Courses in forestry have been offered at the University of Illinois since its foundation in 1867.1 For many years these courses were part of a specialized division of the Department of Horticulture in the College of Agriculture.2 In 1938, the Board of Trustees organized the Department of Forestry within the College of Agriculture.3 For the next twenty years, the course of study offered by the Department of Forestry was a two year program which prepared students for professional forestry schools.4 In 1958, however, the Board of Trustees authorized the degree of Bachelor of Science in Forestry for two new four year curricula: forest production (later forest science) and wood technology and utilization (later wood science).5 In 1962, the degree of Master of Science in Forestry was approved.6 The Department maintains several field laboratories and research properties including Dixon Springs Agricultural Center, Illinois Forest Resource Center, National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, and St. Charles Horticultural Research Center.7
On May 11, 1995, the Board of Trustees approved the renaming and reorganization of the College. It was renamed the College of Agricultural, Consumer, and Environmental Sciences and several changes were made in the organization of departments and divisions.8 The Department of Forestry was combined with three other entities to create the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences. The other entities were: the soil scientists from the Department of Agronomy; the Office of Agricultural Entomology; and the Department of Horticulture.9 The stated mission of the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences is to "establish and implement research and educational programs that enhance environmental stewardship in the management and use of natural, agricultural, and urban systems in a socially responsible manner."10
1. Catalogs and Registers, 1966-68, p. 7.
2. Catalogs and Registers, 1908-09, p. 121.
3. Board of Trustees Transactions, 39th Report, March 18, 1938, p. 656.
4. Board of Trustees Transactions, 40th Report, April 27, 1939, pp. 295-296; Catalogs and Registers, 1938-39, p. 145.
5. Board of Trustees Transactions, 49th Report, April 17, 1958, p. 1193.
6. Board of Trustees Transactions, 51st Report, June 20, 1962, p. 1505.
7. Student/Staff Directory 2006-07, RS 38/1/805.
8. Board of Trustees Transactions, 68th Report, May 11, 1995, p. 277-8.
9. University of Illinois, Faculty and Student Senate, Urbana-Champaign Senate, meeting minutes, March 27, 1995, EP 94.33, p. 35.
10. Programs of Study 2001-2003, p. 245.
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