Professor and Head, Department of Forest Resources
As I write this column, I’m reflecting on the extraordinary events that occurred this past year. Last March, about midway through the semester, the pandemic forced us to convert all of our in-person instruction to online delivery. COVID-19 public health protocols meant that we needed to continue offering nearly all of our courses in a remote learning environment last fall and this spring.
The pandemic also required us to deliver our two three-week forestry field sessions this past year using different teaching environments. Last spring’s Advanced Field Session, which is normally taught at the Cloquet Forestry Center in May, had to be taught remotely. This spring, our forestry students were given the option of attending the Advanced Field Session in Cloquet or taking the field courses online. Similarly, last August our forestry students could choose to take the three-week Introductory Field Session either at Cloquet or remotely. Our field course instructors did an outstanding job adapting their field courses to an online learning environment. They also went the extra mile to support our students by offering the option of attending the field sessions in-person or remotely. As I reported in last spring’s newsletter, faculty, staff and students have been incredibly resilient in adapting to the new online learning environment we’ve been in for over a year.
This past year has also been incredibly stressful to many in our department due to the deaths of George Floyd last May and Daunte Wright last month. Both of these tragic events took place not far from our campus and, as you might imagine, have had a deep and lasting impact on many of our faculty, staff, and students—especially those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Our department has been actively engaged in conversations about creating and maintaining a welcoming and safe place for our faculty, staff, and students. As department head, I want to affirm my commitment to ensuring everyone feels welcome, safe, and valued in the Forest Resources Department. For information about our department’s work on diversity, inclusion, equity, and anti-racism, please head to our Diversity Equity and Inclusion page.
The challenges this past year have been a growth experience for our department. We readily adapted to changing circumstances and, in the process, learned a lot about ourselves. No doubt, what we experienced this past year has made us a better department.