News from TTA

Hello Tennessee! My name is Becky Bowling, and I have recently been hired as a faculty member in the Plant Sciences Department at The University of Tennessee in the Turfgrass Extension position. I have been an Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in Texas for the past five years, where I have gained extensive experience working with county agents, sod producers, golf course superintendents, professional lawn care operators, sports field managers, cities, and more. I am looking forward to bringing my experience to Tennessee to build strong relationships with Tennessee’s renowned turfgrass and green industries and their many critical stakeholders across the state. I am looking forward to meeting as many of you as possible during my initial months in this position. My official start date is May 1, 2023.

Until we can meet in person, I would like to share some of my background and experiences. I am originally from Carrollton, Texas (near Dallas). I completed my undergraduate and master’s degrees in Horticulture at Texas Tech University where I primarily focused on sustainable landscape management practices with particular emphasis on native plants. From there, I worked and earned my PhD at the University of Georgia in environmental turfgrass management. For the past several years, my research and extension efforts have focused on evaluating and communicating best management practices for turfgrass to promote environmental stewardship and resource-use efficiency in turfgrass systems and related urban greenspaces. Much of my efforts have centered on water with particular emphasis on water efficiency, water capture, and water quality protection. In my spare time, I hike, practice vinyasa yoga, and spend time with my husband Will and our three pets, Biscuit (dog), Hubert (dog), and Phil (cat).

When I arrive in Knoxville in May, I am looking forward to making purposeful trips across Tennessee to meet with county agents, turfgrass industry leaders, and other critical stakeholders to listen and learn about the Tennessee turfgrass industry and how I can be of the greatest service in my new role. Through these dialogues and coordinated discussions with my new collaborators at UT, I look forward to building a thoughtful and integrated extension and research program that builds on the already incredible UT turfgrass program and supports the Tennessee turfgrass industry across the state.

From my experience in Texas, I have learned the importance of a thoughtful and coordinated approach for building both a successful research and extension program. I thrive in a team environment, and have extensive experience working with scientists, industry leaders, and stakeholders spanning diverse backgrounds, focus areas, and interest groups on collaborative projects. Coming into this new position, I will put the greatest emphasis on listening, learning, and building new relationships as a foundation for my program going forward. I look forward to working along the UT turfgrass team to build a program centered on economic and environmental sustainability leveraging new technologies and outreach tools to have the greatest impact. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me once I have started. I look forward to getting to know you!