Arthur Temple School of Forestry, Nacogdoches, Texas. (original) (raw)

Dr. Paul Boynton, second president of Stephen F. Austin State College, understood that the College�s mission was to prepare teachers to take their places in Texas� public schools, but severe enrollment problems during WWII convinced him that an expanded vision for SFA would increase chances for success.

Boynton decided that the presence of so much timber in East Texas and the absence of a school of forestry in the state offered SFA an excellent opportunity for diversification. Boynton worked with local timber man Lacy Hunt to persuade Congress to create the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest, the only experimental forest in the nation assigned to a single educational institution.

In 1946, Boynton hired Robert Owens to teach the first courses in forestry even before they were listed in the college�s catalog, and before long Owens was joined by Dr. Nelson (Doc) Samson in teaching the courses. Owens was succeeded as department chairman in 1954 by Dr. Arne Kemp, who remained until 1963. Kemp founded the department�s summer camp, located near Red Hills Lake, not far from Milam in Sabine County, and "rising juniors" were required to attend. The camp provided hands-on experience for skills and activities discussed academically in classrooms, and became a defining bonding experience for all SFA forestry students.

Dr. Laurence Walker succeeded Kemp as department chairman in 1963 and succeeded also in winning accreditation for the department from the Society of American Foresters. Walker guided the forestry program from a few hundred students to over 1,000, through its designation as one of seven administrative schools within SFASU, oversaw the construction of a new building dedicated to instruction in forestry, and concluded his career as a Lacy Hunt Professor of Forestry within the School of Forestry.

Walker was succeeded by Dr. Kent Adair, who diversified the forestry program into various areas of research, led the school into significant international programs, and also relocated the summer camp to a new facility at the Piney Woods Conservation Center located near Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

When Adair retired, Dr. Scott Beasley came home to administer the forestry program at his alma mater and to lead the program into its transition into the Arthur Temple College of Forestry. In that 60 years, the forestry division at SFA has become one of the premier programs of its kind in the world.