MEMORANDUM 

?

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY? 

FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES 

DATE: 

January 10, 1991 

TO: ? 

Dr. Jock Munro 

Vice-President, Academic 

FROM: Dr. Donald A. George 

Dean, Faculty of Applied Sciences 

RE: ? 

Natural Resources Management 

Attached is a proposal from Dr. Gunton to change the status of the Natural 

Resources Management Program to the School of Resource and Environmental 

Management. The Faculty of Applied Sciences considers this change to be both 

appropriate and timely, and is pleased to strongly endorse the proposal. 

-

Dor ? 

George 

DAG/lc 

Enclosure 

cc: Faculty of Applied Sciences Executive Committee 

/

SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY? 

FACULTY OF APPLIED SCIENCES? 

NATURAL RESOURCES 

RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PROGRAM 

?

MEMORANDUM 

TO:

?

Dr. Don George, Dean 

?

FROM: Dr. T.I. Gunton 

Faculty of Applied Sciences 

?

Director 

RE: ? 

NRM Status ? 

DATE: October 22, 1990 

Subject: ? 

Change of status of Natural Resource Management from Natural 

Resource. management Program to School of Resource and 

Environmental Management. 

Background 

The Natural Resource Management Program (NRM) was created in 1979. 

NRM is structured as an interdisciplinary graduate program providing 

professional training in the field of resource and environmental 

management. The impetus for this program came from the growing 

recognition of the importance of natural resources and the environment 

and from the changing nature of resource and environmental policy issues 

which increasingly demand an interdisciplinary perspective. NRM has 

gained a national reputation as an innovative and unique program 

attracting high quality students and substantial research funding. 

When NRM was created in 1979 it was envisaged that it would grow 

to a full fledged academic unit comprised of 12-15 faculty. During its 

initial stages, however, NRM was structured as a program utilizing 

faculty from other existing departments. NRM has now grown to the size 

where the program status is no longer appropriate. 

1)

?

Faculty Growth 

When NRM was created in 1979, it consisted of one full time 

Director and two faculty with joint appointments for a total FTE of 

1.75. Currently, NRM has 9.75 faculty and is the home department for 10 

faculty. NRM's current faculty are listed below. 

Name 

Rank    

Year    

% Appointment 

Home Dept. 

with NRM 

Day

Professor 

1979

100

NRM

Peterman 

Professor 

1979

100

NRM

Gunton 

Associate 

1981

100

NRM

Gill 

Assistant 

1985

.25

Geog 

•

M'Gonigle 

?

Associate 1986     

100

NRM

Jaccard 

?

Assistant 1988     

100

NRM

Williams ? 

Associate 1989     

100

NRM

Knetsch ? 

Professor 1990     

.50

NRM

Schreyer ? 

Professor 1990     

100

NRM

Gobas ? 

Assistant 

1990

100

NRM

*

?

Assistant 1990     

100

NRM

*Position to be filled ? 

in December 1990. 

Azc,ci&teci f&culty in 

!nvo1vct 

Nfl11 

?

-

J.H. 

?

Borden,         

Dept. 

of

Diolo(jical 

Sinces 

Parzival ? 

Copes,        

Edward M. ? 

Gibson,       

Dept. 

cf

CtcxJrdphy 

Alton Harest ad,        

of

-

iaiac j 

SJohn Pierce,          

Dept. 

of

Geogriphy 

John Richards,        

Fac1t7 of 

Arthur Roberts,       

Dept. 

of

Gogzriphy 

Michael ? 

C.

?

Roberts,      

Dept. 

of

Cogr?ipIiy 

Richard Routiedge,      

Dept. 

of

7-11tiiiva1Jc 

Jim W. ? 

Wilson,        

Dept. 

of

Ceogm4iy 

In addition to the above, NRM maintains specific links with government, 

private industry and crown corporations by the appointment of 19 adjunct 

faculty. 

2) ? 

Student Enrollment 

NRM has a current student FTE of 61, placing it among the largest 

SFU graduate programs. For the past several years, NRM has received 

about 140 applications annually. Due to capacity constraints, NRM 

admits between 20 and 25 students per year. The competition for 

is

?

admission is reflected in the grades of incoming students which are 

summarized below for the most recent year. Also, NRM will be initiating 

3

a Phd program in the near future. The continued strong demand for high 

quality applicants will provide the basis for continued growth in NRM. 

Applicant Summary 1990-91 

No. of Applicants ? 

No. Admitted ? 

Average GPA 

?

No. Rejected 

of Admitted 

?

with B ave. 

or better 

138

?

25

?

3.5

?

79

Rational for Chan 

g

e in Status 

1) Growth of 

.

Program 

With 9.75 faculty, and anticipated growth to 12-15 faculty in the 

near future, NRM is clearly beyond the size of a program. Indeed, it is 

already larger then 3 existing departments. NRM is also home department 

for 10 faculty. 

2) Operational Role 

Programs on campus normally do not have their own staff. Instead, 

they rely on faculty and support staff appointed in other departments. 

The Faculty of Sciences, for example, has eight programs which are 

fields of study relying on faculty from existing departments. The Arts 

faculty has four programs which also rely on faculty from other 

departments. 

Unlike other existing programs on campus, NRM functions as a 

department or school. NRM is the home unit for 10 faculty and has its 

own Departmental Tenure Committee, its own degree and own graduate 

admissions committee. Therefore, NRM's operation has evolved from 

program to departmental or school status. 

3)

External Attitudes 

Programs are considered less substantial than other academic 

designations. The change of status to a school will enhance the profile 

of NRM and SFU in environmental and resource issues, and will assist NRM 

and SFU in taking advantage of the growing opportunities in 

environmental and resource research. 

Rational for School versus DeDartmental Status 

There are currently 4 schools at SFU. Although there is no 

precise definition of a school versus a department, the term school 

often is used to designate teaching units which have a professional as 

opposed to strictly.academic orientation. The four schools at SFU as 

well as the schools at UBC (such as School of Nursing, School of Social 

Work), for example, all have a strong professional orientation. Indeed, 

programs which compete directly with NRM such as the School of Community 

S

and Regional Planning at UBC are defined as schools to reflect this 

professional orientation. Consequently, both NRM and SFU will benefit 

from designating NRM as a school to reflect its professional 

orientation. 

The addition of environment in the new name reflects the increased 

emphasis on environmental as well as resource management which has 

developed in NRM. Courses such as environmental impact assessment, law, 

economics, ecology and policy, for example, focus heavily on 

environmental management. Therefore, the name change better reflects 

the actual content of NRM teaching and research. 

Conclusion 

NRM has evolved during the last 10 years from a program to a full 

fledged academic unit housing 10 faculty, over 6O graduate-students-and 

-

3- support staff. Clearly the program status is no longer appropriate. 

Consequently, it is respectfully requested that NRM's status be changed 

to the School of Resource and Environmental Management. This change 

better reflects NRM's current structure and research focus and the 

commitment of NRM and SFU to the important area of resource and 

environmental management. 