The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) is a public research university in Syracuse, New York, United States focused on the environment and natural resources. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. ESF is immediately adjacent to Syracuse University, within which it was founded, and with which it maintains a special relationship - students take classes at other SU colleges, graduate together, share common student life (except NCAA sports participation), and until 2011 lived exclusively in SU housing. ESF is classified as a "Mixed Baccalaureate" institution, with an "R2: High Research Spending and Doctorate Production" designation."SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry," American Council on Education, Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Accessed: 20 August 2026. ESF operates education and research facilities also in the Adirondack Park (including the Ranger School in Wanakena), the Thousand Islands, elsewhere in Central New York, and Costa Rica. The college's curricula focus on the understanding, management, and sustainability of the environment and natural resources. History
Founding The New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University was established on July 28, 1911, through a bill signed by New York Governor John Alden Dix. The previous year, Governor Charles Hughes had vetoed a bill authorizing such a college.Rodgers, A.D. Liberty Hyde Bailey: A Story of American Plant Sciences. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1949. Both bills followed the state's defunding in 1903 of the New York State College of Forestry at Cornell University. Originally a unit of Syracuse University, in 1913, the college was made a separate, legal entity.
Syracuse native and constitutional lawyer Louis Marshall, with a summer residence at Knollwood Club on Saranac Lake and a prime mover for the establishment of the Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserve (New York), became a Syracuse University Trustee in 1910. He confided in Chancellor James R. Day his desire to have an agricultural and forestry school at the university, and by 1911 his efforts resulted in a New York State bill to fund the project: the aforementioned appropriation bill signed by Governor Dix. Marshall was elected president of the college's board of trustees at its first meeting, in 1911; at the time of his death, eighteen years later, he was still president of the board.Louis Marshall,"Champion of Liberty", selected papers and addresses(in 2 volumes), edited by Charles Reznikoff,1957. Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia, PA.
The first dean of the college was William L. Bray, a Ph.D., graduate from the University of Chicago, botanist, plant ecologist, biogeographer and Professor of Botany at Syracuse University. In 1907 he was made head of the botany department at Syracuse, and in 1908 he started teaching a forestry course in the basement of Lyman Hall. Bray was an associate of Gifford Pinchot, who was the first Chief of the United States Forest Service."The Knothole: Student Life and Government". April 4, 2008. Volume 61 Issue 9. Retrieved on October 23, 2009. In 1911, in addition to assuming the deanship of forestry, Bray organized the Agricultural Division at Syracuse University. He remained at Syracuse until 1943 as chair of botany and Dean of the Syracuse Graduate School."Chrono-Biographical Sketch: William Bray". A Biographical History of Biogeography by Charles H. Smith, Ph.D., Joshua Woleben, and Carubie Rodgers/ Retrieved on October 23, 2009.
In 1915, the same year that Dr. Bray published The Development of the Vegetation of New York State, he became one of the founding members, along with Raphael Zon and Yale School of Forestry's second dean, James W. Toumey, of the Ecological Society of America. In 1950, the 1917 "activist wing" of that Society formed today's The Nature Conservancy.
Most of the professors in the early years of the College of Forestry at Syracuse and the Department of Forestry at Cornell's New York State College of Agriculture were educated in forestry at the Yale School of Forestry. The forestry students at Syracuse but not at Cornell were referred to as "stumpies" by their classmates.
Fifty-two students were enrolled in the school's first year, the first 11 graduating two years later, in 1913.ESF. 2008. Alumni Directory. 100th Anniversary Edition. Syracuse, NY, p. 455. Research at the college commenced in 1912, with a study of New York state firms using lumber, including from which tree species and in what quantities.
Expansion In 1912, the college opened its Ranger School in Wanakena, New York, in the Adirondacks. The college began enrolling women as early as 1915, but the first women to complete their degrees—one majoring in landscape engineering and two in pulp and paper—graduated in the late 1940s."A History of ESF". ESF website. Retrieved on October 26, 2009. The Ranger School did not enroll any women until 1973–74.
In January 1930, Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt, recommending an allocation of $600,000 towards construction of the college's second building, in honor of Louis Marshall, recently deceased, noted that: "under [Marshall's] leadership and the leadership of its late dean, Franklin Moon, the School of Forestry made giant strides until it became recognized as the premier institution of its kind in the United States".Adler, Cyrus, "Louis Marshall: A Biographical Sketch", American Jewish Year Book, 1930-31, pp. 54-55 The cornerstone of Louis Marshall Memorial Hall was laid in 1931 by former Governor and presidential candidate Alfred E. Smith who was elected to assume the presidency of the college's board of trustees.
