Seeds : Newsletter for Alumni of the Department of Horticulture at Virginia Tech : Fall 2006

I hope all our Alumni had a successful year and are looking forward to receiving good news from the Home Department. I am very pleased to share with you some of our successes. The Peggy Lee Hahn Garden Pavilion was completed in June and formally dedicated on June 15 (http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/story.php? relyear=2006&itemno=344). This beautiful structure attracts university, town, New River communities, alumni and professional organizations throughout the state. Our ambitious plan is to make it a center for the expansion of consumer horticulture programs. On September 22, the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Natural Resources celebrated the opening and dedication of Latham Hall, a new 84,000-square-foot multidisciplinary research facility (http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/ story.php?relyear=2006&itemno=515). I am pleased to let you know that our Department secured five laboratories in this new building, accommodating research and graduate programs of six faculty. The labs of Drs. Eric Beers, Jim Tokuhisa, and Richard Veilleux have already been established and searches for three additional faculty (Specialty Crops Breeder for Bioenergy/Bioproducts, Ornamental Plant Breeder, and Rhizosphere Biologist) are in progress. We would like to renovate the vacated space in Saunders Hall and convert it into a modern undergraduate teaching and research facility.