April 17, 2000
Kristiina Vogt to return to UW as dean of College of Forest Resources
Kristiina A. Vogt, a professor with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and former University of Washington faculty member, has been selected by UW President Richard L. McCormick as the new dean of the College of Forest Resources, effective July 1. The appointment is subject to approval by the UW Board of Regents.
Vogt was a faculty member of the UW College of Forest Resources for 10 years before joining Yale in 1987. The Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies has 30 faculty and 275 master’s and doctoral students from more than 30 countries. Founded as a professional school of forestry 100 years ago, Yale’s research and teaching programs focus not only forestry but also on concerns involving the interactions of humans and natural systems.
“At Yale, Kristiina Vogt is recognized as being on the leading edge of the movement to better integrate the practice of natural resource science with management,” McCormick says. “She’s twice received student commendations for exceptional advising and teaching, and she’s known for bringing together students and a broad array of colleagues on her national and international research programs. She will provide outstanding leadership for our excellent College of Forest Resources.”
Vogt is co-chairwoman of the Yale Forest Forum, which was established to improve the way in which forest policy is made in this country. The forum’s private forest initiative, for example, aims to support sustainable management of privately owned forestlands by providing owners with research and education. As co-chairwoman Vogt helps coordinate large committees of faculty and students, works with a prestigious external advisory board, oversees a wide variety of research and outreach activities, and helps with fund raising.
Vogt holds the Margaret K. Musser Professorship of Forest Ecology at Yale. Her interests in ecosystem ecology start at the forest floor and include the soils, nutrient cycling, roots and mycorrhizal communities (fungi that help roots absorb nutrients). Above ground her interests range from how trees and other forest plants grow to how forests respond to disturbances such as fires, storms and human activities.
Her work weaving together basic forest science and management includes authoring books such as “Balancing Science and Management” and “Forest Certification: Roots, Issues, Challenges and Benefits,” and developing the “legacy framework” – a new integrative way to evaluate trade-offs and risks of natural resource uses.
Vogt was at the UW from 1976 until 1987, with research and affiliate faculty appointments in forest resources. Her return now as dean makes her the first woman to hold a forestry dean’s position in the United States, according to the National Association of Professional Forestry Schools and Colleges.
Vogt’s bachelor’s is from the University of Texas, El Paso. She earned her doctorate and master’s degrees from, and served as a research assistant at, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces.
Her husband, Daniel, has been recommended to the regents as an associate professor at the College of Forest Resources.
The college currently has a faculty of 62 who conduct research and teaching in areas such as ecosystem sciences and conservation, forest management, forest engineering, paper science and forest products marketing. It also has a program in environmental horticulture and urban forestry concerning, among other things, the management of trees, forests and wetlands found in urban areas. Last year the college brought in $6.3 million in outside grants and contracts.
Besides its 260 undergraduate and 180 graduate students, the college has a major outreach program providing education and the latest research to professional foresters, private and public land managers, urban horticulturists and the public. The current dean, David Thorud, is retiring as dean but will remain on the faculty.
Vogt’s salary will be $150,000.
For more information: Kristiina Vogt, (203) 432-5076
