Volume 2 Issue 7, July/August 2021

The Director’s Corner

Carrie Harmon – Executive Director, NPDN

Dear NPDN friends,

The end of summer marks the end of each NPDN fiscal year and other important transitions. This summer, we mark the transition of the NEPDN regional director and thank Dr. Marc Fuchs for nearly a decade of regional center service to the NPDN. Dr. Fuchs stepped into the regional director role September 1, 2012, replacing Dr. George Hudler and bringing to NPDN expertise in virus detection, diagnostics, and clean plant development, as well as inside knowledge of the National Clean Plant Network (NCPN) function and administration. This expertise, along with a congenial nature and smart sense of humor, ensured a smooth transition and nine years of relevant leadership.

Dr. Fuchs coordinated the NEPDN with help from Associate Director Karen Snover-Clift and several others who reflected the diverse nature of projects such as lab accreditation, national and regional meetings, and partnerships with the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) through the Sentinel Plant Network. Given Dr. Fuch’s expertise and leadership in the NCPN, we expect we will continue to cross paths and look forward to future partnership and productivity in plant protection. On behalf of the NPDN, thank you, Marc, and keep in touch!

Please check out the article in this edition that describes the transition to interim leadership of NEPDN for the 2021–2022 year. Dr. Alicyn Smart of the University of Maine will serve as coordinator for the region.

Congratulations to those who retired this year, and we welcome new faces joining our network and our diagnostic family; ‘tis the season for change! I look forward to meeting our new members at the NPDN national meeting in Davis, California, next spring (and finally seeing so many of you in person; I have missed my extended lab family!). Finally, as we gear up for the end of summer and beginning of fall, we are also gearing our committees back up. Watch for notices regarding the next cross-committee meeting and updates on the many committee activities that are changing the network to benefit us all. As always, thank you for all you do. I hope you found some time between the samples to rest, recharge, and reunite with family and friends this summer.

Be well,
Carrie

NEPDN Leadership Transition

A change in regional center leadership is underway in the Northeastern Plant Diagnostic Network (NEPDN). Cornell University has supported the NEPDN regional center since the inception of NPDN but is unable to continue providing that support. NIFA’s decision to postpone the competitive process for a year and fund NPDN with a one-year project has necessitated the transition to an interim NEPDN regional center. Dr. Alicyn Smart of the University of Maine has invested heavily in NPDN participation through meetings and committee leadership and has agreed to caretake the regional center role for one year. NIFA has approved the University of Maine to serve as the interim NEPDN regional center.

NIFA’s approval of an interim regional center does not preempt the competitive process in 2021–2022. Rather, it is meant to ensure the continuity and stability of the NEPDN. Funding for the NEPDN states will be administered by SPDN and NCPDN regional centers for one additional year while the University of Maine will manage NEPDN regional communications, meetings, and services. All regional center projects will be up for competition during the winter of 2021–2022.

New Faces in NPDN

Dr. Peng Tian – NCPDN

Dr. Peng Tian became the director of the University of Missouri Plant Diagnostic Clinic in February of this year, reopening this vital resource in the NCPDN. You can read more about Dr. Tian here: https://ipm.missouri.edu/IPCM/2021/3/plantDiagnosticClinic-PT/. Or listen to him introduce himself in this recorded interview by Brownfield Ag News for America https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/mu-plant-diagnostic-center-has-reopened/. Follow Peng and the University of Missouri PDC on Twitter and Facebook @MUplantclinic.

Dr. Cheryl Smith Retires

Dr. Cheryl Smith is now a plant health state specialist emeritus. A member of the NEPDN since the beginning of NPDN, she retired from the University of New Hampshire on June 25, 2021, after 28 years of service as state plant health specialist and director of the UNH Plant Diagnostic Lab. Cheryl was a career diagnostician and worked at both Cornell University and the University of Rhode Island before joining UNH in 1993. As an Extension professor, Cheryl conducted educational outreach and training programs for Extension staff and clientele and taught the Introductory Plant Pathology course offered by the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture at UNH. Cheryl’s passion was helping commercial producers, landscape specialists and home gardeners produce and maintain healthy plants.

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