Endowment honors Sasser, renowned nematologist
Creating the endowment in memory of Dr. Joe Sasser are (seated) his wife, Lib, and CALS dean Dr. Johnny Wynne, along with (from left) Laura Sasser Young, Ted Wilder, Betty Sasser Wilder, Gail Sasser, Gail Sasser Chapel and Neal Sasser.
Photo by Becky Kirkland
Dr. Joseph N. Sasser was an N.C. State University plant pathologist who facilitated global programs in the study of nematodes, microscopic worms that are destructive pathogens of crops. His pioneering efforts in nematology put the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' nematology program on the international map. After his death in 2005 at the age of 84, he was described by the International Federation of Nematology Societies as a "world authority on root-knot nematodes and man of dignity and affable humor." His contributions to North Carolina and international agriculture earned him numerous honors, including the UNC system's 1982 Oliver Max Gardner Award for contributions to higher education and service to humanity.
On Oct. 13, 2006, his family, former students, colleagues and friends gathered at N.C. State to again honor Sasser at ceremonies creating the Joseph N. Sasser Biennial Plant Pathology Lectureship Endowment in the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation Inc. The endowment will be used to support biennial lectures in the College by international scholars in nematology.
Dr. Johnny Wynne, the dean of the College and host of the event, was himself a student in Sasser's nematology class. Wynne remembered his former professor as "patient and compassionate with his students. He'd do whatever was needed to help them complete their projects.
"He already had quite an international reputation in nematology," Wynne said. "But it wasn't work for him. He had a love and passion for what he did."
Born in 1921 in Wayne County, Sasser was raised on a tobacco farm. He graduated from N.C. State in 1943 with a degree in agricultural education. After WWII duty in the U.S. Navy, he worked in the agricultural chemicals industry, later returning to N.C. State to earn his 1950 master's degree in plant pathology, specializing in the population dynamics of root-knot nematodes. He received his 1953 Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, under the direction of prominent nematologist Dr. Benjamin G. Chitwood. In 1953, he joined the faculty at N.C. State, where he and his graduate students were among the first to study the physiological and biochemical pathways operative in plant-parasitic nematodes and to employ molecular techniques in root-knot nematode taxonomy. He retired from the university in 1989.
In the 1950s, Sasser developed graduate courses focusing on plant-parasitic nematodes. With financing from the Rockefeller Foundation, Sasser and his international colleagues taught an intensive graduate course that resulted in the 1960 publication of one of the earliest comprehensive texts on plant nematology.
" I teach nematology, and the materials [Sasser and colleagues] developed then are as relevant now as they ever were," said CALS plant pathology professor Dr. Rick Davis. "When I was a graduate student in Florida in the '80s, Dr. Sasser was a legend. Yet when I met him, he treated me and fellow students as colleagues."
In the '70s, Sasser's leadership in the USAID-funded International Meloidogyne Project (IMP) and N.C. State's USAID mission to Peru promoted needed global research and action in regions suffering disease- and parasite-related crop loss. Through the IMP program, more than 1,000 nematode populations of the Meloidogyne species from around the world became available for comparative studies.
Sasser's children spoke proudly of the impact of their father's work in fighting hunger around the world and offered special memories of him, as well.
"He took students under his wing and treated them as his own children," said daughter Gail Sasser Chapel. Another daughter, Betty Sasser Wilder, recalled talking with him over ham radio when he traveled and the joy of running around Gardner Hall when he brought her to work with him. Son Neal gave credit to his mother, Lib Sasser, for "keeping the home fires burning while Dad made his mark in nematology." And the youngest daughter, Laura Sasser Young, reminisced about his students dining with the family - international students often prepared native dishes to share with the Sassers - and about the wonderful gifts he always brought home from places like Chile and Peru.
Noting Sasser's ongoing international reputation, Dr. James Moyer, head of the Plant Pathology Department, said, "When I travel, Joe is one from the department everyone knows. He is recognized as one of the major developers of the science of nematology. He saw the importance of nematology to the agriculture of North Carolina and brought along a science, so his work is important in both the basic and applied aspects."
Said Wynne, "We're now one of the top three nematology programs in the country because of Dr. Sasser's leadership in the past and Dr. Moyer's present leadership."
