Natural Resources Professional

Alumni Reflection: Connie Ruth (B.S. ’76, M.S. ’83)

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 12:44:42 -0400

I remember how excited I was when I first heard about SNR (as it was then called.) I’d left a small co-ed college in Illinois a few years earlier and had been waiting on tables for over two years in Ann Arbor. When I read about SNR, I was riveted. I hadn't been a part of Earth Day but the concept of addressing environmental problems in college really appealed to me.

Alumni Reflection: Rufus Byron Brown (B.S. WT 1950)

Mon, 11 May 2009 12:39:21 -0400

My first job was with Williams Furniture Co., a large furniture manufacturer in Sumter, SC. All of my training in wood technology was very useful in this job. Sumter was my hometown. After helping solve a manufacturing problem, (the return of a carload of plywood from GE slated to be used for TV cabinets), I was moved to assistant to the CEO & President of the company. This was fine but there was no increase in salary?

Alumni Reflection: Robert Farmer (B.S.F. '53, M.F. '58, Ph.D. '61)

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 10:45:58 -0400

The thing that has most influenced my life is a research doctorate from the University of Michigan. The great joy of my life was doing the PhD under the direction of Steve Spurr, Sam Graham and Bob Zahner. There was summer living in the late 50's at the Biological Station and Camp Filbert Roth. We trotted after Spurr exploring ancient shorelines, interesting woods on Bois Blanc Island and Canada's boreal forest. Und aspen uber alle. Arguing with Sam Graham kept me vigorously alive, and a high note was the time at the Station when I beat Spurr at Chinese checkers.

Alumni Reflection: Kenneth Chilman (M.F. '59, Ph.D. '72)

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:42:18 -0400

I was extremely fortunate to arrive at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources in 1958 and to obtain my M.F. in 1959-50 years ago. And then to receive my Ph.D. degree there in 1972. I am still fortunate to be able to continue active field research projects. The University of Michigan allowed me to follow a unique path, based on my interests, field experience and emerging recreational use pressures that I observed and experienced as a forest manager.

Faculty Q & A: Bobbi Low

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:40:58 -0400

Each issue of Natural Resources Professional will include an interview with a current SNRE faculty member. This issue, we talk to Professor Bobbi Low, who teaches in the Conservation Biology field of study and joined U-M in 1972.

Student Profile: Kate Ennis

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 15:42:49 -0400

When Kate Ennis enrolled at the University of Michigan to study Terrestrial Ecosystems, you could say she was carrying on a family tradition. Sixty years earlier, her grandfather Arthur enrolled at what was then known as the U-M School of Forestry to pursue a graduate degree. Today, his granddaughter is walking the same hallways, pursuing research interests as a second-year master's student.

In Memoriam: Grant William Sharpe (1925-2006)

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:52:08 -0400

Grant Sharpe grew up in Silverton, Wash., where his deep interest in plants and animals began. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1943 after graduating from high school. He served in the South Pacific Theater on the CVE Marcus Island until it was decommissioned in 1946. With help of the G.I. Bill of Rights, Grant enrolled in the College of Forestry at the University of Washington and eventually chose Outdoor Recreation as his major. After earning his Ph.D.

In Memoriam: Robert “Bob” Zahner (1923-2007)

Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:04:03 -0400

Robert “Bob” Zahner (1923-2007) joined the Forestry Department faculty of SNR in 1959. He left U-M in 1973 and returned to Highlands, N.C., and the Southern Appalachian Mountains where he continued his distinguished career in forest ecology and conservation of 54 years. Bob was an innovator and a leader in every aspect of his long career as a scientist, teacher and activist in such areas as tree physiology and plant-water relations, forest ecology and silviculture, soils and conservation biology, and ecology.

Remembering Frank Hooper

Wed, 17 Jun 2009 11:03:57 -0400

By Jim Diana

Frank Hooper, former professor at the School of Natural Resources at the University of Michigan, as well as a former employee at the Institute for Fisheries Research/Michigan Department of Natural Resources, died on March 6, 2009. (View images of Frank Hooper ...)

Remembering Grant Sharpe by Chris Cameron

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 16:19:31 -0400

September 5, 2009

A little more than 50 years ago I came to the School of Natural Resources as a transfer student from a small junior college in Chicago. I wanted to become a National Park Ranger and in those days a forestry degree was a good thing to have in what (at the time) was stiff competition for a very desirable job.