The individuals below participated in the College of Agriculture Retirement Incentive program and have an upcoming December 31, 2020 retirement date. That leaves us a very short amount of time to congratulate them. Unfortunately, we will not be able to host a retirement party for these important individuals with COVID restrictions, but we will celebrate them in the future following the pandemic. In the meantime, we will have created web and social media content that celebrates these individuals and acknowledges their important contributions to our department over the years.
Please reach out to and congratulate these individuals on their retirement. We were very fortunate to have had all of them as a part of our department and to develop close friendships with them over the years. We will certainly miss them all!
Bruce Bordelon’s research program focused on wine grapes with an emphasis on matching cultivars to sites, integrated crop management, improved fruit quality, economics of production, and sustainability. Outreach and Extension programs were carried out for the wine grape and small fruit industries of the state and region. An emphasis of the Extension program is development of integrated pest management resources including yearly revision of the Midwest Fruit Pest Management Guide used by 13 states.
Bruce also served as co-chair of the Indiana Horticultural Congress, the annual meeting of the fruit, wine, vegetable (processing and fresh), organic, farm market, and agritourism industries of the state. In addition to Bruce’s research and extension programs, he also taught HORT/FS 50600 – Commercial Grape and Wine Production; HORT 31800 – Field Production of Horticultural Crops and HORT 42100 – Fruit Production.
Viticulturalist Bruce came from Arkansas
Arrived at Purdue with barely a drawl
He grew tons of grapes and studied every one
Is it sour? Is it sweet? Will it make good wine?
Can it take the heat? Survive the cold?
Stand up to dicamba, or will it fold?
He found a winner: Traminette!
A grape for Indiana that wins every bet.
Bruce spread the news far and wide,
In classes, videos, newsletters and slides
Now Traminette is grown all around the state
Made into wines paired with so many plates
As the time comes now for Bruce to retire,
Do pour some wine and raise glasses higher.
A toast to the man, the winegrape wiz,
We wish you a future, many happy years!
– Liz Maynard
Awards and Honors:
- American Society for Enology and Viticulture-Eastern Section Outstanding Achievement Award, 2016
- Purdue University Outstanding Extension Faculty/Specialist Award, 2013
- Purdue Cooperative Extension Specialists’ Assoc., Senior Award, 2003
Retirement Plans:
Bruce plans to spend time with family in Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Oregon. He will also do some traveling, fishing, and camping in the region. He plans to continue gardening, do some much needed home remodeling.
Becky Fagan started in HLA April 20, 1983. Previously, she worked in the Statistics Department for 2.5 years and Mechanical Engineering for 2.5 years. Becky provided administrative support to several faculty members in HLA and served as the International Student Service Liaison. She also organized the department research and design retreat each spring.
Honors and Awards and Honors:
- Recipient of College of Agriculture, Bravo Award, 2019
Retirement Plans:
Becky plans to get caught up on many partially started quilting projects, read a lot more, do a little traveling to places she’s always wanted to see, i.e. Niagra Falls, Grand Canyon and visit relatives in Tennessee and Florida, spend more time with her grandchildren and just whatever she feels like doing!
Carl Geiger started in HLA May 24, 1999. Previously, he worked in Entomology for approximately 18½ yrs. Carl Geiger served as the primary point of contact between students in Horticulture and Landscape Architecture regarding the myriad technologies we utilize in our academic programming. In addition, Carl worked tirelessly towards students’ educational goals and departmental missions towards procuring, testing, and implementing new technologies. He has been in this role in HLA for over 20 years though he has nearly 40 years of service at Purdue.
Awards and Honors:
- Covid-19 Hero Award, College of Agriculture, 2020
- Dedication of Years of Service Award presented by Indiana Hort Conference & Expo, 2020
- 2019 and 2020 Nominee for the College of Agriculture, Outstanding Service to Students Award
Retirement Plans:
Carl’s plans are to move back to southern Indiana to the house his parents had built when he was twelve. His youngest sister lives just up the field from Carl. He has been told he will need to cook a few meals a week for her and her family, move hay when necessary, and occasionally feed the 4 horses and two goats.
Jules Janick’s research program was focused on apple breeding of scab resistant apples, 20 named cultivars since 1975. Historical and Iconographic studies in the history of horticulture with recent emphasis on the Voynich Codex. Jules was the founder and editor of Horticultural Reviews Vol. 1-44 and founder and editor of Plant Breeding Vol. 1-40. Jules gave numerous invited talks both national and internationally. In addition to his research, Jules taught HORT 30600 History of Horticulture (online) ca.350 students per year and HORT 40300 Tropical Horticulture (online) ca.150 students per year. Jules was also the department poet. His career has made such an impact that two separate journal articles are actually written about his career.
- Goldman, I., & Ortiz, R, (2018). A Life in Horticulture and Plant Breeding: The Extraordinary Contributions of Jules Janick. Plant Breeding Reviews 41:291-360.
- Warrington, I. (Ed.), (2018). Dedication Jules Janick. Horticultural Reviews. John Wiley & Sons. 45:xiii-xvi.
