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Contact: Heather Finney
Phone: (800) 395-2522
E-mail: Heather Finney

For Immediate Release

PLANET AEF NAMES OUTSTANDING EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR

HERNDON, Va., April 7, 2009 — The PLANET Academic Excellence Foundation (PLANET AEF) recently announced the recipient of its 2009 Outstanding Educator of the Year Award — Brad Rowe, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Horticulture at Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing, Michigan. The award was presented March 29, 2009, at the Professional Landcare Network (PLANET) Student Career Days event, hosted by Cal Poly Pomona in Pomona, California.

The Outstanding Educator of the Year Award was developed by the PLANET AEF, in cooperation with the PLANET Accreditation Committee, to recognize professors who have made significant contributions to green industry education. Educators nominated for this award have devoted time, energy, and enthusiasm to their programs and to the education of future leaders in the industry.

After receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Mechanization from Pennsylvania State University, University Park in 1982, he went on to study Ornamental Horticulture at Cal Poly – San Luis Obispo from 1990 to 1991. He received his Masters of Science in 1993 and his doctorate in Horticultural Science in 1996, both from North Carolina State University. Rowe has been teaching at MSU since January of 1997, and has since made a tremendous impact on the quality of not only Michigan State’s horticulture program, but also on the lives of his students. He is continuously updating the courses he teaches to reflect the current trends in the green industry and keeping the program and curriculum competitive with other programs around the country, ultimately helping to bring MSU’s program to be one of the best in the country. He has developed a complete and highly integrated teaching, research, and extension program that is respected locally, nationally, and internationally by nursery and landscape stakeholders, green roof industry leaders, and his peers.

As a student in 1991, Rowe was the overall individual winner at Student Career Days. Beginning in 1998, he took on a different role, serving as an organizer, adviser, mentor and coach for the MSU Student Career Days team. His teams have always ranked in the top 10, and his landscape contract management students have routinely taken first place in the cost estimating competitions.

“Dr. Rowe is one of our department’s finest teachers,” says Randolph Beaudry, MSU Department of Horticulture professor and acting chairperson. “Former students and seniors constantly submit praise for his contributions regarding their experiences and education at MSU.”

For more information about the PLANET AEF, please contact PLANET at (800) 395-2522 or visit LandcareNetwork.org.

PLANET is the association of members who create and maintain the QUALITY OF LIFE in communities across America. With more than 4,000 member companies and affiliates, these firms and their employees represent more than 100,000 green industry professionals.