This proposal is for collegiate status for the School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources. The proposal describes why collegiate status is important to the university and the Commonwealth, and how and when collegiate status may be implemented. Further, it contains descriptions and supporting statistics to show the attributes of the proposed College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources relative to other campus administrative units and the university.

The School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources is presently an administrative unit in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Since renewable natural resource issues continue to be increasingly important to the people of Virginia, and because the Commonwealth relies heavily on Its renewable natural resources for jobs, products, recreation, tourism, and innumerable other tangible and non-tangible benefits, it is important that the land-grant university support and nurture the academic and research infrastructure required to ensure a stable future for the state's economy and a continued guarantee of environmental quality for its citizens. Collegiate status for the present School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources is a significant step towards recognizing the important contributions the university makes in teaching, research, and public service as those activities pertain to Virginia's renewable natural resources.

To this end, the proposal seeks the implementation of a College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources on the Virginia Tech campus. Such a College will allow the university to efficiently and directly address renewable natural resources issues and needs. Separation of the School from agriculture will, on the other hand, also allow the existing College of Agriculture and Life Sciences the opportunity to focus on agriculture-related issues without limiting future cooperative efforts between the two administrative units.

The proposal calls for a Dean of the School to be named on January 1, 1992 and fiscal autonomy achieved by July 1, 1992. The School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources will be named a College by July 1, 1993. Full implementation of collegiate status will be completed prior to the 1994-1996 biennium. The implementation will require the infusion of 3.5 classified positions into the existing School and the addition of a 0.5 FTE administrative position. Attendant total estimated costs will be less than $150,000/year. These costs represent less than 1.25% of the total budget of the present School. The transition to collegiate status will be significantly minimized because the current administrative structure of the School parallels that of most existing colleges.

As it matures, the proposed College will increasingly contribute to the mission and goals of Virginia Tech. Although the future cannot be forecast with certainty, the students, faculty, and administration of the School envision new and challenging opportunities to serve both the university and the Commonwealth as a College of Forestry and Wildlife Resources.