Robert H. Rumpf

Robert H. Rumpf earned a B.S. in Forestry in 1949. He began his career with the Pennsylvania Department of Forests and Waters, filling several assignments between 1949 and 1953, including a tour in the U.S. Army. After earning a master of forestry degree at Duke University in 1954, he joined The Glatfelter Pulp Wood Company in Virginia.

In 1961, Rumpf returned to Pennsylvania to open a district office in Carlisle. While there, he expanded the woodland acquisition program and installed scientific forest management on company lands. He also encouraged private landowners to recognize the value of management and harvesting on their forestlands. He served as area forester, district manager, administrative assistant, and vice president and general manager at the Spring Grove headquarters of the company. He retired in 1993 with 39 years of service.

Rumpf's hard work and keen insights earned him the respect of others both inside and outside of the forest conservation field. A proponent of industrial forestry, he is an articulate spokesman for responsible stewardship on industrial and private woodlands.

Rumpf's service to the profession includes being president and director of the Pennsylvania Forestry Association, and chair of the association's Policy Committee and Forest Industry Committee; he was chairman of the Pennsylvania Tree Farm Committee, chairman of the Mid-Atlantic Communications Committee of the American Forest Institute, chairman of the Forest Resource Committee of the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, and a member of the national board of the American Pulpwood Association. He continues to provide a service to private woodland owners in his retirement.

Rumpf's service to the School of Forest Resources includes being a member of the School's Advisory Board (1991-1995), a member of the Goddard Chair Committee (1992-2000), and a member of the Penn State Forest Issues Group. He also served on the SFR Alumni Group board of directors for two three-year terms from 1995 to 2000. He was instrumental in establishing the Distinguished Lecture Series in the School in 1993.

Rumpf's service to the community includes being a member of the North Middleton Township Planning Commission for 10 years, activity in the Presbyterian Church, and leadership in the Boy Scouts of America.

His awards include the Joseph T. Rothrock Conservationist of the Year Award in 1996 from the Pennsylvania Forestry Association, the 1993 Maryland Governor's Proclamation for leadership in Maryland Forestry, and in 1993 his election as fellow in the Society of American Foresters.