November 2003 • Volume 37 • Number 11

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Jardine Named New OPAE Director

Doug Jardine, plant pathology professor at Kansas State University, became the third APS Office of Public Affairs and Education (OPAE) director at the APS Annual Meeting in Charlotte, NC. OPAE’s charge is to educate the public about plant health and plant diseases, strengthen advocacy for science-based public policy, coordinate interactions with other scientific and professional organizations, and increase media coverage of plant health issues to demonstrate the value of plant pathology to society through diverse initiatives.

Jardine succeeds Greg Tylka as OPAE director. “Greg Tylka has done an excellent job of continuing to develop the role of OPAE within APS that was begun by Gary Bergstrom, the office’s initial director,” says Jardine. “One area in particular that has grown under Greg’s directorship is media coverage of activities at APS annual meetings. Media coverage for the Charlotte meeting was at an all time high, with sessions on homeland security, sudden oak wilt, and soybean rust generating lots of public interest.”

Jardine will serve as OPAE director through 2006. “Educating the public and Washington-based public policymakers on new and reemerging plant health issues is a key responsibility for APS, and I am optimistic that OPAE will continue to play an important role in meeting this responsibility. My vision for OPAE is that we will continue to make inroads in helping the public and policymakers understand the importance of our discipline in providing a safe and secure food supply.

One of my goals is to increase the awareness of APS members that OPAE has funds available for educational projects that help meet the office’s outreach mission. Funded projects in the past have included teacher and master gardener workshops at APS annual meetings, information booths at the FFA, Garden Writers of America Association, and National Science Teachers Association annual meetings, the Georgia Plant Science Scholars program, and an Eighth Grade Plant Detective program in Ohio. OPAE also provides liaisons to the Youth, Teaching, and Extension committees of APS, as well as the Public Policy Board. Another goal is to work with these committees to maximize their public outreach efforts. For instance, we may have the opportunity to work with the national 4-H program to increase science and technology education in selected 4-H project areas.”

Jardine continues, “I am eager to build on OPAE’s past successes and to continue to work to increase public understanding and support for teaching, research and extension activities within our discipline. Working with board members and APS headquarters staff, I am confident that we can put OPAE activities into a higher gear. As the media response in Charlotte indicated, the public is interested in what we as plant pathologists do, and we need to continually seek new and better ways to reach them with sound, science-based information.”

Douglas J. Jardine received his B.S. degree in horticulture in 1976 and his M.S. degree in horticulture in 1977 from Michigan State University. He then joined the Michigan Cooperative Extension Service, where he worked as a county extension 4-H agent and a county extension agriculture agent. In 1983, he returned to Michigan State and completed his Ph.D. degree in plant pathology in 1985. He joined the Kansas State University Department of Plant Pathology as an assistant professor and extension specialist in 1986. In 1991 he was promoted to associate professor and to professor in 1999. He serves as extension program leader for the department, and his extension responsibilities include diagnosis and management of disease pests of field row crops. His research interests include evaluation of novel seed treatments on soybean and grain sorghum and management of sooty stripe disease on grain sorghum.

Jardine is an active member of The American Phytopathological Society, the Canadian Phytopathological Society, Sigma Xi, and Epsilon Sigma Phi. He has served as the APS North Central Division secretary-treasurer and division councilor. He also served as APS secretary from 1998 to 2001. He has served on numerous APS standing and ad hoc committees, chairing the Archives and History Committee, Youth Committee, and the ad hoc Networking Committee. He also served as the Field Crops Section editor for Biological and Cultural Tests. He was in the initial class of the North Central Extension Leadership Development Program and received the Epsilon Sigma Phi State Meritorious Service Award in 1998.

Cindy Ash Takes New Position with USDA Forest Service

APS Director of Scientific Services Cindy Ash has taken a new position as a forest pathologist with the USDA Forest Service in Durham, NH. Her last day with APS was October 24. Ash’s new contact information is available in the APS directory. If you need help with APS activities, please contact Michelle Bjerkness (mbjerkness@scisoc.org).

 

APS Foundation Invites Applications from Latin American Plant Pathologists for Group Memberships

The APS Foundation, furthering the goals of the French-Monar Latin American Fund, is announcing the availability of cost-free group memberships to five groups of five plant pathologists working in Latin American countries. The awards consist of free membership to The American Phytopathological Society and free access to the electronic versions of the APS journals Phytopathology, Plant Disease, Molecular Plant-Microbe Interactions (MPMI), and the Plant Management Network (which includes Fungicide and Nematicide Tests, Biological and Cultural Tests, and Plant Health Progress). These awards are intended to familiarize more plant pathologists working in Latin American countries with the advantages of membership in APS and to enable them to have free access to the APS journals for a year. Five group memberships will be awarded to groups of five plant pathologists per year. The guidelines and very simple criteria for the awards follow. Questions should be directed to George Agrios, Professor Emeritus-Plant Pathology, University of Florida, 10643 NW 10th Rd., Gainesville, FL 32606-8096, USA; E-mail: gna@ifas.ufl.edu.
 

Guidelines and Criteria

• This is a competitive annual award to plant pathologists working in Latin American countries.
• The award is given to five groups of five plant pathologists each. The award pays all the costs for subscriptions to the electronic APS journals for a year.
• It is preferred that each group membership be for a calendar year.
• Applicants must have an inginiero agronomo or an advanced degree and must currently be employed at an established institution.
• Applications must include the information requested in the one-page group application form (Please download Group Membership Application Form from www.apsnet.org/
  foundation/FrenchMonar.asp). For each applicant, there should be, in addition, a brief resume no more than two pages long, describing the main duties and accomplishments of each scientist.
• Applicants in each group may be located at the same or different locations.
• The main criterion for selection is the apparent productivity of members in each group.

A four-person French-Monar Latin American Fund Award committee, appointed by the APS Foundation, will review the applications and select those who will receive the award.
 

Application Process

Submit applications by mail or e-mail to George Agrios at the address or e-mail given above. Applications should be received, if possible, by December 15, 2003. For this year, the first year the award is offered, applications may be submitted as soon thereafter as possible, but no later than June 30, 2004, so the awardees will have the award for as much of the 2004 year as possible. After January 1, 2004, applications will be evaluated soon after they are received, and those found worthy will be given an award as long as there are awards available (up to five per year). Applicants should provide an e-mail address so they can be contacted whenever necessary.

 
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