History

The School of Natural Resources (SNR) is Missouri’s and the Midwest’s only school with a comprehensive natural resources program, encompassing atmospheric science, fisheries, forestry, parks, recreation, soils, tourism and wildlife. It is a division of the MU College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources (CAFNR).

The School of Forestry was formed in 1957 and was renamed the School of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife in 1973. In 1989, the School of Forestry, Fisheries and Wildlife was renamed the School of Natural Resources. Some of SNR’s programs originated more than 100 years ago in CAFNR.

The dates programs were established and the buildings they were originally housed in are listed below.

  • A Department of Soils was formed at MU in 1914. (Mumford Hall)
  • The Department of Forestry was established at MU in 1947 and was elevated to the status of School of Forestry in 1957. (Agriculture Building)
  • A Department of Atmospheric Science was formed in 1967. (Gentry Hall)
  • The fisheries and wildlife program, which was established in 1937 in the College of Arts and Sciences, became part of the school in 1973. (Stephens Hall)

The Anheuser-Busch Natural Resources Building was dedicated in September 1998. The building is a 99,000 square foot facility on the MU campus, devoted exclusively to addressing natural resource issues in Missouri, the nation and the world. Containing laboratories equipped with the latest technology for research in natural resource fields and computer-equipped teaching laboratories, the building is a state-of-the-art education facility.