Our History

The Ohio State University has a rich tradition of academic programming in the environment and natural resources (click here to read about our historic roots). In 1905, Congress created the U.S. Forest Service, and personnel were assigned to the Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station (now OARDC) in Wooster, OH.  The Ohio Legislature subsequently created a Department of Forestry at the Experiment Station to administer statewide forest management programs. An Extension soil conservation program was established in the OSU Department of Agronomy in 1914, and the OSU Department of Geography launced a liberal arts course in “Conservation of Natural Resources” in the 1920s. A Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit was established on the Ohio State Columbus campus in 1936, and the training of wildlife specialists was a direct outgrowth of that action. 

In 1945, an Interdepartmental Conservation Curriculum (ICC) was initiated by the College of Agriculture at OSU with undergraduate specializations in soil, water, and wildlife conservation. A Natural Resources Institute was created by action of the OSU Board of Trustees in 1955 to direct the ICC and to stimulate and coordinate teaching and research in the conservation, development, and wise use of natural resources. Over 100 faculty members from 19 departments and more than 50 people from federal, state, and local agencies participated in the Institute’s programs. Student demand grew significantly through the Institute, and faculty began to lobby for a more complete program in natural resources. 

In an effort to strengthen all OSU activities related to natural resources, the Board of Trustees created the School of Natural Resources on July 1, 1968. By the autumn of 1969, the School’s initial set of programs included a Masters degree and a set of undergraduate course offerings that addressed:

•    Conservation and Outdoor Education
•    Fisheries Management
•    Forestry
•    Park Administration and Outdoor Recreation
•    Wildlife Management

According to a history of the SNR prepared for the Centennial Celebration of OSU in 1970¹, “the programs of the School are designed to focus on the interaction of man’s natural environment wherein social factors, science, and political practices are recognized as co-determinants. The goal is a holistic view of man in relation to his natural resources base.” This shift away from single commodity science (forestry, fisheries, etc.) paved the way for a new paradigm of ecosystem function and management within the framework of the SNR.

Among the core courses established in 1969, Natural Resources 201, originally titled “Environmental Management and Man”, was designed to meet the needs for a background course in conservation for prospective teachers, serve as a survey course for a variety of resource management fields, and provide an introduction to the environment for liberal arts majors. Interest in the environment continued to grow throughout the decades of the 1970s, 80s and 90s. In response, the SNR developed a formal undergraduate program in Environmental Education and Interpretation in 1971, and a separate Environmental Science major was approved in 1993. Environmental subject matter remains a central thrust of academic programs in the School today where applied ecology, ecological restoration, natural resource conservation and management, outdoor recreation and tourism, and environmental policy are emphasized by our faculty.

In 1994, the College of Food, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences was re-organized and the Department of Agronomy was dissolved. Soil Scientists associated with the department were assimilated into the School of Natural Resources together with a graduate program that provided both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Soil Science. In 1999, a statewide moratorium on new Ph.D. programs was lifted, and an updated proposal for a Ph.D. in Natural Resources was approved by the Board of Regents. The new Ph.D. program was designed to provide for in-depth experience in developing and carrying out independent scholarly research in some area of natural resources, while insuring that each doctoral student developed an awareness of how his or her specialty area related to the larger picture of integrated natural resource management within a pluralistic and democratic society.

In November 2005, the Ohio State University Board of Trustees approved a request from the School faculty for a name change, and the School of Natural Resources became the School of Environment and Natural Resources. This name change was proposed to better indicate who we are, what we provide our students, and what we have been about throughout the history of our unit. In 2008, the name of the School’s graduate program was also changed to reflect the name of the unit.

Since its inception in July 1968, ten individuals have served as directors of Ohio State’s School of Environment and Natural Resources. The diverse backgrounds, expertise, and experience demonstrated by these individuals is representative of the academic and real-world diversity of the School’s multidisciplinary faculty, and exemplifies the ranges of programming and opportunities available through the School. Each director has played a significant role in making the School what it is today by initiating, overseeing, and supporting program thrusts that have continued to evolve and blossom over the years. Today, the SENR is broadening its interdisciplinary leadership within the University, expanding its international activities, and strengthening its programs to meet the needs of a changing world.

¹History of the School of Natural Resources, The Ohio State University Centennial Celebration (Columbus, Ohio:  The Ohio State University). 1970, p.1.