Vargas Endowed Chair Update

Eric Galbraith is my current research technician, and he is outstanding. Last year, along with prospective graduate student Jack McCarthy, we initiated a fairway leaf-mulching trial, and the results are rather astonishing. We are also working with Dr. Eric Patterson isolating beneficial compounds in the tree leaves. Mike Rabe is a current master’s student who will be performing his research on variable depth rootzone and hydroponic greens both of which are adequately replicated and have contours like real putting surfaces. Two other projects for LCO’s Eric Galbraith and I have worked on include HOC studies and crabgrass timing based on GDD. Our data from GDD / crabgrass timing indicates GDD is a rather poor model and limits the options an LCO should have. I brought this up at an international meeting in Copenhagen this summer and we are looking to perform a multistate study next spring. Over the years a lot has changed but what remains the same is MTF funding has led to research that has changed the way turfgrass in managed around the world. Thanks for your support.

Vargas Endowed Chair Vargas Endowed Chair UPDATE

One of the largest undertakings ever taken on by the MTF is currently underway as we begin the process of building the Endowed Chair Position in the name of Dr. Joe Vargas. The importance of the position cannot be understated, and the Board of Directors are fully committed to working with MSU to provide enough funding to make this goal a reality. An Endowed Chair would provide the Turf Program a position within the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources that would be in perpetuity. This privately funded position will provide and guarantee future turf students and endeavors a place at Michigan State University for generations. Funding by the MTF will represent seed money and indicates our commitment to the Turf Program at MSU.

The Foundation has been extremely fortunate over the years to have far sighted individuals who sought to improve our industry, educate our peers, and provide a respectable definition of someone who makes a living in the turfgrass industry. The Endowments that have been constructed for those purposes were started by a generation past. Funding the Turf Program has always been the goal and as the MTF plans its next step to that goal, the Endowments will play a crucial role. Some concern may be had to the vast amount of financial support that will be sent to MSU that is currently held by the MTF. The plain truth may be …that there is no certainty that the program will always be there. As priorities change, the University will always be reviewing which programs are most meaningful to their bottom lines. With that in mind, the Foundation will do everything to ensure the Turf Program at MSU continues to be an important part of the industry. As for the Endowments, we believe that there are currently some individuals in our industry that understand the need to reinvigorate and perhaps reinvent what was done previously – and pay it forward like those that have done so already.

MTF Members interested in this endeavor or with questions… may contact us at miturfgrass@gmail.com