Nature & Nurture | Campaign News

Sullivan and Tukman Families Create Forestry Professorship

Synergy is defined as the interaction of two or more forces so that their combined effect is greater than the sum of their individual effects. The word also can be used to define the Nicholas School, which was created by a synergy of disciplines in 1991.

Today, a synergy of two devoted Nicholas School families, the Sullivans and the Tukmans, has created the Korstian Professorship with a combined gift of $1 million to be matched by the Nicholas Faculty Leadership Initiative for a total commitment of $1.5 million. Named in honor of the late Clarence Korstian, the professorship itself is a synergy of two important disciplines—forest resource management and environmental economics and policy. Korstian was the first director of the Duke Forest, the first dean of the School of Forestry, president of the Society of American Foresters and the Ecological Society of America, and the author of a groundbreaking textbook entitled, The Ecological Basis of Silviculture.

The Sullivan family—Raymond E. Sullivan T’26, James Madison “Matt” Sullivan, John Vance Sullivan MF’86, and James Blake Sullivan MF’89—are stalwart supporters of forestry at Duke. The elder Sullivan’s will created the Raymond E. Sullivan Trust, which continues to support the Nicholas School. Matt Sullivan established the John and Blake Sullivan Endowment fund in 1987 for the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in honor of his sons. “My father was a pioneer in conservation and understood the worth of the land long before it was widespread,” said Matt Sullivan. “Land was a liability in the south in the 1930s and 40s due to taxes, but he had a vision of turning wasteland into stands of pine plantations. His goal, to plant 1 million pine seedlings per year, was far exceeded by the 40 million planted prior to his death. My father wanted to leave the land better than it was when he acquired it, a feat he certainly accomplished. The tradition continues today with his grandson, Blake Sullivan, managing the family land.”

“As third generation foresters, John and I both benefited from our master of forestry degrees,” said Blake Sullivan, president of Sullivan Forestry Consultants in Americus, GA. “Establishing the Korstian Professorship guarantees that future generations will continue to receive superb instruction in forestry at the Nicholas School.”

The Tukman family—Mel and Lois Tukman and Mark Lee Tukman F’95—issued the challenge for a professorship in forestry and are delighted to see their dream become a reality. “After Mark’s graduate experience, we wanted to support Duke,” said Mel Tukman. “With Mark’s interest and career focus on forestry, we wanted to add power to Duke’s historic forestry strength. Deans Christensen and Schlesinger were totally behind the idea. We’re excited to contribute to the Nicholas School’s future in this way.”

Dean William Schlesinger concurs with the goals of both families. “The creation of the Korstian Professorship was a seminal moment for the Nicholas School. By blending the strong tradition of forestry at Duke with a focus on regional, global, and economic issues, our faculty and students will have an immediate and lasting impact on sustainable forestry and the policy and management issues facing foresters today and in the future.”

Daniel D. Richter Jr., professor of soils and forest ecology and co-director of the Southern Center for Sustainable Forests agrees, “Forests support humanity and the environment in ways we often take for granted. Though forests are typically undervalued, they provide an array of benefits essential to our daily lives including wood-fiber products, and high quality water, wildlife habitat, and recreational opportunities. Throughout the world, the future of forest ecosystems depends on well-educated professionals who can creatively apply scientific principles and ever more sophisticated plans and management regimes. There is no doubt that the Korstian Professorship will have a major beneficial impact on the future of forests.”

“On behalf of the entire Duke University community, I want to thank the Sullivan and Tukman families most warmly for their enlightened support of the Nicholas School through the establishment of the Korstian Professorship,” said Duke University president Nan Keohane. “Institutions of higher education are characterized as ‘great’ for many reasons. One of the most profound, and most enduring, is transformative and stimulating teaching. This generous gift helps ensure that such teaching will continue at the Nicholas School for many generations to come.”

Duke University has been a force in forestry education and research since 1938, and today is one of the few institutions so well equipped to provide solid leadership in decisions affecting our forested landscapes. Two research centers, The Southern Center for Sustainable Forestry and The Forest, Soil and Water Lab, are working full-time on forestry issues, and employers in the forest products industry consistently comment that Nicholas School graduates are among the best trained in the field.