SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Thomas Maness, dean of the College of Forestry at Oregon State University, has died.
The Capital Press newspaper reports the 63-year-old Maness died Thursday after a battling an undisclosed illness for more than two years. He had stepped away from his day-to-day duties in January to focus on his health.
Maness had been dean since 2012.
Under his leadership, OSU was ranked the second-best college of forestry in the world in 2017 by the Center for World University Rankings, behind only the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in Uppsala, Sweden.
In a letter posted on the school's website, acting dean Anthony Davis described Maness as a "true visionary" who helped propel the college into a globally recognized leader in forestry.
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