Jan. 3, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Douglas Piirto
(805) 756-2968

Cal Poly Forestry and Natural Resources Program Receives National Accreditation

SAN LUIS OBISPO – The forestry and natural resources undergraduate
program in Cal Poly’s College of Agriculture has again received a key
accreditation from the Society of American Foresters.

“SAF is pleased to acknowledge California Polytechnic State University’s
continued dedication to excellence in forest resources education,” said
Michael T. Georgen, Jr., executive vice-president and CEO of the
Society, in announcing the continued accreditation in early December.

The latest SAF accreditation will be in effect until 2014. The College
of Agriculture is honored to again receive a 10-year accreditation from
the society, said Dean David Wehner.

“By working hard to meet and exceed SAF accreditation standards, our
faculty and students continue to set the bar higher in our forestry and
natural resources program,” Wehner said. “We’re proud of our program and
our students, and our Cal Poly graduates who are out making a difference
in the forestry and natural resources management field right now.”

Cal Poly’s forestry and natural resources program is the largest in the
West. It received its first, 10-year accreditation from the forestry
society in 1993. The society is the professional organization that
represents foresters in the United States, explained Cal Poly forestry
and natural resources professor and department chair Douglas Piirto.

The university’s forestry and natural resources program underwent a
re-accreditation review by an SAF panel from October 16 to October 22,
2003. The review included visits to both the Swanton Pacific satellite
campus forest near Santa Cruz and also the Cal Poly campus in San Luis
Obispo.

“Our NRM faculty and staff have worked very hard to not only obtain SAF
accreditation but also to keep it for the sake of our graduates,” said
Piirto.

“Graduates from SAF-accredited university programs are highly regarded
by potential employers. A Cal Poly FNR degree means a great deal to
potential employers because of both our SAF accreditation and because of
our focus on hands-on, learn-by-doing education,” he added.

The SAF Review Team overseeing the Cal Poly accreditation process
included:

  • Professor Scott Beasley, dean of the Arthur Temple College of
    Forestry at Stephen F. Austin State University
  • Professor Glenn Mroz, dean of the School of Forest Resources and
    Environmental Sciences at Michigan Technological University,
  • Frank Burch, silviculturist, USDA Forest Service, Washington, D.C.

For more details about the SAF, visit its Web site at www.safnet.org.

For more details about Cal Poly’s forestry and natural resources
program, visit the department Web site at:
http://www.nrm.calpoly.edu/fnr/fnr.html.


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