Athens, Ga. – Mike Clutter, dean of the University of Georgia Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, has been inducted into the Georgia Foresters Hall of Fame by the Georgia Division of the Southeastern Society of American Foresters.
Clutter, a Warnell alumnus, was inducted into the hall of fame at a ceremony on Tuesday at St. Simon’s Island, along with another Warnell alumnus, the late Hank Haynes. A third inductee, Kate Robie, became the first woman to join the hall of fame. Robie serves on the Warnell School’s external advisory board.
Clutter, who received his Ph.D. in 1993 and his master’s degree in 1983 from Warnell, said he is honored to have been chosen to join such an elite group, which includes such Georgia dignitaries as former state legislator James L. Gillis Jr. and UGA’s Provost Arnett C. Mace Jr. Clutter has been Warnell’s dean since July 2007. His father, Jerome Clutter, also is in the Georgia Forester’s Hall of Fame and was a longtime professor in the school.
Clutter has had a long career in the private forestry industry, becoming the Hargreaves Distinguished Professor of Forest Finance at Warnell in 2001 and still serves on the boards of directors for several forestry corporations around the state.
“I am honored by this recognition and am particularly pleased to be inducted with Professor Haynes and Kate Robie,” Clutter said. “Hank Haynes was a long time family friend and mentor for me and many other students here at Warnell-to be in a group with him is truly an honor. I have also had the privilege to work with Kate for many years during my time in the private sector; she has made great contributions to forestry here in Georgia and around the world.”
A leader in the forest and timber industry, Haynes worked for Union Camp and Bag for 31 years, championing genetic tree improvement programs and research on forest health and sustainable forest management. He began teaching at Warnell in 1981 and helped map out plans for the school’s Center for Forest Business, later leading fundraising efforts for Warnell. Haynes, a 1948 graduate of Warnell, died in 2005 at the age of 83.
Robie is the founder of TimberLink, a timber investment consulting firm serving institutional investors. A timberland owner and registered forester, she was a founder and principal of one of the first timber investment managers in the U.S.
“Few things are as gratifying as being recognized by one’s peers,” Robie said. “Joining so many wonderful Georgia foresters in the Hall of Fame is quite an honor, and very humbling.”
Warnell Professor Dale Greene, who is on the hall of fame committee, said the new inductees are deserving of the honor. “Mike Clutter has made significant contributions to forestry in every position he has held during his forestry career,” Greene said. “His contributions are particularly well known in industrial forest management and forest finance areas.
“To those who knew him, Hank Haynes is a legendary figure,” Greene added. “He was a very hard-working, wise, compassionate man who had the vision to see the coming shifts in forest landownership from vertically integrated companies to financial firms such as pension funds, years before many others in the industry. He also had the vision to get UGA in the forefront of teaching and research in this area with the Center for Forest Business.”
More information on the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources is available at http://www.forestry.uga.edu/.
