Joyce Loper appointed as Interim Director of Oregon IPM Center
The longtime researcher of biological control of plant pathogens replaces Dan Edge as director of the Center.
Joyce Loper has been named as the new Interim Director of the Oregon IPM Center. Dean Alan Sams made the announcement July 29th to Oregon IPM Center staff. She replaces Associate Dean Dan Edge, who has acted as the Interim Director of the Center for the last two years. Joyce is the Associate Dean of Research for the College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University.
Joyce brings with her much expertise and enthusiasm in promoting IPM. Before joining the Dean’s office four years ago, she was a Research Plant Pathologist with the USDA-ARS Horticultural Research Laboratory and a Professor (Courtesy) in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at OSU campus. Her research focused on biological control of plant diseases and the genomics of plant-associated bacteria. She is a Fellow of AAAS and the American Phytopathological Society and was named USDA-ARS Distinguished Senior Scientist of the Year in 2014 and added to the USDA-ARS Hall of Fame in 2016.
“My goal is to support the faculty of the Center in building collaborative IPM research and outreach programs with other OSU faculty, state and federal agencies, and stakeholders,” says Joyce. “I am excited about the positive impacts of the IPM Summit, the newsletter, and the Pesticide Safety Education Program (to name a few Oregon IPM Center activities and programs). I am enjoying getting to know the members of this productive team.”
Please join us in welcoming Dr. Joyce Loper to the Oregon IPM Center.
This article appears in Oregon IPM Insider, Vol 1 Iss 3, Fall 2020.