Back in the early 1990s, Clark Binkley was Dean of the Faculty of Forestry at UBC. As such, he was frequently invited to give talks throughout Canada and the US; talks for which he was offered speaking fees. “I just felt awkward accepting the fees,” he says, “so I decided to have them go back to UBC in some way, and what better way than to support students?” Clark established a scholarship in 1996 and has added to the endowment since then. The scholarship has supported the education of over 20 Forestry students to date.
Clark credits his parents for the whole idea. “Both my parents were dedicated to education: Dad taught biochemistry at Emory University and Mom was a high school teacher. I grew up in Georgia, and we were deeply involved in the civil rights movement,” he says. “ I understood from a young age that equal access to education is critical to equal economic opportunity.”
Clark is currently the Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director of GreenWood Resources Inc., a Portland, OR, based timberland investment and management company that specializes in acquiring, developing and managing plantation assets. He holds degrees from Harvard and Yale University, and was a faculty member at Yale before joining UBC as Dean.
On his move from east coast to west, Clark says, “UBC has one of the best – if not the best – forestry programs in the world. Great forestry programs need to be located in a place that cares about forests, and within a university that is strong in all the disciplines that support forestry, like economics, geography, engineering and ecology. UBC is one of the few places in the world with these unique ingredients.”
The Emily and Francis Binkley Scholarship, named after Clark’s parents, is awarded to an undergraduate students each year. Preference is given to First Nations students, then to female students in any UBC Forestry program.
“I wanted the award to support students who are under-represented in the Faculty,” Clark says. “The profession of forestry works best when it fully reflects the society in which it works.”
Clark finds the experience of being a donor “very fulfilling”. “I get letters from the students who receive the award, and they tell me what a difference this has meant to them. Some of them have been the first in their family to go to university. Being able to help them is immensely satisfying to me.”
Jemina Coutu, a First Nations student in the Forest Resources Management program, was the 2015 recipient of the scholarship. She says the award has allowed her to concentrate on her schoolwork without financial worries, and to accept a lower-paying summer job that allows her to gain more valuable experience with community or aboriginal forestry.
“Forestry, as I am coming to appreciate, is incredibly diverse, touching on environmental, social and economic issues that all excite me. I am looking forward to my future in this field,” she says.