Plum Creek Grant to Encourage Young Foresters, Nov. 7

Even though the forest industry is a cornerstone of the economy of southern Oregon, students interested in becoming foresters have had to leave the area to find education and job training opportunities. In a unique partnership between the industry and Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC), the College has started a two-year forestry degree program to meet the workforce needs. Plum Creek Foundation has announced the award of a $10,000 grant to Southwest Oregon Community Foundation Inc. to support the two-year start-up phase and hiring of full-time faculty. “Plum Creek’s donation gets us closer to our goal of permanently establishing an associate degree program in forestry,” said Dr. Ross Tomlin, Vice President of Instruction & Student Services at Southwestern. “A student who completes this degree will be eligible for certain forestry jobs and can transfer as a junior to Oregon State University’s (OSU) bachelor of science forestry degree program.” Following a national search, Southwestern hired full-time professor Dr. Gail Simonds. The program opened with 25 students this fall, exceeding the start-up goal of 20. The first class of students to graduate will enter the workforce in 2016 or transfer to OSU directly into the professional forestry program. The purpose of the Southwestern Foundation is to support the college’s mission to improve people’s lives – socially, culturally and educationally – through friend-raising and fundraising. Southwestern’s mission is to support student achievement by providing access to lifelong learning and community engagement in a sustainable manner. The mission of the Plum Creek Foundation is to provide philanthropic contributions to support and improve the general welfare of life in the communities that Plum Creek serves. The Foundation board meets quarterly to review applications submitted from organizations in the company’s operating communities. Visit the Community Involvement page on Plum Creek’s website at www.plumcreek.com to download an application.