In a move aimed at strengthening cooperation and collaboration between agricultural and environmental research, education and outreach, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has created a new Environment and Natural Resources Institute.

William Easterling, director of the Penn State Institutes of the Environment, believes the new initiative by the College of Agricultural Sciences will allow for more effective involvement of agriculture and forest resources faculty in large intercollege research, teaching and outreach efforts.

The new institute will be directed by James Shortle, distinguished professor of agricultural and environmental economics, who expects the initiative to emphasize the diversity of the college.

Creation of the institute, Shortle believes, will yield a higher level of activity in the environmental areas within the college.

4/15/2005