Cal Poly Names New Horticulture and Crop Science Department Head

Cal Poly's College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences in San Luis Obispo, Calif., named John Peterson to head the Horticulture and Crop Science Department.

Peterson taught for many years at Ohio State University at Columbus.
Recently, he served as the President and CEO of the Turtle Bay Exploration Park, a botanical garden and arboretum along the Sacramento River in Northern California. Before that he led the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for more than a decade. He will begin his new duties at Cal Poly April 23.

"Professor Peterson's experience in funding and 'growing' botanical gardens and horticultural preserves will certainly be an asset to the college,"
said CAFES Dean David Wehner. "Our students will benefit from his experience in the commercial world as well as his background in horticulture research."

Peterson earned a Ph.D. in horticulture and plant physiology from Rutgers University, and a bachelor's degree in plant science and resource development from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston.

He began his career as a research assistant in the horticulture and landscape architecture department at Rutgers, moving on to a professorship at Ohio State University. He has also been appointed an adjunct professor at the University of Massachusetts, and advises Swarthmore College on its Scott Arboretum and Scott Medal.

From 1992 to 2004, he served as the President and CEO of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society. The society sponsors the third largest annual flower show in the world, which Peterson expanded and managed. He grew the society's assets from $1.8 million to $8.4 million, as well as increasing its flower show revenue, endowment and annual operating budget.

From 2004 to 2006, he led the Turtle Bay Exploration Park in Redding, California, overseeing the completion of the 200-acre McConnell Arboretum and 20-acre Botanical Garden that comprise the park.

He has published numerous journal articles on horticulture and contributed chapters to several horticulture textbooks.

For more details about Cal Poly's Horticulture and Crop Science Department, visit its Web site at http://hcrs.calpoly.edu/.