Dr. Nana Tian
Nana Tian, Ph.D., is a tenured Associate Professor of Natural Resource Economics and Policy at the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Assistant Director of the Arkansas Forest Resources Center. An emerging leader in the forestry and natural resources profession, her research focuses on private forest landowners, forest stewardship and certification, ecosystem services and carbon markets, climate-smart hardwood restoration, and cooperative management of invasive species. She has authored more than 45 peer-reviewed publications and secured more than $4 million in extramural funding as principal investigator.
Dr. Tian holds a Ph.D. in Natural Resources from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, along with graduate training in statistics, forest resources, and forestry. Her contributions to research, teaching, and collaborative programs have been recognized through the John W. White Outstanding Team Award from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, the Forestry Science Research Award presented at the Annual Ouachita Society of American Foresters Meeting, and the Junior Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award from the University of Arkansas at Monticello.
She is actively engaged in professional and academic service, including serving as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Forestry and in leadership roles within the Society of American Foresters. She is actively involved in student mentoring, stakeholder outreach, and interdisciplinary collaborations across the southern United States. Her work reflects a strong commitment to forestry education, applied research, professional leadership, and sustainable natural resource management.
Dr. Michael Blazier
Michael Blazier is Dean of the College of Forestry, Agriculture, and Natural Resources at the University of Arkansas at Monticello, a regional university in southeastern Arkansas. He is also Director of the Arkansas Forest Resources Center for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, a land-grant statewide campus of the University of Arkansas system for agriculture research and extension. He began these appointments in July 2021. The College consists of forestry, agriculture, wildlife, and land surveying programs and Centers of Excellence for Forest Business, Forest Health and Waterfowl and Wetlands.
Michael earned a B.S.F. in forest management from Louisiana Tech University, an M.S. in forest ecophysiology from Oklahoma State University, and a Ph.D. in environmental science from Oklahoma State University. Prior to joining University of Arkansas, he had a 19-year career as Professor, Forestry Research Project Leader, and Forestry Extension Specialist for the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center based at the Hill Farm Research Station in northwestern Louisiana. He also held a faculty appointment with the LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources. His research and extension program encompassed silviculture of pine, hardwood and mixed pine-hardwood forests, agroforestry, soil nutrient dynamics of forests and agricultural systems, and development of herbicides and fertilizers.
SAF
- SAF member for 33 years
- OSAF Award for Outstanding Research, 2003
- Chair, North Louisiana chapter, 2005-2007
- Louisiana SAF Spark Plug Award for Outstanding Initiative and Effort in Administration, 2008
- SAF President's Award for Outstanding Field Forester, 2019
- SAF Forest Technology Accreditation Team, 2023-Present
