the-art computers, software and peripheral equipment.
•Our majors include environmental studies, fisheries and wildlife, forestry, geography, range land resources, recreation resource management and watershed science.
There, we all feel better about the College of Natural Resources. While you are having that warm-comfy-friendly feeling, I would like to invite you to participate in the remaining NR Week activities. You can even see the saw at Logger’s Sports on Thursday. You know the one I’m talking about … the BIG one. When was the last time you got in on a good African drum circle? Tonight is your lucky night.
See the list of Natural Resources Week activities on the Backburner.