An Ongoing Story of Growth, Change and Adaptation
Norm Christensen's Professional Path to Ecology Followed Many Twists and Turns p.4
More than anything, though, when Christensen talks about having time for the things he loves, he means spending more time with Portia, his beloved wife of 39 years, their two grown children, Jamie and Mary, and Jamie's son and daughter. "Portia and the kids are the most important things to me in the world," he says simply.
But don't get the wrong impression. Christensen isn't ambling off into the western sunset just yet.
Today, after 33 years on the Duke faculty, he's busy taking on new challenges. Working with students, he's resumed research at many of the experimental plots he established 30 years ago. He's become executive director of the Duke Environmental Leadership Program, the Nicholas School's master's program for midcareer professionals. Last fall, he began teaching the school's introductory undergraduate course in environmental science, an experience he describes as "great fun." And this August, he began a three-year cycle as president of the 9,000-member Ecological Society of America, laying out an ambitious agenda for the society to beef up its efforts to support ecological research, outreach and education.
"Sometimes, it feels like I'm busier than ever," he says. "But I'm not complaining. Keeping busy is good. I'm grateful for the opportunities Duke University and the Nicholas School have provided me to make a difference in the world."
Tim Lucas is the Nicholas School's national media relations and marketing specialist.
photo captions: David Gilluly MF'87 measures loblolly pine in Duke Forest; Norm Christensen measuring tree diameter at a permanent sample plot; Preparation of field area in the Blackwood Division of the forest; Bark of shortleaf pine; Clarence Korstian, the first forest director, examines a permanent sample plot in the early 30s.