Planning
Committee
Reports
Overview:
"In looking to an uncertain and challenging future, the Faculty at Washington State University would rather lead than follow. We are asking the WSU Administration, our Colleagues, and the University community to help us break down institutional barriers to progressive growth and change. We are asking for the opportunity to self-develop and implement a corner-stone of the WSU Strategic Plan and our future land grant mission by creating a School of Natural Resources and Environment."
School of NRE Faculty Implementation Committee
Washington State University
December 2002
Our Goal
Faculty in the College of Agriculture and Home Economics propose to create
a new, interdisciplinary School of Natural Resources and Environment at
Washington State University to unite many of our faculty working in the linked
and complementary areas of ecology, environmental science and engineering,
landscape architecture and design, natural resource sciences, and related fields
in socio-economics and human dimensions.
The concept originated among the faculty as a logical and necessary way to
self-develop and implement a cornerstone of the WSU Strategic Plan and create
a true center of excellence to better address the future WSU land grant mission
for this century.
Our Proposal
A full copy of the draft proposal is available for downloading and viewing:
Draft Proposal: School of Natural Resources & Environment. The Faculty
Implementation Committee welcomes your thoughts and suggestions
on this draft proposal, given it's importance to the whole of Washington State
University and the State of Washington. Together, we can have a major
impact on our future land grant mission for this century. Our current progress
report describes recent recent activities underway to form the School
(School of NRE Progress Report.
We propose to form a highly interdisciplinary School of Natural Resources
and Environment that will have a:
leadership model that won't increase administrative costs or complexity;
focus on a reduced set of core degrees and strongly interdisciplinary
and flexible majors in areas of contemporary concern, including
Conservation Biology; Landscape & Restoration Ecology;new research initiative in Biotechnology & the Environment
new "Team Model" of faculty performance for encouraging
collaborative teamwork and actions that go beyond the simple,
individual-based annual review;academic home for many statewide Cooperative Extension faculty and
county agents working in areas of community development,
environmental issues, and natural resource ecology and management;major extramural funding campaign focused on conservation issues
related to the environment and the long-term preservation of biological
diversityOur Mission
The School of NRE will bring together about 50+ leading research scientists,
educators, and a large core of highly motivated students to generate and apply
fundamental knowledge about natural resource ecology and the environment -
including both the designed and human-built environment and that of the natural
world.
The School of NRE will develop basic knowledge and technical skills needed to
define innovative policies and management solutions to address the broad range
of environmental challenges confronting the Pacific Northwest and the rest of the
world.
The School of NRE will have a strong and balanced emphasis on applied ecology
and the social sciences. The School's fundamental mission is to contribute to
the conservation of the Earth's environmental and natural resources and
thereby help achieve a just and equitable global society to meet future human
needs on a sustainable basis.
For more information on the proposed School of NRE, please contact:
Pete Jacoby, Associate Dean, CAHE or
Rod Sayler, Committee Chair
School of NRE Committee:
(D. Baumgartner, M. Carroll, S. Chen, J. Creighton, A. Felsot, E. Fiske, B. Frazier,
S. Michael, R. Sayler (chair), P. Wandschneider; Administrative Liasons: C. Stockle,
P. Jacoby, Jr.; Dept. Chairs: K. Blatner, W. Hendrix., A. Kirschner, W. Pan, R. Shumway)