The Dr. P. Allen Hammer International Floriculture Graduate Endowment

Members of the international floriculture community and the Commercial Floriculture program in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University have established an endowment within the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation, Inc., to be known as the P. Allen Hammer International Floriculture Graduate Endowment.  The goal is to honor Dr. P. Allen Hammer in perpetuity for his tireless efforts and dedication as a teacher, researcher and leader of the floriculture industry.  The fund will help ensure the continued ability of the Department of Horticultural Science to reward, train and recruit top floriculture graduate students.

From 1973-2006, Dr. P. Allen Hammer served the floriculture industry through extension and research at Purdue University.  He worked with Indiana growers to solve innumerable greenhouse production problems and to provide advice and counsel on issues related to floriculture.  Allen was the lead scientist on the National Poinsettia Trial, a joint effort among Purdue University, North Carolina State University, and the University of Florida, and he serves on the Board of Directors of the Fred C. Gloeckner Foundation, which provides research grants to university floriculture researchers.  Dr. Hammer has written more than 250 monthly columns for GrowerTalks magazine, the top paid circulation magazine in the U.S. greenhouse industry.

In addition to his extension and research initiatives, he has been tremendously supportive of and involved with student instruction and mentoring.  He was the lead faculty member of a FIPSE grant for an undergraduate study abroad program between three U.S. and four E.U. universities.  His vision was every horticulture student should have an international experience as part of their university education. 

Dr. Hammer has trained outstanding graduate students, who now hold key positions in floriculture at universities and in the private sector.  He also serves on the Selection Committee for the Vic and Margaret Ball internship program of the American Floral Endowment.

He is clearly an internationally recognized expert in floriculture and has received numerous awards, including:

• Alex Laurie Award for Floriculture Research and Extension, Society of American Florists
• Outstanding Extension Educator Award and Ornamentals Publication Award, American Society for Horticultural Science
• Outstanding Alumnus Awards, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University

Even after retirement from Purdue, Dr. Hammer continues to contribute to floriculture through product development and support as a member of Dummen’s North American team and writes his monthly column for GrowerTalks magazine.

This endowment will be used to benefit the floriculture graduate studies program of the NC State Department of Horticultural Science.  The primary use of these funds will be to provide international travel grants to NC State floriculture graduate students.  The grants may be used to reimburse expenses for floriculture graduate students attending international professional meetings to make presentations or display posters, and visits to other research programs with expertise in students' particular areas of research and training. 

You may make a secure online contribution to Dr. Hammer's endowment using American Express, Discover, MasterCard or Visa. Just click here.

CLICK HERE for the PDF slideshow from our endowment ceremony formalizing the Dr. P. Allen Hammer International Floriculture Graduate Endowment. (Uses the free Adobe reader. View fullscreen for the slideshow.)