In 1938, the School of Forestry at Duke was founded as the first graduate school of forestry in the South. In the 1970s, the school expanded its program to include a broad range of resource and environmental studies. In 1974/75, it became the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. Collection contains memoranda, brochures, newspaper clippings, conference materials, annual reports, photographs and slides relating to the Duke School of Forestry and Environmental Studies from roughly 1960 through 1979.

Collection contains alumni newsletters, publications, technical papers, department brochures, conference programs, memoranda, annual reports, as well as documents relating to the proposed phasing out of the Forestry School in 1975 and resultant student protests. Also includes papers from the 1965 Tropical Forestry Symposium sponsored by the School of Forestry, black and white photographs of the arboretum, and color photos and slides of School's field days in 1977 and 1979. Removed photographs from albums and interleaved in folders for preservation.