Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture

Overview

Hans M. Williams, dean
Forestry Building, Room 103
Phone (936) 468-3301
Fax: (936) 468-2489
atcofa@sfasu.edu

The Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture is situated near the U.S.D.A. Forest Service Stephen F. Austin State University Experimental Forest, Texas Parks and Wildlife Alazan Wildlife Management Area, five wilderness areas, several million acres of private commercial forests and four national forests. The university also is situated in the heart of the nursery/landscape, beef cattle and poultry industries of East Texas. Forestry, environmental science and agriculture classes take advantage of these resources for hands-on education and research opportunities. Forestry, agriculture and environmental science programs benefit from cooperative efforts with industry and producers.

The forestry and agriculture complex contains classrooms, laboratories, student computer rooms, greenhouses, an arboretum, a native plants garden, state-of-the-art poultry houses, a center for livestock production and geographic information systems laboratories. The Forest History Collection, housed in the university library and associated with the Forest History Foundation, has many manuscripts dealing with the history of the East Texas lumber industry. Laboratories of the U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Research Station, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, located in the SFA Forestry Center, also are available for graduate instruction and research.

The ATCOFA supports several institutes and centers that provide excellent research opportunities for graduate students.

The Waters of East Texas Center consists of an interdisciplinary team of university scientists conducting research on topics related to water quality and quantity. Research faculty members in the National Center for Pharmaceutical Crops are studying compounds derived from plant species as potential cures for a variety of diseases and invasive exotic plant species control. Horticulture faculty members perform research at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center and the SFA Mast Arboretum. Agriculture faculty members conduct research on beef, poultry, equine and swine production at the Todd Agricultural Research Center.

Mission

The mission of the ATCOFA is to maintain excellence in teaching, research and outreach; to enhance the health and vitality of the environment through sustainable management, conservation, and protection of our forests and natural resources; and to enhance the production and economic viability of agricultural commodities. The mission consists of the following objectives:

The ATCOFA is dedicated to comprehensive undergraduate and graduate education, basic and applied research programs, and service.
In the educational program, students receive classroom and field-based experiences to prepare them for their professional careers. Academic courses provide learning opportunities that encourage and inspire students to approach forest resource, environmental, agricultural and social issues in a critical yet creative manner; to identify and analyze key elements; and to articulate ethical solutions.
The college has a strong commitment to a research program that encourages basic and applied studies in natural resource management, environmental topics, agricultural production and social values. Research projects focus on issues that have local, regional, national and international implications.
To complete the college’s mission, a service program provides professional expertise, information and training. Practicing professionals, industrial forest landowners, family forest owners, timber investment organizations, not-for-profit environmental groups, industry, public agencies, farmers, ranchers, poultry producers and society in general are beneficiaries of these services.