The exhibit “Healthy Plants for a Healthy World: 50 Years of Plant Pathology at Penn State,” will be on display now through Sept. 17 in The Eberly Family Special Collections Library, 104 Paterno Library, at Penn State University Park. General exhibit hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.
Plant Pathology has a long tradition at Penn State as one of the first of seven undergraduate majors described in the College of Agriculture in 1908. In 1913, the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology was formed, and the first graduate degree in plant pathology was awarded in 1915. Botany and plant pathology parted ways amicably in 1963, with the formation of the new department of plant pathology, with James Tammen as the first department head. Recently, the faculty elected to broaden the focus of the department to include environmental microbiology, a discipline closely associated with plant pathology concepts and encompassing the research disciplines of many faculty. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the department and its first year as the Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology Department.
Today, the Department of Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, in the College of Agricultural Sciences, is dedicated to being an international leader in the integration of research, teaching and extension for the protection of food and fiber crops; for the maintenance of a healthy and sustainable environment; and for understanding the role of microorganisms in the environment. The focus of the faculty is on innovative research, excellence in mentoring students, productivity in scholarship and outreach service to society.
The plant pathology exhibit additionally will be open during the special events times. Call (814) 865-1793 to confirm times. For more information, visit http://plantpath.psu.edu by clicking here.
