About Us: News
Five faculty and staff members are retiring this year.
Between the five retirees, the total amount of years of service to The Ohio State University came to 160 years!
There was a celebration on May 15 at the Kottman Hall Gazebo to honor the retirees. Faculty, staff, and students ate ice cream and saluted the outstanding people the Department has had the pleasure to work with. Here's some information about the retirees.
The Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) held its annual research conference on April 25. The theme of this year’s conference was “How Food Impacts Human Health”. The poster competition was held in Columbus this year and three Research Assitants from the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science are winners!
On April 26th, the Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens celebrated Arbor Day on The Oval.
The Arbor Day celebration had a ceremony honoring tress and their importance and the people who take care of them. The ceremony included an Arbor Day poetry reading by Andrea Janelle Dickens, MFA Poetry 2013. The event concluded with a rousing rendition of Carmen Ohio with the addition of special Arbor Day lyrics and the dedication of Quercus michauxii, Swamp Chestnut Oak. The tree was planted on The Oval.
Horticulture and Crop Science faculty member, Dr. Peg McMahon, was selected to be a co-facilitator of the Mid-Career & Senior Faculty Learning Community of the Ohio State Teaching Enhancement Programs (OSTEP). The program was designed to give tenured faculty the opportunity to reflect on their teaching and explore new ideas. Dr. McMahon was selected through a competitive, peer-reviewed process. She will develop a personalized teaching enhancement plan. Co-facilitators, like Dr. McMahon, will receive a professional development grant of $1,000. Congratulations, Dr. McMahon!
The Scotts LawnService Scholarship combines an internship and a full year’s worth of tuition. The scholarship is designed for juniors majoring in Turfgrass Science, Crop Science, Landscape Horticulture, Entomology, or other related fields. Applicants must have a minimum of a 3.0 GPA. This year’s award recipients are Tyler Turner and John DiFranco. Congratulations Tyler and John!
In this photo: John DiFranco, Tyler Turner, and the Scotts Miracle-Grow Company representatives.
Scholarship awards were handed out to undergraduate, graduate students, and faculty on Friday, April 19th at the Ice Cream Social event held in Kottman Hall. 56 undergraduate students were awarded scholarships for Spring and Fall semesters in the 2013-2014 school year. The scholarships totaled in the amount of $140,000. Many of the scholarships were awarded to students with outstanding academic achievement, commitment to the program, and research success.
Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens began a project, two years ago, to renovate the Chadwick Lake. The project plans were to remove invasive plants, stock the lake with various species of fish and begin a native planting regime to increase biodiversity. The renovation began with the removal of the invasive plant, phragmites. The goal of this step was to manageably control any phragmites growth.
Assistant Professor, Dr. Laura Lindsey has co-written an article about how 2012 drought conditions affected soybeans.
Gamma Sigma Delta is an honors society in the field of agriculture. The fraternity began at The Ohio State University in 1905 and the organization has been honoring students, faculty, and staff who demonstrate outstanding research, teaching, and service.
This year four members of the Horticulture and Crop Science department received awards.
Congratulations, Nafeti Mheni! Nafeti was awarded a $20,000 grant from the Borlaug LEAP Fellowship program. The Borlaug-LEAP program is a leadership program that helps fund research and activities in the field of agriculture. Nafeti will travel to the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico, Ethiopia, and expand his research in Tanzania. His project involves association analysis and genomic selection to breed for short season wheat that can avoid drought in Tanzania and Kenya. The grant will go into effect in June of 2013.