Awards and Honors:
- Lowell Hardin Award for Excellence in International Agriculture, 2020
- Fellow, National Academy of Inventors – 2019
- Lifetime Achievement Award, National Association of Plant Breeders – 2011
- American Society for Horticultural Science, Horticulture Hall of Fame, 2009
- Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Agricultural Sciences & Veterinary Medicine Cluj- Napoca, Romania, 2010
- Doctor Philosophiae, Honoris Causa, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 2007
- Doctor Honoris Causa, Technical University of Lisbon, 1994
- D.S. Agr (Hon)University of Bologna – Agricultural Science, 1990
- Distinguished Professor, Purdue University – 1988
- Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science – 1988
- Fellow, American Society of Horticulture Science – 1976
Retirement Plans:
Jules’s travel plans remain on hold. His goals for 2021 are to complete three papers and to master seven of Bach’s Goldberg variations that he has struggled with over the years.
Farewell to HLA
In January 1951, I arrived in Lafayette,
In an auspicious moment that I never will forget.
I entered the Hort Building on the south side of Purdue
And 70 years later I’m still working here with you.
Horticulture is a holy temple that puts us on a roll
Providing food for the body and food for the soul.
It’s full of wonderful people, just like me and you
Our cathedral at Marsteller is the heart of old Purdue.
I’ve travelled the world over from China to the Ivory Coast
And I must tell you, this is the place I love the most.
Its greenhouses, labs, classrooms, studios, farms —
and beg your pardon
If I boast, the campus jewel: Jules Janick Garden!
Now this has been the toughest year since the time
that they did hire us,
We had a little bout with Covid, the terrible Corona virus.
Things now are getting worse, but we anticipate elation
With the upcoming magic bullet, the Covid vaccination.
Now I know that this is a sad time and soon you will be grieving
For in addition to Trump, six colleagues will be leaving.
There will sobs and tears and I know your hearts will throb
At the loss of Carl and Becky, Rosie, Jules, Bruce and Rob.
Our computer wizard Carl goes back to southern Indiana
But thank the Lord we still have Kirby who’ll now be top banana.
And dear Rosie, author of Possum in the PawpawTree
Will have time to write her reminiscences: A Gardener’s Trilogy.
Rob, our Landscape Architect historian,
has a future that only he knows.
Will he embark on a new career, designing Sports logos?
Or if that is not mellow,
Margo may teach him the cello.
Becky goes back to Bob and her wonderful family.
She will leave Ray Bressan despondent, up the proverbial tree!
Bruce will leave a big hole in small fruits,
especially fruits of the vine.
He must be replaced for the sake of Indiana wine
As for me, despite frustrations,
I will go back to my piano and learn Bach’s Goldberg variations.
I will attempt to clean up my office, books and paraphernalia
And Pat and I might winter in beautiful Australia.
And so good friends I bid you adieu, it has been a wonderful ride.
With Linda at the helm, Horticulture will prosper, if these rules you
all abide.
Work hard at the labor you love,
look to the future but remember the past,
Enjoy this wonderful life, it goes by exceedingly fast!
– Jules Janick
Rosie Lerner’s primary responsibility was to develop and deliver consumer-oriented educational materials, web site, mass media programs, County Educator training, and other outreach activities to the general public as well as Master Gardeners and growers. In addition, Rosie formerly served as the State Coordinator of the Purdue Master Gardener Program from January 1984-September 2002 and December 2006-February 2013.
Awards and Honors:
- PUCESA Senior Award, 2016
- ASHS Extension Materials Award-Digital Media, Purdue MG Manual, 2014
- ASHS Extension Materials Award – CD-ROM, Plant Propagation, 2005
- Garden Writers Association Bronze Award – Electronic Media, Plant Propagation, 2005
- Sharvelle Outstanding Extension Faculty/Specialist Award, 2003
Retirement Plans:
Rosie is planning to stay in the area and focus on home & garden projects and dog training. She hopes to spend more time with family and friends and return to dog sport competitions post COVID.
Rob Sovinski’s primary responsibility were in undergraduate education. Courses taught included LA 11600 Graphic Communication in Design I; LA 22600 – Landscape Architectural Desin II; LA 24600 – Landscape Architectural Site Systems I; and LA 47600 – Professional Practice of Landscape Architecture. He maintained a research focus dealing with the sustainable use of hardscape materials in the built environment. He was also engaged in ongoing research in the sustainable planning and design of active recreational community facilities. Rob served as Chair of the Landscape Architecture Program from August 2007 to August 2017. He also served as chair of four Landscape Architecture faculty searches and two external accreditation reviews.
Awards and Honors:
- Outstanding Teacher, College of Agriculture, 1999
- Purdue Univ. Class of 1922 Innovation in Helping Students Learn, 2000
- Charles B. Murphy award for outstanding undergraduate teaching, 2000
- Teaching Academy Induction as Fellow, 2000
- Nominated: Carnegie Foundation/CASE National Professor of the Year, 2001, 2002
- Phi Beta Gamma Honor Society for International Scholars, 2000
Retirement Plans:
Rob’s plans are tentative, but they plan to relocate to Culver/Lake Maxinkuckee in the spring. Rob will be finishing his third book that deals with planning and designing community sports facilities.
External Link: