The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF), located in Syracuse, New York, is a public research university focused on the environment and natural resources, classified for its high research activity within the SUNY system. It was established on July 28, 1911, as the New York State College of Forestry at Syracuse University, though it became a separate legal entity by 1913. Prominent constitutional lawyer Louis Marshall championed its founding, becoming the college's first board president, while botanist William L. Bray served as its inaugural dean, also a founding member of the Ecological Society of America.
ESF's curriculum emphasizes environmental understanding and sustainability, delivered across various facilities including the Ranger School in the Adirondacks, opened in 1912, and sites in Central New York and Costa Rica. Notably, the college began enrolling women in 1915, with its first female graduates completing degrees in the late 1940s.