Meet the Faculty
Our Forest Technology faculty bring more than 50 years of collective professional experience to the classroom and field. They are regional and national members of the Society of American Foresters; Tree Farm inspectors; owners of certified Tree Farms; licensed New Hampshire Foresters; winners of UNH’s Teaching Excellence Award; and members of many committees throughout the state and region.
Matthew C. Chagnon
professor of forest technology & chair
Matt Chagnon began his teaching career at the Thompson School in 1980. He believes that a student's success is based, in part, on a relationship of mutual friendship and respect with his or her teachers. Matt's office door is always open, encouraging his students to drop in with questions and problems.
Matt’s areas of teaching are forest ecology & silviculture, computers, arboriculture, forest surveying, forest mapping, wildlife and GIS (geographic information systems). He is the proprietor of a small-scale maple syrup operation and has experience logging with draft horses. His experience includes work at a sawmill and a lumber yard, land surveying, aerial photography, logging, and forest inventory.
Education:
A.A.S, Forest Technology, Thompson School, 1979
B.S., Forest Management, University of New Hampshire, 1986
M.S.F., Forest Management, University of New Hampshire, 1988
After school:
Matt coached the UNH Lumberjack Team for many years, and is co-owner of Granite State Lumberjack Shows, Inc., which produces professional lumberjack competitions around the country for the Stihl Timbersports Series as seen on ESPN.
Advice for first-year students:
If Forest Technology is what you want to do with your life, you should have fun studying it. Attend all of your classes and turn in all of your assignments on time.
Read Matt’s Faculty Excellence profile.
Donald W. Quigley
professor of forest technology
Don Quigley has been honing his teaching philosophy for more than 25 years. He believes that real learning happens, not in the classroom or the lab, but when students and teachers get to know each other personally and have discussions on important topics related to the curriculum.
Don's areas of expertise include logging, forest products, and forest fires. A veteran of the Thompson School, he has been a professor here since 1978. Don is a founder of the New Hampshire Timber Harvesting Council, which administers the New Hampshire Professional Loggers Program, an education initiative for professionals. He was recently in Italy, where he addressed international harvest problems for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
Education:
M.S. Forestry, University of New Hampshire, 1978
B.S. Forestry, University of New Hampshire, 1976
After school:
Don lives in a home which he built on 44 acres of forested land in Lee, N.H.. (The land has been enrolled as a registered Tree Farm since 1985.) He has been an avid competitor in lumberjack sports since 1976. He is a co-owner of Granite State Lumberjack Shows, Inc., which produces professional lumberjack competitions around the country for the Stihl Timbersports Series as seen on ESPN.
