Arkansas Center For Forest Business Holds Ribbon Cutting

On Sept. 29, the University of Arkansas at Monticello (UAM) hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Arkansas Center for Forest Business, housed in the UAM College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources building on the Monticello campus. Approximately 200 people attended the ceremony, where Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson served as the keynote speaker.

The center was created to provide market-based economic solutions to forest resource issues. It aims to improve business practices for forest enterprises and enhance the economic competitiveness of Arkansas’ forests in a global economy. Gov. Hutchinson provided seed funds of $450,000 to establish the center in June 2021.

Dr. Matthew Pelkki, professor and George Clippert Chair of Forestry in the UAM College of Forestry, Agriculture and Natural Resources, serves as the director of the Arkansas Center for Forest Business. During the ceremony, Dr. Pelkki highlighted the origin of the center, explaining, “About 12 years ago, Dean Emeritus Phil Tappe and I came up with a simple concept: healthy forests, healthy forest economy, healthy forest businesses, and vibrant rural communities are really complementary. They all work together, and it is a win-win-win situation for the forest, the people, and the economy, so we put together a proposal for the Center for Forest Business with the help of a long list of people.”

Dr. Peggy Doss, chancellor of UAM, said that the center will partner with programs at the UAM Colleges of Technology in Crossett and McGehee to provide additional educational opportunities to those pursuing forestry-related careers.

“I see the importance of research and development,” Gov. Hutchinson noted. “That is done here, at UAM. It is done at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. And that has been combined and worked together to make the university system one of the leaders in research and development in the timber industry across America. That is important, and the center here at UAM involves all of those: the recruitment part that we rely on to bring business here; the expansion of timber and construction; and the research and development area, combined with our work at Fayetteville. UAM is a leader in all three.”

For the ribbon cutting, Gov. Hutchinson landed a blow from a sledgehammer on the end of a pre-cut log, knocking free a wooden cookie to reveal the Arkansas Center for Forest Business logo.