Anyone who’s been a member of the Department of Forest Resources community in the past 30 years can recognize a certain laugh that often echoed out of Green Hall room 115: Colleen O’Connor's signature chuckle.
After three decades working as our Academic Program Coordinator, she retired in June to focus on spending time with family and caring for her grandchildren. (She has eight of them!)
Colleen played a crucial role in scheduling undergraduate classes, caring for Green Hall, and meeting administrative needs of the department. A lot changed over her 32-year tenure. “I remember when I started, we did not have email yet!” she shares. Then adds, “After getting email, they created attachments to send with emails. That was big!”
We celebrated Colleen in June with an ice cream social that was well attended by members of our community. In fact, it was the first in-person celebration hosted by our department since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic!
For the celebration, people gathered in Green Hall to share their memories of Colleen and the department over the years. Colleen still laughs as she remembers setting off the building's fire alarms by burning some microwave popcorn. Alas, her calls to Facilities Management didn’t prevent fire trucks from arriving to check on things.
But beyond such humorous stories, many more remember Colleen for her warmth, helpfulness, and joyful nature.
“We often talk about the Forest Resources family; Colleen was a huge part of creating this family,” says Administrative Director Amber Grupe. “The care, attention, and kindness she showed while working with FR was felt by everyone: students, staff, faculty, visitors, alumni.”
“I spent my last 32 years in this department because I liked the St. Paul campus and the many friends I made here,” Colleen says. “Alan Ek and Janelle Schnadt – I can’t say enough about them. And I loved working with all of our student workers, faculty, and staff. We had lots of fun and worked hard together!”
Thank you, Colleen, for being such an important part of our department and family.
The Forest Scene newsletter is published biannually in the spring and fall, featuring stories and updates from the Department of Forest Resources. Readers can download issue 30 of Forest Scene as an interactive PDF that is fully tagged and compatible with most screen readers, or read the individual stories here in a web-based format:
- Department Message from Kristen Nelson
- New Faculty: Alicia Coleman and Irene De Pellegrin Llorente
- Donor Alum Recognition: Dr. Narinder Dhir
- Highlights from the 2023 SAF National Convention
- Graduate Research: Boosting Eastern Hemlock
- New Research: Survivor Elms Key to Revitalizing Minnesota's Elm Population
- New Resource: Creating Climate-Ready Woodlands
- Field Session Snapshots