UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- In what Penn State President Graham Spanier called another milestone in the university’s history, Penn State today dedicated its new $30.5 million Forest Resources Building at the corner of Park Avenue and Bigler Road.

The 98,000-square-foot structure -- designed to showcase Pennsylvania hardwood products -- for the first time brings together under one roof the three professional programs in the School of Forest Resources: forest science, wood products, and wildlife and fisheries science. Speaking to an audience of more than 400 invited guests, Spanier noted that for decades Penn State has been providing Pennsylvania with its only professional education and research programs dedicated to the management of forest resources and their use.

“This building is no ordinary classroom-laboratory facility,” he said. “It is an outstanding example of a structure that was designed to stimulate learning and serve as an instructional tool itself … with stunning use of hardwoods, light and the simplicity of design. Exposed structural elements such as beams, trusses and columns demonstrate the uses of wood and the beauty of natural elements.”

The facility, which will have a green growing roof, was designed by Bower, Lewis and Thrower Architects of Philadelphia. It gives the School of Forest Resources 50 percent more space than its former homes, Spanier pointed out, and will help maintain Penn State’s status as one of the most highly regarded universities in the study of the natural environment.

“Over the years, we have learned that the design of a building has a profound impact on the way our students learn,” Spanier said. “That is why this building, in close consultation with our faculty, was constructed to not only be functional but also to create an atmosphere that reinforces our connection to the natural world.”

The 10:30 a.m. building dedication ceremony was presided over by Robert Steele, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. In addition to Spanier, featured speakers were Charles Strauss, director of the School of Forest Resources; Walt Peechatka, executive vice president of PennAg Industries Association and a member of the university’s board of trustees; and Dennis Wolff, Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture.

Steele said the new building will ensure that the School of Forest Resources can continue to recruit and retain the highest-caliber faculty and students, provide a top-quality, contemporary education and conduct dynamic research and specialized technology transfer for forest-based industries.

Strauss, who noted that the new building opened in time to help the School of Forest Resources celebrate its centennial next year, was grateful for the backing the school has received. “Much of the development support was built from the collective spirit of various professional organizations,” he said. “The following professional groups provided major naming gifts: The Pennsylvania Forestry Association, the Association of Consulting Foresters, the Society of American Foresters, Tau Phi Delta, Penn York Lumbermen’s Club and the Pennsylvania Forest Products Association.

“The School of Forest Resources has a very strong undergraduate and graduate program with nearly 500 students that will be attended to by this new structure," Strauss added. “Good management of forest resources is vitally important in Pennsylvania, where 60 percent of the land still is forested. The Keystone State wood products industry generates about $5 billion annually and supports approximately 100,000 jobs.”

Peechatka reminded those present that Penn State was ranked third among American universities by Washington Monthly a few weeks ago. “This building and its facilities are the most recent additions to the School of Forest Resources arsenal,” he said. “The school has excellent faculty and staff, and now a modern facility. The school has all of the assets it needs, and its future is boundless. I feel confident that the School of Forest Resources will do its share in maintaining our university’s high ranking for its contributions to research, public service and social mobility.”

Teaching and outreach facilities encompass nearly 30 percent of the new building; research facilities, 40 percent; and offices for faculty, staff and graduate students, 30 percent. Teaching areas include four teaching laboratories; two technology classrooms; the Steimer Auditorium, with a 150-seat capacity; two undergraduate computer labs; and a GIS lab for graduate students.

Research facilities include laboratories for forestry, fisheries, water resources, wildlife and wood products. Outreach facilities include a 30-seat conference room with video teleconferencing capability, five meeting rooms with state-of-the-art communication systems, a publication production room and the York Group Wood Products Evaluation Laboratory.

Public facilities within the building include the Edwards Student Activities Center; a four-story, glass-enclosed and paneled atrium and an alumni plaza -- a garden adjacent to the atrium for outdoor events and study. In addition, the new building will have a 4,000-square-foot green roof and a patio for leisure and classroom purposes. The green roof will serve as a working research collaboration between the School of Forest Resources and the Department of Horticulture.

The new building also houses offices for faculty, endowed chairs, visiting scientists, graduate students, technical personnel and administration.

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EDITORS: For more information, contact Chuck Strauss at 814-865-7541 or by e-mail at chs3@psu.edu.

Writer/Editor Jeff Mulhollem Phone: 814-863-2719 E-mail: jjm29@psu.edu