For almost 35 years, Justin Culkowski was the face of the ESF Alumni Office. As the director of Alumni Relations, Justin touched the lives of thousands of alumni and students throughout his career at ESF and was a constant for many of our alumni when they attended events on campus or across the country. The idea of highlighting retired faculty and staff of the college was just one of his many innovations. We thought it fitting that he be the first profile for the return of the “Where Are They Now?” feature in the ESF Magazine. As many of our alumni so often inquire about Justin, he was gracious enough to answer a few questions, reminisce and let us know what life after ESF has been like so far.
Some history: I grew up in suburban Western New York surrounded by fields and woods and spent many hours exploring and playing there every season. I was a Boy Scout, loved to hunt, etc. I was also aware that the industries around Buffalo were negatively impacting the environment. Air and water pollution were ever–present. To help turn that around and preserve the natural environment, the best college for me in 1969 was obvious: The New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University. (The name was changed in 1972 to ESF.)
I was influenced by many faculty: Dr. Harry Payne, dean of students, embodied College tradition and loyalty; Dr. Jack Berglund taught me to be firm but fair; Professor Frank Maraviglia taught me to look at problems from many angles and to be creative; Dr. John Bennett taught me a key principle about economics: humans have unlimited wants but limited resources; and finally Dr. John “Bill” Johnson taught me the value of remembering a person’s name. My entire career I made the effort to try and learn and then remember the names of alumni. When I taught meteorology at ESF, I memorized the 40-plus names of my students the first week of classes.
Upon graduating from ESF in 1973, I was commissioned a second lieutenant and planned to serve as a staff weather officer in the Air Force. My first assignment was studying meteorology at North Carolina State University. My wife, Margie, an alumna of ESF, and I made our first home in Chapel Hill where she studied at the University of North Carolina. Following that year in North Carolina, we moved to Montana for four years with a short assignment for me in Korea.
During my career, the College changed most noticeably in terms of the male/female ratio. When I was a student, the female population was less than 15 percent; when I retired in 2013, it was easily 50 percent. The emphasis in academics shifted, I believe, from “forestry” to varying environmental issues with an emphasis on biology. All of these changes were a response to the interests of students and society. What stayed the same was the passion of the students to improve the world; to study hard and make a difference. I would love to see the College emphasize the use of the forest as a source of chemicals and fuel stock, and as a carbon sink (carbon sequestration) to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Unlike petroleum, the forest is a renewable resource and should be getting a lot more attention.
I enjoyed meeting alumni. Every one of them has a story and each taught me something. They enriched my life, and strong friendships were developed. The hardest thing about the job was when these wonderful alumni passed away. I attended many funerals. I feel that learning never ends, so even today, the people I meet and the new places I visit teach me things. Also, I thoroughly enjoyed working with the 30-member Alumni Board, our Alumni Office staff including our work-study students, and the alumni volunteers throughout the country. We were a wonderful team and everyone helped. For the first 20 years or so of my career, we ran the Annual Fund and money raised helped hundreds of students pay for college. It was very rewarding.
As far as events that stand out, I have to mention that the campus-wide strike in 1970, when I was a freshman, had a sobering effect on me. Protests over the war in Vietnam reached a peak and it was a chaotic time. Our classes were cut short. It was not what I expected from college. On the other hand, when I was working at ESF, every year that the 50-year class came back for their reunion, it was a treat to hear their stories. One individual event that stands out for me was the 2012 celebration I coordinated at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. A highlight was the planting of American chestnut trees developed at ESF that, we hoped, could survive the deadly fungus that decimated that species in the early 1900s. It was a great team effort and a symbolic event as the chestnut blight had been discovered there over 100 years earlier. The 120 guests celebrated a monumental effort spearheaded by Drs. William Powell and Chuck Maynard at ESF. It was a proud moment, and their research has, since that 2012 planting, produced blight-resistant trees waiting for government approval so they can be shared nationally.
In terms of surprises about me, I need to share how the current ESF logo was developed. I was at an SU lacrosse game and was wearing a hat with the ESF logo developed in the 1970s. An alumnus came up to me and said it was too hard to decipher “ESF” with the stylized font then in use. I got together with our bookstore manager and ESF’s communications staff to come up with a more easily readable “ESF” for use in the bookstore. It happened that there was a bookcase in front of my desk loaded with old yearbooks. I often admired the font used on one of them that clearly and boldly spelled ESF. We worked together on a couple of different designs and finally landed on the ESF with an oak leaf and acorn. Although I wanted a “white” oak leaf to symbolize the College’s Robin Hood Oak, the red oak design quickly became a staple on College memorabilia and was later officially adopted by the College as our new logo. So, a suggestion by an alumnus helped create a new look for the College. However, being a good dendrology student, I would still like a white oak leaf! (Dendrology students will know what I am talking about.) Another surprise is that I appeared on the television show JEOPARDY! and won. Further, some 15 years later my daughter also appeared, did better than I did, but could not defeat the returning champion that night.
My advice to students is this: stay in touch with the College as your friendships will last a lifetime and you have much to offer ESF. It is a family.
Retirement has given me enormous freedom to do what I want to do. Margie and I are back in North Carolina but visit Central New York often. I am active with a veterans group and I like to cook! Prior to the pandemic, I prepared and served meals to the homeless. Further, I am learning Japanese cooking from my daughter-in-law. Golf is a hobby and I enjoy time with our grandchildren here and in New York, along with visiting friends. If anyone would like to get in touch, I would enjoy that, too: jfculkow@esf.edu. Thank you.