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PUBLIC HORTICULTURE

The examples below represent just some of the diverse kinds of professional positions our graduates obtain after receiving a bachelor's or master's degree with us in public horticulture.

Jobs in other plant sciences and arts specialties

Nelson Cunningham & Brandon McEarl, Business Owners Two alumni from 1997 and 1999 went into business in Humboldt, TN. Click on photo at right to see Nelson Cunningham (1997) in front of their business - Green Valley Farms, Inc., a sod producing farm and supplier of landscape materials. Co-owner Brandon McEarl graduated in 1999.

 

Holly Lyons, Horticulture Extension Agent Holly was a very active member of our public horticulture program. Within a week of graduating with the bachelor's degree, she interviewed for and was offered a position with the University of Florida Extension Service as a horticultural extension agent. She will work with the Master Gardeners Program.

 

Bryn Takle, Zoo Horticulturist Bryn graduated with a bachelors degree from our public horticulture program in 2006. He took a position as Horticulture Supervisor at the Kansas City Zoo. His wife Ginger is one of the Veterinarians on staff, so these career opportunities worked out well for this couple! They had always wanted to work for a zoo.

 

Shelby Singleton, Sales Manager After earning a bachelor's degree in public horticulture in 2005, Shelby secured employment as Sales Manager at an upscale garden center in Asheville, North Carolina: B.B. Barns, A Garden Company.

 

Emily Smith, Children's Horticulturist Emily graduated with a masters degree from our public horticulture program in 2005. Toward the end of her graduate work, she was offered a job with the Lauritzen Gardens, Omaha's Botanical Center, in Omaha, Nebraska, working with their children's gardens programs.  More >>

 

Susan Conlon, Assistant Editor After earning a bachelor's degree in public horticulture, Susan accepted a managerial position at Cheekwood Gardens in Nashville, TN. Susan returned to our department for a masters in public horticulture, and upon completing it in 2005, was hired by HGTV.com to edit their gardening and horticulture web site.  More >>

 

Bob Brackman, Director of Botanical Gardens Bob Brackman received a B.S. in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design in 1980. Currently, he is the Director of Cheekwood Botanical Garden in Nashville TN. Prior to that, Bob was Director of Horticulture with the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.  More >>

 

Melanie Blandford, Educational Programs Coordinator Melanie received her M.S. in public horticulture at UT in 2003, then took a position as Educational Programs Coordinator for Scott Arboretum, in Swarthmore, PA. The Arboretum encompasses more than 300 acres of the Swarthmore College campus and exhibits over 4,000 kinds of ornamental plants.  More >>

 

Joel Keebler, Horticulture Instructor Joel's thesis as a masters student in ornamental horticulture focused on vertical trenching techniques for re-invigorating mature trees. Upon graduation, Joel was hired by Virginia Highlands Community College to build and teach a horticulture curriculum.  More >>

 

Nicole Gamble, Director of Butterfly Conservatory After graduating in 2001 with a bachelor's degree, Nicole worked at at Callaway Gardens (Pine Mountain, Georgia) as the florist manager. She soon became Director of Day Butterfly Center . She is currently Interim Director of Gardens Services at Callaway.  More >>

 

Katie Steinhoff, Supervisory Horticulturist Katie is the curator for the gardens, natural areas and trail heads at Callaway's Discovery Center. The Discovery Center is the front door to Callaway Gardens, with information center, education department and a landscape reflecting the core mission of integrating man with nature. More >>

 

James Newburn, Garden Curator After graduating from our program in 1995 with a bachelor's degree in ornamental horticulture, James became the greenhouse manager of the Dept. of Ornamental Horticulture & Landscape Design at the University of Tennessee. He is currently the curator of the UT Gardens.  More >>

 

Nicole Cardwell, Instructor of Horticulture Nicole Cardwell, Instructor of Horticulture at Walters State earned her masters degree in ornamental horticulture in a project involving dogwood anthracnose.

 

Jayme Tims, Interpretive Horticulturist Jayme Tims worked with Dr. Hamilton for her masters degree, on a project with the children's gardening program at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Upon graduating, she took a position as Interpretive Horticulturist with Callaway Gardens and now works in Hawaii. More >>

 

Linda Gombert, Display Horticulturist Linda received the M.S. degree in ornamental horticulture with an emphasis in public horticulture. Her thesis involved zinnia diseases in the garden. After graduating, she went on to become Curator of the Color Garden at Mounts Botanical Gardens in West Palm Beach, FL.

