Seeds : Newsletter for Alumni of the Department of Horticulture at Virginia Tech : Fall 2007

The University and the Department went through a traumatic experience on April 16. The tragedy has unified Virginia Tech's community probably stronger than ever before. Several memorial projects are now under development that include participation of students, victim families, faculty, staff, alumni, and others across the US and beyond. One project is a Hokie Spirit Garden Trail that will integrate green spaces on campus, including proposed development of new theme gardens, and link the Trail to the Huckleberry Trail. Both walking and biking trails are considered. The project is a partnership between the campus community and the green industry. The Horticulture Department plays a significant role in this undertaking as well as in the development of a Jocelyne Couture-Nowak Memorial Garden as a part of the Terrace Garden currently under construction at the Peggy Lee Hahn Garden. Here I would like to take the opportunity to thank the alumni for the support you gave me and my family after my wife’s tragic death. Your sympathy and kindness helped carry us through these darkest hours and have been a source of our strength. Here is the url of the article on our family which has been recently published in the Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/free/v54/i04/ 04a00101.htm.