Letter from the Department Head - Fall 2024

Dear Friends, 
 
As we wrap up the first quarter of the 2024-25 academic year, it is a great time to reflect on the many things for which we are grateful. 

One of the top things that comes to mind is the vast network of alumni and professionals that continue to give back to our current students. They continue to step up and support our students through research, participation at professional conferences, team competitions for our logging and soil judging teams and by providing a range of networking and professional development opportunities. 

Althouse and Meade, Inc. hosted an open house and professional development opportunity for about 40 Cal Poly students to better understand contemporary issues and opportunities in the broad field of environmental consulting. These types of efforts provide unmatched experiences for our students, giving them an opportunity to directly see how their passions and education could directly link to a professional field. This example is one of many ways our alumni and network of professionals help to advance our polytechnic mission and work together to make the student experience at Cal Poly unparalleled.

I am particularly grateful for our dedicated staff and faculty. NRES has four full-time staff members, 19 tenure-track faculty, including two new hires, and numerous lecturers that are solely focused on ensuring that we can deliver state-of-the-art instructional and research programs to our students. The work that goes into planning and delivering courses each quarter is no small feat. Our faculty and staff plan, manage and support about 300 hundred courses serving well over 800 students each quarter. 

I am also thankful for our dedicated and hard-working students who are committed to helping address our increasingly serious global challenges. Cal Poly’s past, current and future students are the leaders driving meaningful change. We are proud of all our students and thankful for all the support our alumni and network of professionals give to these young leaders.       

Working with our students, faculty and staff continues to be one of the biggest honors I have known and I very much look forward to what the next year will bring.

Sincerely,

Jeremy James

Department Head
Natural Resources Management and Environmental Sciences

 

Read more stories in the Fall 2024 Newsletter