UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Dr. Dennis R. Decoteau, chair of the horticulture department at Clemson University, will join Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences as head of the Department of Horticulture on Jan. 5, 1998.
The Department of Horticulture conducts educational, research and cooperative extension programs in applied plant science, including but not limited to plant breeding, plant nutrition, consumer horticulture, greenhouse production, flower retailing, vegetable and fruit production, and landscape contracting.
Decoteau is a graduate of the USDA Experiment Station/Academic Committee on Policy (ESCOP/ACOP) Leadership Program and has received significant awards for both research and teaching, including the L.M. Ware Distinguished Research Award from the American Society for Horticultural Science (Southeast Region), and an Outstanding Teacher Award from Clemson. He also is strongly committed to the land-grant philosophy. "That's important for a faculty member," he says, "particularly in a college of agricultural sciences. Unless we educate the public, they simply won't know the importance of the things we're doing."
To that end, Decoteau writes an industry newsletter column, as well as the triweekly column, "Garden Works," in the Anderson Independent-Mail newspaper in Anderson, S.C.
He also was named Garden Poet of the South Carolina Botanical Garden. "In my columns," he says, "I've tried to use normal, everyday words to describe some of the exciting things that are happening -- not just at Clemson but in the sciences in general."
Decoteau has developed successful partnerships with major U.S. corporations. His two manuals on tropical lettuce production are used worldwide by the McDonald's Corporation. His research on colored reflective mulches resulted in a Canadian patent on the product, with U.S. patent pending.
"We took a common practice that vegetable growers already use -- plastic mulch -- and improved on it," he explains. "By changing the colors of the plastic, we can control the color of light reflected back to the plant. Plants respond to different colors in various ways -- it's an evolutionary survival mechanism. We trick the plants by choosing a color or blend of colors that signals the kind of growth habit we're after."
Decoteau received his B.S.E.S. in environmental studies from the University of Maine at Fort Kent, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in plant science/physiology from the University of Massachusetts. After a post-doctoral research position at Purdue University, he moved through the academic ranks to full professor and department chair at Clemson.
"Dr. Decoteau is widely recognized by his colleagues as an outstanding leader, communicator, mentor and friend," says Robert Steele, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. "We're fortunate to have someone of Dr. Decoteau's ability and accomplishment joining our faculty."
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EDITORS: For more information, contact Professor Decoteau at 814-656-4951 or drd10@psu.edu.
Contacts: Kim Dionis KDionis@psu.edu 814-863-2703 814-865-1068 fax