Humboldt State University (HSU) and the USDA Forest Service (FS), Region 5-California, have formalized a partnership agreement to achieve a common goal of increasing the recruitment of ethnically diverse students in natural resources careers. "The Forest Service is excited about this new partnership with Humboldt State University, and together we hope to increase the number of new students enrolled in forestry and other natural resource majors," said Pacific Southwest Associate Regional Forester Vicki Jackson. "This will ultimately help us build a balanced multicultural workforce that reflects the public we serve." Dr. K.O. (Ken) Fulgham, who chairs Humboldt State's combined Departments of Forestry & Watershed and Rangeland Resources & Wildland Soils, said, "This partnership will ensure the successful recruitment of students from diverse backgrounds wanting to study in the various natural resources fields found in the college. HSU is pleased to have a consistent quality of natural resource programs and quality teaching faculty that will facilitate the graduation of future students to meet the employment needs of public agencies, non-governmental organizations, consulting firms, and private industry."
Dr. James H. Howard, Dean of HSU's College of Natural Resources and Sciences (CNRS), Dr. Chris Hopper, Interim Executive Director of HSU's Sponsored Programs Foundation, and Ms. Jackson, formalized the agreement for the three-year initiative at an official signing ceremony Apr. 9 at the Forest Service regional headquarters in Vallejo.
The partnership agreement will assist in the funding of an HSU Campus Recruiter position within the CNRS. Under the pact, the Forest Service will provide the CNRS with $20,000 in annual funding for a three-year period, which will be augmented with University funding from both the CNRS and the Office of Enrollment Management. A search is in progress and the recruiter is expected to be in position for the fall 2007 recruiting season.
Dr. Howard said the recruitment outreach will increase awareness of natural resources career opportunities and also address opposing trend lines: a declining number of graduates in the field versus a rising employment demand for trained employees.
HSU Associate Professor Susan Marshall, also of Rangeland Resources & Wildland Soils, noted that "many lucrative funding opportunities for collaboration exist between HSU and the Forest Service to compete for the best and brightest students in California to encourage them to enter into natural resources careers. For example, we know that there are excellent university-bound students among California's 35.2% Hispanic population and we are hopeful that our new recruiter will expose them to the unique educational opportunities that Humboldt State University has to offer."
A year-long collaboration among Professors Fulgham and Marshall, Dean Howard, Deputy Forest Supervisor Will Metz ( Six Rivers National Forest ), Forest Supervisor Tom Contreras ( Mendocino National Forest ), and R5-NCC Program Director Guadalupe Hernandez from the U.S. Forest Service laid the groundwork for this significant partnership.
The U.S. Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region consists of 18 national forests covering more than 20 million acres of public land across California .
For details, contact Guadalupe Hernandez, Director of the Northern California Consortium (FS), headquartered in Willows, California , at (530) 934-1110.
For HSU, visit http://news.humboldt.edu/
For FS, visit http://www.fs.fed.us/r5