
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, February 16, 1991                   TAG: 9102160436
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MADELYN ROSENBERG NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG                                LENGTH: Short

HEAD OF TECH FORESTRY SCHOOL RESIGNS

John S. Hosner, director of Virginia Tech's School of Forestry and Wildlife Resources, stepped down Friday afternoon after 30 years at the school's helm.

The move came after a group of alumni and industry supporters initiated legislative action for a study of whether the school should become a separate college.

Hosner said he was seen as a part of that movement and was asked to step down because his thinking "did not fit in with the thinking of the university." David W. Smith, a professor of forestry, will take over as director until a replacement is found.

University spokesman Darrel Martin said Friday night that a search for a new director likely would begin almost immediately.

Hosner "built an exceptional relationship with industry and was an aggressive leader for the school," Martin said.

Hosner, 65, is a tenured member of the school's faculty. "I'm not reading at this time that he will be stepping down altogether from the School of Forestry," Martin said.

Hosner said he has made no decision whether to stay as a professor. "I'm not going to resign tomorrow," he said.

During his 30 years in the department, the School of Forestry was developed from a virtually unknown institution to one of the top-ranked in the country.

The bill to study whether the school should be a separate college is pending in the General Assembly. It has been passed by the full House and by the Senate Rules Committee.

by CNB