Scott Jamieson grew up in Gary at the height of its manufacturing boom, but it was the city’s proximity to the Indiana Dunes that gave him an affinity for wildlife and nature. Seeing Gary’s steel mills with the dunes in between, he was fascinated by the ways in which industry and nature could coexist for the best of both worlds, leading him to a degree in urban forestry.

Rather than growing trees to harvest them and make new products, urban foresters cultivate and care for trees to maintain them for their benefits. “When people typically go into forestry or wildlife, the last thing they’re thinking about is urban anything. They want to get out into the woods and away from everything,” Scott says. “But I thought, ‘Hey, wait a minute, wouldn’t it be cool to take care of trees in the places where most people live and play and hang out?’”

Outside of class, he lived at the “co-rec” [now the France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center], playing pick-up basketball games with his roommate. His favorite gym memory, however, is seeing his son and fellow Purdue alumnus, Ryan, across the floor as they both recruited students at the College of Agriculture career fair for their respective companies.

Scott is based in the Chicago area as vice president of Bartlett Tree Experts, an international tree care firm. He’s maintained a strong relationship with Purdue and the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources to spread the word about urban forestry. “That was one of the benefits of me coming back to teach a couple of classes, talk to students and see my professors over the years my kids were there: I could do double duty,” Scott says.

He’s proud to see how Purdue has evolved into a beautiful campus landscape and credits leaders like President Mitch Daniels and Provost Jay Akridge for increasing Purdue’s national prominence.