Photo Courtesy of Ohio State University Archives Collection

William R. Lazenby (1850-1916) joined The Ohio State University in 1881 as Professor of Botany and Horticulture and was appointed Chair of the Department of Horticulture and Forestry in 1891. From 1908 until his death in 1916, he chaired the new and separate Department of Forestry whose purpose was, in his words, “to teach and train young men in forestry and to promote as far as possible the forestry interests or the proper use, improvement and extension of our forests and woodlands.” Under Lazenby’s leadership, the university began offering a four-year program in forestry for the first time. Lazenby was also the first president of the Ohio State Forestry Society (created in 1903 and later renamed the Ohio Forestry Association) which began publishing The Ohio Forester in 1909 as a quarterly publication focusing on education and advocacy for the state’s forest resources.