Professor James A. Murphy appointed to Ralph Geiger Chair in Turfgrass Science
The Rutgers University Board of Governors added professor James A. Murphy to the Ralph Geiger Chair in Turfgrass Science.
Murphy is renowned for developing environmentally sound management practices, recently leading a national task force to identify knowledge gaps in how nutrients are transported to streams and groundwater, and coordinating the National Nutrient Management Summit, which drew experts from throughout the United States. He also served as a technical adviser to state legislators in New Jersey for the passage of the first and most comprehensive fertilizer law governing nitrogen and phosphorus use on turf in the country.
He is an authority on turfgrass tolerance to traffic stress, cultural management of stress-induced diseases and nutrient management of cool-season grasses. He was elected a fellow of the Crop Science Society of America in 2014 and the American Society of Agronomy in 2015, and he was awarded the prestigious Fred V. Grau Turfgrass Science Award in recognition of his career.
The late Ralph Geiger, a strong supporter of Rutgers’ turfgrass program, generously provided funds to create an endowed chair in turfgrass science at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences in 2005.
Murphy was recommended for the chair by Laura J. Lawson, interim executive dean of the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and interim executive director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station; Christopher J. Molloy, chancellor of Rutgers University, New Brunswick; Prabhas V. Moghe, executive vice president for academic affairs; and president Jonathan Holloway. His term began July 1, 2020.