The Department of Soil Science, recently renamed the Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences is the oldest and likely most renowned soil science department in the USA, and perhaps even in the world. We are home to degrees in soil and environmental sciences. Our department’s research mission includes cycling of water, energy, elements and the sustainability of natural and managed ecosystems. Our environmental research and education, focuses on the solid-liquid interfaces, transformation, and fate of current and emerging contaminants in soil from industrial, urban, and agricultural sources.
Alfred Hartemink, Department Pedologist
2025 Soil and Environmental Sciences Commencement Ceremony & Reception
Emeritus Professor Steve Ventura’s Remarks at the Environmental Sciences Commencement Ceremony
May 8th, 2025 | Madison, WI
Professor Balster asked me to say a few words to the Environmental Sciences graduates, and I’m delighted at the chance to commend you for this impressive accomplishment, including persevering through challenging times of change in higher education such as the COVID epidemic.
Nick also asked me to stay away from my orientation to environmental politics, that this is just a celebration. But, while I’m glad to not be partisan in my comments, unfortunately we can’t completely ignore the elephant in the room, or more aptly, the muskox in the room and the Musk-rats in DC, whose impacts are widespread and include tearing down the very precepts of environmental science, its role in public agencies and the decades-old partnership of academia with the federal government to support the very best environmental science the world has ever known, with immense benefits in a cleaner and healthier environment.
The world you are entering, after what I hope were your halcyon days of college, is fraught. But, I think you now have what it takes to succeed in it, even if the sciences and skills you have painstakingly learned are disregarded and countered by mis- and dis-information.
You now have a high-quality education from a leading program in a world class institution. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is consistently ranked in the top fifty universities in the world. It is now the sixth highest in the U.S. in research funding. QS World University Rankings puts our College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS) as the 8th best in the world for Agriculture and Forestry and ranked 4th in North America. EduRank.org lists our Environmental Sciences program as eighth best in the country (an underestimate in my opinion!).
What I fervently hope is that you put your superb education to uses that benefit people and planet. Unlike other sciences, say chemistry or physics, environmental science has at its core an ethical framework and principles; perhaps you have some sense of this after four years of hearing about the Wisconsin Idea and seeing it in action. In these fraught times, I believe this includes countering doctrines and activities that are detrimental to people and planet. In this regard, I am very fond of the expression, “Speak truth to power.” I want to briefly highlight the contributions of two people who did this and who walked the hallowed halls of the Soils/King building. One of them is probably familiar to you – F.H. King, for whom the building is named. The other is perhaps less familiar – Francis Hole – who was a Quaker contemporary of Bayard Rustin, the black Quaker activist to whom the expression “Speak truth to power” is attributed.
You probably know Franklin Hiram King as the father of soil physics, author of the still relevant book Farmers of Forty Centuries, and many new approaches to soil and crop management. Many of his ideas and innovations led to improvements in agricultural sustainability. His focus on good science in understanding agriculture led to personal and professional challenges. This came to a head when he went to Washington to serve as the chief of Soil Management for USDA in 1902. He confronted the entrenched powers of the day and their mistaken beliefs about plant nutrients in soil and was fired. He continued at UW to conduct research and publish on soil fertility and organic agriculture, and was ultimately vindicated. Good environmental science prevailed!
As a Quaker, Francis Hole took a less confrontational approach to challenging the status quo. He is perhaps most remembered as the professor who led a campaign to adopt a state soil. (Let’s all sing the Antigo silt loam song together {-;). But this was just a piece of a much bigger agenda to include soil issues in environmental politics and soil wisdom in environmental education. He coupled song and poetry and walks with good science to promote concepts of soil health more than fifty years before it became a common buzzword.
So, as you move into the next phase of your life, I hope you can take some inspiration from both of these gentlemen. Dr. King didn’t say it, but he lived his life speak[ing] truth to power. Dr. Hole reminded us to see and understand beauty in this world, to use the joy of our senses to guide our decisions. Martha Anderson, a research scientist with Professor John Norman in our Soil Science department many years ago provided this quote from Dr. Hole. “He said, ‘Just walk quietly through the grasses and contemplate the complex and beautiful, yet unseen, world beneath your feet.’”
We the people face many issues. Several could now be in your wheelhouse now – climate change, ecological integrity, pollution control, sustainable agriculture and resource management to name a few. Whatever path you take in life, remember, facts matter, and good science and scientists, you, are the fount of this wisdom.
News
NEW FACULTY
CONGRATULATIONS
Department Name Change
Leo M. Walsh Lecture in Soil Science
Check out our website to learn about degrees, courses, research, extension, teaching and our people!
History
The Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences has a rich history with lots to explore. We encourage all to learn about the impacts and influence of our sciences.
Department of Soil and Environmental Sciences | College of Agricultural and Life Sciences
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1525 Observatory Drive | Madison, WI 53706-1299
Main office telephone: 608.262.2633