Jo Ellen Force, former chairwoman of the University of Idaho department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Sciences, has earned national recognition for the work she has done in the forestry program for the last 30 years.
Force will be awarded the Gifford Pinchot medal during the yearly Society of American Foresters National Convention in October in South Carolina. The Gifford Pinchot medal is among the nine awards the SAF presents every other year, and the award recognizes impressive achievements in U.S. forestry.
Gifford Pinchot was the first chief of the U.S. forest service, and is considered the father of American forestry. He also founded the SAF.
“I was quite honored and humbled, but very surprised (to receive this award),” Force said.
Force is the first woman to be awarded this medal. The medal has previously been awarded to 29 men.
She said it was because the field of forestry is still adapting to women working in it, even today. Typically, the Pinchot medal is awarded to foresters with many years of experience under their belt, and women only began to enroll in forestry schools starting in the 60s or 70s, Force said.
Force and two other women were hired by the UI College of Natural Resources in the early 1980s. Although UI was one of the first universities in the nation to have women working in the College of Natural Resources, Force was still in the minority at the time. Therefore, Force and her colleagues felt an obligation to be role models for females, and other minorities looking into their profession.
Force fulfilled the obligation with her work in the field. She was the chairwoman for the Department of Forest, Rangeland and Fire Services. She held the position for 15 years, and was the first woman in the country to hold the position.
Currently, she is a professor of social sciences involving forest ecosystem policies, natural resource laws and community stability. Force has also been involved in 16 national SAF committees.In addition to her work on the UI campus, Force traveled all over the world — from Pakistan to Costa Rica — working with international, mid-career forest workers for 13 years. During that time, she taught about 180 students from 35 different countries.
Kathleen Kavanagh, professor in Forestry, Rangeland and Fire Sciences, is just one of the many women Force has been a role model for. Kavanagh was an assistant professor when she was introduced to Force, who was then the head of her department. Force hired Kavanagh, and has since then been a mentor and adviser for her.”I credit her for helping me recognize my potential,” Kavanagh said.
Kavanagh said Force is a role model for her and all other women and minorities pursuing forestry careers. She said Force acts as encouragement for pushing forward against barriers that have held them back for so many years.
“Seeing someone so successful as a woman, who is very diligent and sincere, I was thrilled for her,” Kavanagh said. “She’s done so much service work for the SAF. This medal is a capstone for her career.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected]