Alumni

Susan Barton, Phd is an extension specialist and professor in the Plant and Soil Sciences Department at the University of Delaware. She has worked closely for the past 20 years with DelDOT to research and implement new roadside vegetation management strategies. She has also worked with partners to develop the Plants for a Livable Delaware Program, designed to provide alternatives to known invasive plants species and to promote sustainable landscaping. She teaches Plants and Human Culture, Farm to Table, Landscape Drawing, Landscape Architecture Symposium, Landscape Management and coordinates the Landscape Architecture/Plant Science Internship. She also works closely with the nursery and landscape industry, writing newsletters, organizing short courses and conducting horticulture industry expos with the Delaware Nursery and Landscape Association. Susan received the Nursery Extension Award in 1995 from the American Nursery and Landscape Association and the Ratledge Award for service from the University of Delaware in 2007. Susan received her SITES AP certification in summer 2017. In 2021, Susan received the George M. Worrilow award from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, given to a college alumnus with exemplary service to agriculture in the state.

Sam Lemheney is the Chief of Shows and Events at PHS and directs the strategy, planning, and execution of all events including the annual Philadelphia Flower Show where over 250,000 visitors from all over the world experience the work completed by him, his team, and PHS every year. Sam is a judge for flower shows in Singapore, Japan, and South Korea, and has judged the floats for the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. He is also an active member of the International Festival and Events Association.

Sam received his B.S. in Plant Science from the University of Delaware and has had a lifelong passion for horticulture. He began his career at The Walt Disney Company in the Land Horticulture Science Program and eventually rose to the position of Area Manager of the Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival.

Rodolfo M. Nayga, Jr. is currently head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University.  Dr. Nayga’s research interests include the economics of food consumption, policy, and health. He has focused his work on critical issues such as poverty, nutrition, obesity, and novel food technologies. He has examined issues related to how people comprehend and use food and nutritional labels and how these would then influence a number of important health related outcomes such as diet quality and obesity. He has also analyzed the effects of important federal food programs such as the National School Lunch Program, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Program on food consumption and obesity. 

Dr. Nayga received his Ph.D. from Texas A&M University.  Prior to joining the University of Arkansas, he was a professor at Texas A&M University for 12 years.  He also was a faculty member at Rutgers University and at Massey University, New Zealand.  He has been a Fulbright Senior Scholar at Wageningen University, The Netherlands, adjunct professor at Korea University and Norwegian Institute for Bioeconomy Research, NBER research economist, and senior research fellow of the Waseda Institute for Advanced Study in Tokyo. He is currently an executive board member of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and member of the International Scientific Advisory Board of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen’s University Belfast.

Bio coming soon.