Moyer said, "This endowment will allow us to continue to do the things that make us competitive and distinguish us from other programs in the country. This [lectureship endowment] is unique in nematology."
The concept also is one that Sasser suggested long ago, said Dr. Ken Barker, CALS professor emeritus of plant pathology and a former graduate student of Sasser's. "Dr. Sasser had the idea 50 years ago to bring in prominent nematologists from around the world. So that was the beginning of this today."
- Terri Leith
On Oct. 13, 2006, his family, former students, colleagues and friends gathered at N.C. State to again honor Sasser at ceremonies creating the Joseph N. Sasser Biennial Plant Pathology Lectureship Endowment in the North Carolina Agricultural Foundation Inc. The endowment will be used to support biennial lectures in the College by international scholars in nematology.
Dr. Johnny Wynne, the dean of the College and host of the event, was himself a student in Sasser's nematology class. Wynne remembered his former professor as "patient and compassionate with his students. He'd do whatever was needed to help them complete their projects.
"He already had quite an international reputation in nematology," Wynne said. "But it wasn't work for him. He had a love and passion for what he did."
Born in 1921 in Wayne County, Sasser was raised on a tobacco farm. He graduated from N.C. State in 1943 with a degree in agricultural education. After WWII duty in the U.S. Navy, he worked in the agricultural chemicals industry, later returning to N.C. State to earn his 1950 master's degree in plant pathology, specializing in the population dynamics of root-knot nematodes. He received his 1953 Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, under the direction of prominent nematologist Dr. Benjamin G. Chitwood. In 1953, he joined the faculty at N.C. State, where he and his graduate students were among the first to study the physiological and biochemical pathways operative in plant-parasitic nematodes and to employ molecular techniques in root-knot nematode taxonomy. He retired from the university in 1989.
In the 1950s, Sasser developed graduate courses focusing on plant-parasitic nematodes. With financing from the Rockefeller Foundation, Sasser and his international colleagues taught an intensive graduate course that resulted in the 1960 publication of one of the earliest comprehensive texts on plant nematology.
" I teach nematology, and the materials [Sasser and colleagues] developed then are as relevant now as they ever were," said CALS plant pathology professor Dr. Rick Davis. "When I was a graduate student in Florida in the '80s, Dr. Sasser was a legend. Yet when I met him, he treated me and fellow students as colleagues."
In the '70s, Sasser's leadership in the USAID-funded International Meloidogyne Project (IMP) and N.C. State's USAID mission to Peru promoted needed global research and action in regions suffering disease- and parasite-related crop loss. Through the IMP program, more than 1,000 nematode populations of the Meloidogyne species from around the world became available for comparative studies.
Sasser's children spoke proudly of the impact of their father's work in fighting hunger around the world and offered special memories of him, as well.
"He took students under his wing and treated them as his own children," said daughter Gail Sasser Chapel. Another daughter, Betty Sasser Wilder, recalled talking with him over ham radio when he traveled and the joy of running around Gardner Hall when he brought her to work with him. Son Neal gave credit to his mother, Lib Sasser, for "keeping the home fires burning while Dad made his mark in nematology." And the youngest daughter, Laura Sasser Young, reminisced about his students dining with the family - international students often prepared native dishes to share with the Sassers - and about the wonderful gifts he always brought home from places like Chile and Peru.
Noting Sasser's ongoing international reputation, Dr. James Moyer, head of the Plant Pathology Department, said, "When I travel, Joe is one from the department everyone knows. He is recognized as one of the major developers of the science of nematology. He saw the importance of nematology to the agriculture of North Carolina and brought along a science, so his work is important in both the basic and applied aspects."
Said Wynne, "We're now one of the top three nematology programs in the country because of Dr. Sasser's leadership in the past and Dr. Moyer's present leadership."
Moyer said, "This endowment will allow us to continue to do the things that make us competitive and distinguish us from other programs in the country. This [lectureship endowment] is unique in nematology."
The concept also is one that Sasser suggested long ago, said Dr. Ken Barker, CALS professor emeritus of plant pathology and a former graduate student of Sasser's. "Dr. Sasser had the idea 50 years ago to bring in prominent nematologists from around the world. So that was the beginning of this today."
- Terri Leith