COLUMBUS, Ohio — An academic division of Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences has taken on a new look in the form of a new name.
The School of Natural Resources is now the School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR). A campaign to change the name began over a year ago with unanimous support from school faculty, staff and students, undergraduate and graduate student organizations, and key stakeholder groups. Since last January, the proposal has been reviewed and approved by the University's Council on Academic Affairs and University Senate, and the Board of Trustees made final approval in early November.
Jerry Bigham, director of SENR, said the new name better describes the goals, academic programs and research expertise of the school.
"The name change was proposed to indicate who we are, what we provide our students, and what we have been about since the School of Natural Resources was established in 1968," said Bigham. "Through the name change, we formalize our commitment to environmental topics. Environmental subject matter remains a central thrust of academic programs in the school where applied ecology, natural resource conservation, outdoor recreation and tourism, and environmental policy are emphasized by our faculty."
Another thrust of the name change was to bridge the gap between environmental sciences and environmental studies. Environmental science programs emphasize biological, chemical and physical sciences, while environmental studies programs focus on social science issues.
SENR is unique in that it places equal emphasis on environmental science, environmental studies and natural resource management in its academic programs, and the new name change reflects that.
SENR offers undergraduate degrees in environmental science; forestry, fisheries and wildlife; parks, recreation and tourism; and environmental policy and management. The school is represented on central campus in Columbus, as well as on the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center campus in Wooster, at Piketon Research and Extension Center in Piketon, at Pomerene Forest Laboratory in Coshcoton, at the Schiermeier Olentangy River Wetland Research Park in Columbus, at OARDC outlying research branches and at F.T. Stone Laboratory on Lake Erie.
For more information on the School of Environment and Natural Resources, log on to http://snr.osu.edu/, or call (614) 292-2265.
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