Horticultural Science is pleased to welcome our new department head, Dr. Julia Kornegay. Dr. Kornegay was previously director at Miami's Fairchild Tropical Garden. She has her B.S. and M.S. degrees from North Carolina State University, and her Ph.D. from Cornell. Much of her career was spent in international agriculture, including leadership of the bean breeding program at CIAT. Dr. Julia Kornegay is the new Head of the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University. She has overall responsibility for the leadership and administration of the department's teaching, research, and extension activities. Dr. Kornegay has a Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Biometry (1985) from Cornell University, and a M.S. in Plant Pathology (1979) and B.S. in Horticulture Science (1976), both from North Carolina State University.

Prior to coming to NCSU, Dr. Kornegay served as Director of Research (1997-1999) and Director (1999-2003) of Fairchild Tropical Garden, one of the worlds premier tropical botanical gardens with international research, horticulture and education programs in palm biology, molecular plant systematics, tropical fruit crops, endangered species conservation, and graduate studies. Dr. Kornegay was responsible for the administration and overall strategic development of the Garden. During her tenure, the Gardens programmatic activities and budget increased over 30 percent, primarily through new grants, contracts, and increased contributions.

From 1985 to 1997, Dr. Kornegay was employed by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia as a Senior Plant Breeder-Geneticist and as Leader of the Bean Program (1993-1997). She was responsible for an international team of scientists based in six countries in Latin America and Africa. The overall activities of the Bean Program included the genetic improvement of common bean using conventional and molecular approaches; characterization of the world's Phaseolus germplasm collection; development of sustainable agricultural practices for farmers and communities through integrated crop management research; professional training for national scientists; and the development and support of four regional research networks in Latin America and Africa. In 1996, she was formally recognized by the governments of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia for her work in increasing bean production and research capacity in the Andean Region. She also spearheaded the Seeds of Hope program in Africa in 1994 to help Rwanda recover its native food crop germplasm after the end of the civil war. Over 15 cultivars from her breeding program have been released in eight countries in Latin America and Africa.

Dr. Kornegay has published widely in international scientific journals, books, and conference proceedings, and she wrote a featured column in the Garden Views, Fairchild Tropical Garden's quarterly magazine.