When Bob Koppe was studying forest land management and wood products engineering in the 1960s, there weren’t many women pursing forestry.

‘There were only two or three women in my class,’ said Koppe, who graduated in 1965 from what was then called the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. 

Koppe and other alumni spent the weekend reminiscing about their time at the college, now called the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, at the ESF Alumni and Family Fall BBQ.

Alumni, parents and students spent the weekend enjoying campus, food and memories. Turnout was larger than that of previous years, with record numbers of attendance at all events.’In my 32 years here, we have never sold so many football tickets,’ said Justin Culkowski, director of alumni relations.

More than 650 people attended the barbecue, compared to 590 people last year, and 450 people reserved tickets for the Syracuse University versus University of Pittsburgh football game, compared to 320 people last year. The last event of the weekend, the Taste of Central New York reception, also had an increased reservation of 250 people, compared to 139 reservations last year.

The increased attendance rates can be attributed to the success of last year’s barbecue and the SU football team, Culkowski said.

‘Alumni like to see a good, winning team, and it has been a long time since we had a winning football team,’ Culkowski said.

This year’s barbecue was the first to feature a compostable meal, including plates, cups and utensils made of potato and corn, said Meagan Pepper, a junior environmental studies major and member of Green Campus Initiative, which organized the composting. She said almost everything from the extra food to the plates would be incorporated into the compost system.

‘It’s the first time we’ve done this with the alumni,’ Pepper said. ‘I think they’re really surprised, and the only thing they are trashing is relish packets.’

Parents said they appreciated the efforts taken to lessen the event’s environmental impact.

‘I admire the students’ efforts to keep it green,’ said David Needleman, the parent of a freshman environmental science major. ‘The fact that they are composting everything that can be composted shows the college is making an effort.’

The event brought back many members of the Class of 1985 in celebration of their 25th reunion. Alumni reminisced about their days at ESF and reflected on the changes happening on campus.

‘One of my best memories is the teaching,’ said Juan Artega, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1985. ‘I’m glad to have been taught by people with a lot of knowledge. It stays in my mind forever.’

The most striking difference between his time at ESF and now are the new buildings on campus and the refurbished roads around Syracuse, Artega said. Construction began this year on Centennial Hall, ESF’s first dormitory, and the Gateway Building, promoted as the future hub of ESF student life.

The new buildings, along with less parking and ESF’s newly formed sports teams, are the biggest changes for Geoff Reed, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1985. This year, ESF teams for soccer, golf and cross country are competing as members of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.

ESF sports ‘are great,’ Reed said. ‘It’s good that we have our own identity, separate from SU.’ 

Reed said his favorite memory from his time at ESF was spending a semester taking classes and doing field work at the Heiberg Memorial Forest in Tully, N.Y., during his junior year. 

Alumni who attended ESF when it was known as the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University said the changes at ESF were necessary due to the changing world. The college changed its name about 40 years ago, when it became part of the SUNY system. 

‘Half of us were actually studying forestry,’ said Koppe, who graduated in 1965. ‘All of the environmental stuff came after I left. Obviously, the school had to evolve with the world. There’s not a lot of room for foresters anymore.’

Despite majoring in forest land management and wood products engineering, Koppe went on to get his master’s degree at the University of Ohio, worked on post-doctorate studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and ended up having a career as a nuclear power plant engineer.

Koppe said he had mixed feelings about ESF’s switch from its unofficial student title, the Stumpies, to the Mighty Oaks, but was ultimately won over by the new mascot, Oakie, the acorn.

‘Stumpies had a certain ring to it,’ Koppe said. ‘There’s something whimsical about an acorn as a mascot.’ 

jlsiart@syr.edu

Published on October 17, 2010 at 12:00 pm