ORONO – The University of Maine’s Forest Resources Programs celebrated 100 years of professional forester graduations at a reception on May 13 at Nutting Hall.

UMaine’s undergraduate forestry program – the oldest continuously accredited undergraduate forestry program in the country – graduated its first students in 1906. Since then, the program has expanded and diversified into multiple majors in forest resources and the total diplomas given out exceed 5,600, including more than 100 doctorates.

Dave Field, chairman and professor of the Department of Forest Management, said, “This is a pretty momentous occasion for the Forest Resource Programs. It’s incredibly rewarding and inspiring to see these young people graduating year after year, and to know that we have been educating forest resource professionals for 100 years.”

Since 1906, men and women from UM’s Forest Resource Programs have filled positions at the state, national and international levels and the need for future graduates is likely to increase.

Bill Livingston, chairman and associate professor, Department of Forest Ecosystem Science, said, “We are entering a period where the stewardship of our forest resources will shift significantly to a younger generation. There is a huge commitment to forest resource studies in Maine, and the state and nation will need our graduates to help ensure that our forests continue to provide the wood, wildlife and recreation that our society expects.”

The ceremony featured the unveiling of a painting by Mark McCullough in commemoration of the 100th anniversary. McCullough received a doctorate in wildlife from UM in 1986.