PULLMAN – Peers worldwide recently recognized Jack D. Rogers, Regents professor in plant pathology and 2006 WSU Eminent Faculty Award recipient, with a “festschrift” or “celebration writing” a collection of papers published to mark a special milestone.The festschrift was published in the mycology (fungus biology) journal North American Fungi (ONLINE @ www.pnwfungi.org) to honor Rogers’ 45th anniversary at WSU.
“It recognizes his accomplishments in the field, his years of service and his pivotal role in creating a center of excellence in mycology at WSU,” said Hanu Pappu, associate professor in plant pathology and Sam Smith Chair in plant virology.
Festschrift papers were contributed by an international group of colleagues, friends and former students.
“Many of his graduate students are highly successful faculty in other universities,” Pappu said.
“The papers represent a wide range of topics,” said Dean Glawe, professor of plant pathology. Those include historical and societal aspects of fungi, biographical distribution, fungi folklore and new species. Two papers describe new species named for Rogers.
The Department of Plant Pathology was founded in 1915. Through the years, its faculty have published many leading texts on fungal plant parasites, established a major North American herbaria and helped develop a literature collection at the Fischer Agricultural Sciences Library.
“Dr. Rogers has been instrumental in developing mycology into one of the areas of research pre-eminence in plant pathology at WSU,” said Tim Murray, professor and chair of the department. “The festschrift attests to his stature as one of the world’s leading mycologists.”
