College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Department of Forestry

What inspired your interest in teaching in forestry at MSU?

My work at the global change research Institute at the University of New Hampshire was incredibly rewarding and exciting, and for 15 years in the 1980s and early 1990s nearly all climate change research was heavily focused on general circulation models and the global carbon cycle, which was done by a very small, tight-knit international cadre of scientists who all knew each other – and I was lucky to have a front row seat to the show. The research team on which I worked collaborated with great scientists at Woods Hole, Oak Ridge, Goddard Space Flight Center, key European modeling centers and others. We helped set up the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program, the initial international arm of global change research, and then contributed to the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. But, a few years after my PhD there I felt the need to move. The field was growing and by 1998 the world had fully engaged in climate change research and policy. So, when the premier land grant university reached out to me with an offer to help build a program and faculty that would focus on earth observations, land cover change and climate change, it was exactly the right thing for me at that moment. MSU was the right place to work on international forestry-related climate change and carbon cycle questions. And this is true now more than ever.

What has been one of your best experiences teaching so far?

Actually, there are three best experiences. First, I was asked a few years ago to develop an undergraduate course on climate change and forests. I have been extremely excited to see so many students enrolling in the course, increasing enrollment from 26 in the first year to 250 four years later. Students are eager to know more about climate change. They know that it’s a real thing and they are curious and concerned. I am excited to help them understand how forests and other ecosystems are important to the story. And, while students want to understand the problem of climate change, they keenly want to know about the solutions even more. This experience reinforces my awareness about our role in guiding students to become well-informed and active citizens. I strive to teach around the concept of natural climate solutions, which centers on how forests and their management can reduce significant emissions and the only significant way we can remove excess carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Second, the teaching experience has made it clear to me that there is a “hidden curriculum” outside the classroom. By observing how we manage the university campus we indirectly educate our students in profound ways, for better or worse – from how we produce and use energy, to the use of land and landscaping, to the production of waste and recycling. Lastly, MSU and Forestry provide great international perspectives and experiences for our students, both in courses and through study abroad opportunities. For more than a decade I have taught a study abroad course in the tropical forests of Costa Rica. It is amazing to see how students completely absorb these into-the-forest experiential learning opportunities. One day as my class was crossing a bridge over a river a large group of Howler monkeys were also crossing with us using the overhanging tree branches above us. Visually, these amazing, very social forest primates can put on a good show, including acrobatic mothers with babies on their backs. The immersive experience brought both intellectual and emotional tears to one student’s eyes. I didn’t need to give her an exam to know she got the material. 

Any thoughts or advice for current students?

There was a time after receiving my master’s degree, I was working for a professor at a research institute in New Hampshire. I came to a point in where I thought I needed something more, and I told him that I was quitting to trek through Southeast Asia. His advice to me was straightforward, “David, the last thing the world needs is another American backpacking through Southeast Asia. But what ever you do from here on, be sure to make a contribution”. I thought about that a lot and decided instead to take a short vacation and return to the research projects. I started my PhD while working full time in the institute. Today I have been to Southeast Asia many times, all over the region from the forests of Borneo to the mangroves of the Mekong Delta. My advice: whatever you do, do it well and make a contribution, whether big or small, real contributions will matter. Spartans will.