The Red and Black

Issue date: 10/3/07 Section: News

Media Credit: WAITES LASETER University President Michael Adams talks with Byron Ledbetter, left, Ashley Standbridge and Tyler Kartzinel after Tuesday's dedication of the Odum School of Ecology. [Click to enlarge]

There is a new school on campus - a fresh face in academia.

The Odum School of Ecology, created this year, is the world's first stand-alone school of ecology.

University President Michael Adams said the school's active participants will encounter opportunities not envisioned years ago.

"These (environmental) concerns are now mainstream concerns," Adams said.

"The Odum School will have a dramatic impact on this University and state. Nine-and-a-half million people in this state are crying out for leadership on environmental issues."

Adams spoke at Tuesday's ceremony honoring Eugene P. Odum, after whom the school is named.

Odum worked at the University for 44 years and was considered the "father of modern ecology," according to the Georgia Encyclopedia Web site.

John Gittleman, dean of the ecology school, said students will have a unique opportunity. He said the new school has an obligation to answer ecological problems facing citizens.

"Ecological issues will dominate the 21st century," Gittleman said. "Looking at those problems today, we need a school like this."

He also said the school will have a domino effect on ecology institutes around the country.

James Porter, associate dean of the Odum School, said after offering the first ecological Ph.D. in the world, the first ecology school was the next logical step for the University.

"This is one of those things where Georgia is first," Porter said. "And we are just plain proud of that."

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