James W. Geis, interviewed in 1985, discusses the Institute of Ecology, including its origins, its approaches to research, its relationship with colleges and universities, its structural and funding challenges, and its demise. Dr. Geis was appointed instructor of Forest Botany straight from the University of Illinois in 1968. He enrolled at the State University of New York College of Forestry at Syracuse University for graduate studies under Professor E.H. Ketchledge and earned his Ph.D. in June 1972. In 1979, Geis was appointed Assistant Vice President for Research Programs and Executive Director of the Institute of Environmental Program Affairs at ESF.