In 1911, 52 students were enrolled in the New York State College of Forestry. Two faculty members and a dean made up the administration. They met in two classrooms in the basement of Lyman Hall on Syracuse University’s campus.

One hundred years later, more than 2,000 students are enrolled in State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. And, as part of the SUNY system, ESF students belong to the nation’s largest comprehensive system of higher education.

What started in two classrooms in a basement is now a complete college with 17 acres in the city of Syracuse. According to ESF’s website, it has 127 full-time faculty members, 22 undergraduate and 30 graduate degree programs.

Having been state-supported since its inception, ESF became recognized as a specialized college within the system when SUNY was formed in 1948, according to the website. In 1972, the college name was officially changed to the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.

Today, SUNY is the largest system of higher education in the country. The system currently has 467,845 students enrolled, according to SUNY’s website. Ninety-two percent of students attending SUNY schools are from New York state, according to a study by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government and SUNY-Buffalo’s Regional Institute.

The 64 SUNY campuses employ about 83,800 people, and SUNY has an alumni network of more than 1.5 million people, according to the study.

While ESF is one of the smaller campuses within the SUNY system, it has been nationally recognized. ESF was among U.S. News and World Report’s ‘Top 50 Public National Universities’ this year. ESF was also ranked No. 25 in U.S News’ ‘Great Schools, Great Prices’ category.

This is the 11th year in a row ESF has earned a spot as one of the top universities in the nation on U.S. News and World Report’s list, according to ESF’s website. ESF was the highest-ranking SUNY school on the list, according to the site. In 2010, Forbes named ESF No. 23 on its ‘America’s Best College Buys’ list.

SUNY Chancellor Nancy Zimpher said ESF is ‘truly a gem’ within the SUNY system.

‘There is no other campus within SUNY that offers the breadth of leading-edge environmental programs that ESF offers, helping to establish SUNY as a leader in academics, service and research around the world,’ Zimpher said.

Zimpher said the college’s anniversary will allow an opportunity for the campus to commemorate the campus’ accomplishments.

‘Celebrating the college’s centennial in 2011 gives us an opportunity to recognize ESF’s singular contributions to our system and to New York state,’ she said. ‘We are immensely proud to count ESF among our campuses.’

Robert French, vice president for enrollment management and marketing at ESF, said one of SUNY’s big focuses is providing New York state residents with access to high quality and affordable education.

Forty percent of the state’s high school graduates are enrolled in the SUNY system, and 99 percent of state residents live within 30 miles of a SUNY campus, French said.

French said the SUNY campuses offer ‘just about any field of study you can imagine.’ He also said SUNY is one of the Northeast’s lowest-priced public university systems.

In fall 2010, ESF had a 44 percent acceptance rate, making it the ‘most selective SUNY campus for undergraduate admission,’ according to ESF’s website.

ESF’s strong graduate programs also help ESF stand out within the SUNY system, French said. ESF is only one of ten doctoral degree-granting campuses within the SUNY system, French said.

French said ESF is able to offer students smaller class sizes and more personal attention than other SUNY schools. He said the specific environmental programs draw many of the students that come to ESF.

‘We are the only campus specifically charged with offering environmental programs as part of our mission,’ French said. ‘The SUNY system administration has actually discouraged the development of new environmental science programs at other SUNY campuses and has decided instead to invest system resources at ESF to meet that need.’

One out of four incoming students in ESF’s 2011 fall class are from out-of-state, which is double the percentage for SUNY’s other campuses, French said.

‘That is an indication that ESF is well known within its focused mission area,’ French said. ‘Anyone familiar with environmental issues and research, or anyone seeking an environmental college education, will very likely know about ESF.’

ESF’s strong environmental program is what led sophomore biotechnology major Michael Norman to enroll at the school. Norman said he knew he wanted to go to a school with different biology options.

While Norman loves ESF, he said he doesn’t like that it continues to fall into the shadows of other, larger SUNY schools.  

‘I think it is seen as the underdog in the system,’ Norman said. ‘SUNY-ESF has such a small amount of students when compared to other campuses, such as SUNY-Buffalo or SUNY-Albany.’

Junior Ian Barin, an environmental studies major, agreed.

‘I have many friends who go to SUNY-Binghamton and SUNY-Albany, and whenever they talk about SUNY rankings or standing they always forget that ESF is on that list somewhere,’ Barin said. ‘It gets frustrating because ESF is always overlooked just because it’s a college and not a university.

While Barin dislikes that ESF is overlooked, he said he believes ESF’s relationship with SU is hard to ignore. He said ESF’s unique relationship with SU drew him to the school.

‘I loved the concept that ESF could be a small, environmentally like-minded community within a huge diverse SU community,’ Barin said. ‘I feel like I am welcomed into two worlds, both separate and connected all at the same time.’

mjfahner@syr.edu

Published on September 21, 2011 at 12:00 pm