Affiliation with SUNY With the formation of the State University of New York (SUNY) in 1948, the college became recognized as a specialized college within the SUNY system, and its name was changed to State University College of Forestry at Syracuse University. In 1972, the college's name was changed yet again to State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. Unlike other state-supported degree-granting institutions which had been created at private institutions in New York State, the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University was an autonomous institution not administratively part of Syracuse University. In 2000, SUNY System Administration established ESF's "primacy" among the 64 SUNY campuses and contract colleges for development of new undergraduate degree programs in Environmental Science and Environmental Studies.
Campuses
Syracuse
ESF's main campus, in Syracuse, New York, is where most academic, administrative, and student activity takes place. The campus is made up of nine main buildings:
Baker Laboratory: Named after Hugh P. Baker, dean of the college from 1912 to 1920 and again 1930–33. The building is the location of several computer clusters and auditorium-style classrooms. It is home to the Department of Environmental Resources Engineering and the Division of Environmental Science. The building underwent a $37 million overhaul in the early 2000s, providing updated space for the Tropical Timber Information Center and the Nelson C. Brown Center for Ultrastructure Studies. Baker Lab is the site of ESF's NASA-affiliated Research Center. Baker Laboratory houses two multimedia lecture halls, a "smart" classroom outfitted for computer use and distance learning, and two construction management and planning studios. It also has a full-scale laboratory for materials science testing, including a modern dry kiln, a wood identification laboratory, shop facilities (including portable sawmill) and wood preservation laboratory."ESF's Baker Laboratory Revamped for Engineering". ESF Office of Communications. Retrieved on October 23, 2009. Bray Hall: The building is the oldest on campus, completed in 1917, the largest building devoted to Forestry at the time. It is named after William L. Bray, a founder of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University and its first dean, 1911–1912. It is the location of most administrative offices and the Department of Sustainable Resources Management. The State University Police department is in the basement. Gateway Center: The campus' newest building, opened in March 2013, "sets a new standard for LEED buildings, producing more renewable energy than it consumes," according to Cornelius B. Murphy, Jr. The building is "designed to achieve LEED Platinum Certification". The ESF College Bookstore, Trailhead Cafe, and Office of Admissions are in the Gateway Center."Illick Hall", ESF website. Accessed: 21 August 2026. Illick Hall: The building was completed in 1968, and is home to the Department of Environmental Biology. It is named after Joseph S. Illick, a dean of the State University College of Forestry at Syracuse University. There is a large lecture hall (Illick 5) on the ground floor. Several greenhouses are on the fifth floor. The Roosevelt Wildlife Museum is also in the building."The Gateway Center", ESF website. Accessed: 21 August 2026. Jahn Laboratory: Named after Edwin C. Jahn, former head of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. The building was completed in 1997. Home to the Department of Chemistry. Marshall Hall: Named after Louis Marshall, one of the founders of the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. The Alumni (Nifkin) Lounge and Marshall Auditorium are within. Twin brass plaques commemorate the contributions of Marshall and his son, alumnus Bob Marshall. Home of the Department of Environmental Studies, the Department of Landscape Architecture, and the Division of General Education."Marshall Hall", ESF website. Accessed 21 August 2026. Moon Library: Dedicated to F. Franklin Moon, an early dean of the college. Completed in 1968, along with Illick Hall. A computer cluster and student lounge are in the basement. Walters Hall: Named after J. Henry Walters, who served on the college's board of trustees. Completed in 1969. Home to the Department of Chemical Engineering. The pilot plant in the building includes two paper machines and wood-to-ethanol processing equipment. Centennial Hall: ESF's on-campus student dormitory, commemorating the college's 100th anniversary. The residences are capable of accommodating 280–300 freshman (in double or triple studio rooms with private bath), 116 upperclassmen (in single bedroom suites with private bath), and an additional 56 upperclassmen (in 4-bedroom, 2-bath apartments). A $31 million project, Centennial Hall opened in 2011.
Bray Hall, Marshall Hall, Illick Hall, and Moon Library border the quad. Other buildings on the Syracuse campus include one for maintenance and operations, a garage, and a greenhouse converted to office space. Among planned new buildings is a research support facility.
The historic Robin Hood Oak (photo below) is behind Bray Hall. The tree is said to have grown from an acorn brought back by a faculty member from the Sherwood Forest in England. It was the first tree listed on the National Registrar of Historic Trees in the United States.
Wanakena
Students in the forest and natural resources management curriculum may spend an academic year (48 credits) or summer at the Ranger School, in Wanakena, New York, earning an Associate of Applied Science (A.A.S.) degree in forest technology, surveying, or environmental and natural resources conservation. The campus, established in 1912,"Ranger School Celebrates Its 100th," ESF, August 6, 2012. Accessed: August 6, 2012. is on the east branch of the Oswegatchie River that flows into Cranberry Lake, in the northwestern part of the Adirondack Park. It includes the James F. Dubuar Memorial Forest, named after a former director of the Ranger School."James F. Dubuar Forest," Adirondack North Country Association, 2011. Accessed: June 24, 2012.
Field stations and forests
New York