Keith D. Horn

Keith D. Horn earned a B.S. in Forestry from Penn State in 1955. After a subsequent two-year tour of duty in Europe with the Air Force, he began his forestry career as a district forester for Hammermill Paper Company in 1957. The job entailed acquiring timberland and overseeing thinning operations on the company's 45,000 acres of hardwood forest. In 1966 he was promoted to forest supervisor at the Erie, Pennsylvania, corporate office in charge of forest management on 165,000 acres. In 1968, Horn left Hammermill to enter private forest management with partner, Ed Kocjancic. By 1979, Kocjancic and Horn had a full staff of field foresters and was recognized as one of the state's premier consulting firms.

In 1980, Kocjancic and Horn divested and Horn started his own firm, Keith Horn, Inc. located in Kane, Pennsylvania. His firm is known for encouraging sound forest silviculture cutting practices throughout the state of Pennsylvania. Horn was the first consulting forester in the state to receive certification from the Forest Stewardship Council. In 2003, the Society of American Foresters recognized Horn with its Presidential Field Forester Award for his "uncommon talent and innovative methods to achieve a record of excellence in the application of forest management." He has trained and mentored dozens of young foresters in the art of Allegheny silviculture.

Horn is also an artist of forestry. He paints and sketches the woods that he works in and shares this artwork with colleagues and clients. Knowing the Allegheny plateau forests as he does, Horn emphasizes the different aesthetic values of the forest stands in his region. Occasionally he uses his artwork to educate and inform his clients and the public about political and biological issues. He has created and donated his artwork for numerous fund-raising auctions to benefit causes such as the United Way and the Smethport Library Association.

Horn was an active board member of the Kane Area Community Hospital for many years, and he has served on the Kane Shade Tree Commission since its inception. He served on the Board of Directors of the Williamsport Area Community College and serves as a director of the Hamlin Bank and Trust since 1993. Having been a Penn State football player, Horn is an active member of the Penn State Letterman's Club and a contributor to Penn State's athletics.

Horn contributed to the Ibberson Chair Office in the Forest Resources Building (FRB), and his colleagues honored him by funding the Horn Faculty Office in the FRB as well. Horn has also donated artwork to the School for use in forest resources extension programs.