The mission of the 鶹Ƶ Forest is to provide a protected natural area to serve primarily as a teaching resource and research site.

“鶹Ƶ” is Hebrew for “oak.” It is fitting, then, that the hardwood forests and other ecosystems of 鶹Ƶ Forest represent the spirit, strength, and sustainability of 鶹Ƶ. The Forest symbolizes a permanence that exists even while the University and the larger world change rapidly, as well as the notion that nature itself is a central part of higher education.