By Libby Riddle, UM News Service
MISSOULA – The 91次元 has named Troy Magney the inaugural W.A. Franke Endowed Faculty Chair in Forest Conservation. In this new position, Magney will leverage his expertise in ecosystem health to elevate UM’s forest conservation program through research, outreach and education.
This endowed faculty position was created by the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation to lead conservation principles and forestry techniques to create healthy, resilient forests. The position is made possible with generous support from Bill and Carolyn Franke and the Franke family.
“We are pleased that Dr. Troy Magney joined the faculty at the 91次元,” said Interim Dean Libby Metcalf. “His nationally recognized research advances the efforts at UM to understand forest health in a changing environment. The gift from the Franke family continues to ensure our students receive a high-quality education from incredible scholars like Dr. Magney.”
As the chair of forest conservation, Magney will oversee student training in forest processes and functions and field-based knowledge that prepares students to address emerging issues in forest management. He will teach foundational courses in tree biology and remote-sensing techniques.
Magney studies how plants absorb and emit energy, which he calls “the breathing of the biosphere.” These processes govern how carbon cycles through our land, water and air. Understanding them is essential to how we manage forests.
“Using satellites and tall towers equipped with custom field instruments, we’re trying to get a more complete picture of forest ecosystem health,” Magney said.
His work on photosynthesis and carbon cycling has important implications for future forest management in the face of climate change. In his new position, Magney looks forward to exploring how different land management strategies impact long-term forest health and how forests maintain themselves as carbon sinks.
The W.A. Franke Endowed Faculty Chair in Forest Conservation was created with an $18 million gift made by the Franke family, which named the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation.
Their gift continues to support environmental research, students and faculty at the college, including the W.A. Franke Endowed Faculty Chair in Watershed Hydrology, Kelsey Jencso, who was named to that position in 2022. Dr. Jencso is also director of the and the Montana state climatologist, supporting drought resilience efforts across the state.
“I am excited to join a professional forestry program with such a legacy of impacting conservation in the West,” Magney said. “The culture here is action-oriented, and the faculty are invested in student success.”
The forestry program at the College of Forestry and Conservation has a 112-year-old history of training the nation’s foresters. It is the only professionally accredited forestry degree in Montana.
The introduction of the new chair comes amid the UM Foundation and Franke College’s “Treasure Montana: Cultivating Our Tomorrow” fundraising campaign. The campaign aims to inspire $20 million in private support to construct a new state-of-the-art hub for environmental and conservation research on campus. The effort will match more than $50 million committed to the project by the Montana Legislature.
The is an independent nonprofit organization that has inspired philanthropic support to enhance excellence and opportunity at UM since 1950.
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Contact: Dave Kuntz, UM director of strategic communications, 406-243-5659, dave.kuntz@umontana.edu; Libby Riddle, science communications coordinator, W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation, elizabeth.riddle@umontana.edu.