 

Jeff Webb, Instructor, and Garden Director Jeff received his masters degree in public horticulture, doing a study of best management practices for public gardens. He then became a horticulture instructor with the Community College of Baltimore, as well as director of their gardens.

 

Jason Reeves, Garden Curator Jason received his masters degree in our legacy OHLD department. He became a research associate for the West Tennessee Research & Education Center, where he is in charge of the West Tennessee UT Gardens. Jason oversees the grounds and performs the plant variety trial evaluations.

 

Kelly Cole, Field Botanist Kelly received her masters degree with a major in public horticulture. She worked on several projects as a graduate student, with a focus on children's gardens and the importance of plants in education. Soon after graduating, Kelly took a position with TVA as a field botanist, using her knowledge of native plants.

 

Hollis Malone, Director of Horticulture Hollis received his bachelor's in ornamental horticulture from us in 1972. He then took a very rewarding and challenging job at Opryland, In Nashville TN, overseeing majestic, climate-controlled glass atriums, nine acres of lush indoor gardens, and 75 acres of outdoor landscaping.  More >>

 

Linda Seals, Commercial Horticulture/Small Farms Agent Linda graduated with bachelor's and master's degrees with us. Linda's MS project involved the effectiveness of web-supported instruction. She soon became the coordinator of the Master Gardeners Program for the University of Florida, and recently moved to Brevard County as a Horticulture Extensioin Agent. More >>

 

Emily Jackson, Horticultural Educator Emily works for the Norfolk Botanical Garden. A graduate of our public horticulture program, she started out as an Education Assistant at the Quad City Botanical Center in Rock Island, IL, where she maintained the educational greenhouse and Children's Alphabet Garden, worked with school and adult tours, and oversaw preschool and summer school programs.

 

Evelyn Boutz-Harris, Decor Designer Evelyn graduated from our public horticulture concentration in 2003. Using the skills she learned, she went to work for Greenscape, Inc., in Holly Springs, NC, an award-winning Design, Build, Manage landscape firm based in the Research Triangle.

Sarah Martin, Zoo Horticulturist After graduating in 1987, Sarah landed a position with the Knoxville Zoological Gardens, practicing landscape horticulture from a zoological perspective. She enjoys working with the animals and teaching others about the plant/animal relationship. Prior to this, she was campus horticulturist at Pellissippi State Community College.

 

Mac Smith, Manager of Grounds Mac obtained a B.S. in ornamental horticulture from UT in 1974, then went to work for the Grand Ole Opry as Manger of Operations for Outdoor Grounds.

 

Tony Boswell, City Horticulturist Taking care of an entire city's horticultural program is a profession that has attracted several of our graduates. Tony received the B.S. degree in ornamental horticulture in 1985, and went on to become the City Horticulturist of Morristown, TN.

 

Jennifer Smith, Executive Director of Urban Forestry With her B.S. in ornamental horticulture at UT, Jennifer has become Executive Director of the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council. The TUFC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to public awareness, understanding and improving Tennessee's urban forests, and serves urban forestry issues within the state, region and nation.

 

Ray Clifton, Chief Horticulturist Ray graduated with a bachelor's in ornamental horticulture and assumed the position of Chief Horticulturist, Knox County and Knoxville Public Building Authority. Ray is in charge of grounds of the City County Bldg, the Convention Center, Volunteer Landing, and all the library branches.

 

Amy Bartel, Agricultural Extension Agent Amy received her masters degree in ornamental horticulture in 19xx, and soon thereafter accepted a position with the North Carolina State Cooperative Extension Service, an an agricultural extension agent in Davidson/Randolph counties, NC.

 

Robin Young, Internship Coordinator Robin is the internship coordinator at Stonecrop Gardens in Cold Spring, New York. The display gardens cover about 12 acres and include a diverse collection of gardens and plants: woodland and water gardens, a grass garden, raised alpine stone beds, a cliff rock garden, perennial beds and an enclosed English-style flower garden.

 

                                   
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Study areas/Specialties in Plant Sciences
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Bachelor's Degree Program
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