New turfgrass center grows at Rutgers
Archived article from Sep 24, 1999
By Hollie Gilroy
Some of the most widely grown grasses in the world have sprouted from research con- ducted at Rutgers. On Sept. 17, a partnership between the university and the turfgrass industry produced another major turf advancement at the Cook College campus -- groundbreaking for a new Turfgrass Education Center.
Some 80 well-wishers braved the flooding that followed Hurricane Floyd and attended the ceremony on Horticultural Farm II. Among the attendees were Arthur Brown, New Jersey secretary of agriculture; Bruce Carlton, executive dean of Cook College and executive director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station; and turfgrass-industry representatives.
The center, to be built alongside the world-renowned turf research plots, will combine laboratory, classroom and computer facilities to "improve the educational opportunities for students who are going to be our future golf course superintendents and leaders in the turf industry," announced Bruce Clarke, director of the Center for Turfgrass Science.
Similarly, Carlton noted, "For the first time since Rutgers launched turfgrass research in the 1920s, our faculty, our students and our certificate program participants will enjoy state-of-the-art laboratory, classroom and computer facilities -- all under one roof.
"When completed, this building will truly be an asset to students, to the turfgrass-science program and, most importantly, to the landscape and golf turf industries throughout the Northeastern United States," he said.
The $750,000 facility is being funded with a heavy commitment from the turfgrass industry.
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