For Engagement of Underrepresented Minorities in Plant Pathology
The purpose of this fund, established in 2023, is to foster engagement of APS membership and students at minority serving institutions to enhance minority representation in U.S. graduate programs and in organizations that employ plant pathologists.
Marie and John both grew up in Springfield, VA, at the time a burgeoning suburb of Washington, D.C. Although only a year apart in the same schools they did not meet until both were in high school and working in the local county library. After graduating from high school Marie worked at the Central Intelligence Agency and continued her education at Northern Virginia Community College and the University of Maryland. After John completed the B.S. degree at the College of William and Mary in Virginia they were married in 1974. John completed the M.S. under the direction of W.L. Klarman at the University of Maryland-College Park, and the Ph.D. under the direction of R.W. Fulton at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He was a post-doctoral associate and then faculty member at Oklahoma State University (OSU) from 1981-1997 where he worked on a range of viruses affecting different crops in Oklahoma. He joined the Department of Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia in 1997 as Professor and Head. He was an Associate Editor for Plant Disease (1990-1991) and then Senior Editor (1991-1994). He served as APS Treasurer from 1997-2003, and on the APS Public Policy Board from 2000-2005 (serving as chair from 2001-2005). He served in the APS presidential lineage from 2008-2013, serving as President for 2010-2011, and as Immediate Past President for two terms. He was named an APS Fellow in 2004. Other activities included serving as a part-time National Program Leader at USDA in the Competitive Grants Program (then the USDA-CSREES NRI) from 2005-2008 for a joint effort with NSF on the Microbial Observatories Program and the USDA-NRI Plant Biosecurity Program. He also served as the first APS Fellow in the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President from fall 2008 to spring 2009. At UGA, in addition to his duties as Department Head, he served as Assistant Dean for the Office of Diversity Relations and Multicultural Affairs from 2013 until his retirement in 2016. Marie was a treasured companion and champion during the time John and Marie had together. She was a heartfelt caregiver for several family members in their final years. She loved to spend time with friends, read and feed the wildlife. Marie and John were married 48 years prior to her life being cut short in 2022 due to Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.
This fund was established in memory of Marie’s passion for giving and caring for others.
