Branching Out: Inside Classrooms and Canopies with Forestry School Deans

Janaki Alavalapati is the Emmett F. Thompson Dean of the College of Forestry, Wildlife and Environment. Before joining Auburn University as dean of what was known as the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences in 2015, Alavalapati served as a professor and department head of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment. Previously, he was a faculty member at the University of Florida’s School of Forest Resources and Conservation from 1998 to 2008. Alavalapati has a doctorate in forest resource economics and a master’s degree in rural sociology, both from the University of Alberta, Canada, and earned his master’s degrees in botany and forestry from universities in India. He has published over 200 publications and made more than 150 professional presentations on forests and natural resources.

Dr. Dennis Becker is professor and dean of the College of Natural Resources at the University of Idaho. He previously served as director of the Policy Analysis Group in the college from 2015-2018, and prior to that was an associate professor of natural resource policy at the University of Minnesota. He received a Ph.D. in Natural Resource Sciences from the University of Idaho in 2002, was a postdoctoral fellow with the USDA Forest Service, and a Fulbright Fellow in Norway. Dr. Becker’s research focuses on policy development, evaluation, and analysis of social and economic impacts in the areas of forest management, bioenergy and related natural resource topics.

Dr. Tom (Thomas H.) DeLuca is dean of the Oregon State University College of Forestry and director of the Oregon Forest Research Laboratory. A forest soils scientist and ecosystem ecologist, DeLuca earned his Ph.D. in soil science from Iowa State University and has held leadership roles at Bangor University (UK, NERC Research Chair), the University of Washington (School Director), and the University of Montana (College Dean). Since joining OSU in 2020, DeLuca has led the college through record enrollment growth, expanded access through new online academic programs, and overseen the growth of OSU’s research forest network to 18,000 acres. He has prioritized the advancement of interdisciplinary work in wildfire science, robotics and AI in forestry, climate resilience and mass timber innovation, while also deepening Tribal partnerships, supporting student access, and increasing transparency and public engagement in the management of the university’s research forests. He has consistently strived to build a culture of collegiality and shared sense of purpose in advancing a more sustainable approach to land and resource management.

Dr. Libby Metcalf is the Dean of the WA Franke College of Forestry and Conservation and the Joel Meier Distinguished Professor at the University of Montana. She earned her doctorate at the Pennsylvania State University with a focus on outdoor recreation management issues, human-wildlife interaction, and understanding complex social-ecological systems. Dr. Metcalf’s theoretical approach is based in social-psychology and often includes the examination of attitudes, values, and beliefs.

Dr. Todd Petty currently serves as Dean of the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the University of Georgia. Prior to starting at UGA in August 2024, Dr. Petty was a professor and chair of the department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation at Clemson University (2020-2024). While at Clemson, Dr. Petty oversaw significant increases in undergraduate and graduate student enrollment and a 10-fold increase in external grants and contracts from $2M to $20M annually. Dr. Petty spent the bulk of his career (1999-2020) as a professor in the department of forest resources at West Virginia University, where he taught and conducted research in the areas of water quality, watershed science, and fisheries ecology. His research team focuses on restoration, conservation and building climate resiliency within Appalachian River systems. While at WVU, Dr. Petty also served five years as the associate dean for academic affairs in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design. In his role as associate dean, Dr. Petty coordinated college-wide undergraduate and graduate curricula, student services and advising, and student recruitment. Dr. Petty earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia (1990) and an MS (1994) and PhD (1998) from the Warnell School at UGA. After graduating from UVA and before returning to graduate school, Dr. Petty worked as a fisheries biologist on the Chesapeake Bay for the states of Maryland and Virginia. Todd and his wife, Tricia Petty, have been married for 33 years and live in the Normaltown neighborhood of Athens, GA. They have two sons, Jeffrey (26) and Charlie (22), both of whom enjoy beating Todd at golf whenever they can.