picture of Dr. Weiser     

Dr. Conrad J. (Bud) Weiser

EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND

B.S. 1957 North Dakota State College; Agricultural Science (Horticulture), with honors
Ph.D. 1960 Oregon State College; Horticulture (Plant Pathology and Physiology), with honors


POSITIONS

Dean, College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University (1991-1993) responsible for statewide leadership and administration of college's education, research, extension, and international programs carried out in 14 departments, 10 off-campus research stations, extension offices in 36 counties, and programs in several foreign countries. Students: 1250; faculty: 502; staff: 932; annual budget: $81 million. Streamlined college administration to integrate management of the college's education and research programs and developed college policies that defined scholarship in its several forms and created a category for faculty to report results of team efforts.

Head, Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University (1973-1991). Responsible for planning and supervising of horticultural (tree fruit and nut; small fruit and grape; ornamental, nursery, turf and Christmas tree, and vegetable crop) research (36 projects), education (90 undergraduate and 60 graduate students), and extension programs in Oregon dealing with crop protection, physiology, genetics and breeding, weed control, and post-harvest handling. Oregon's highly diverse horticulture industries served by these programs have an annual processed value of $1.8 billion.

Supervised departmental budgets (2.4 million annually), personnel (30 faculty and 21 staff), and facilities including research farms, laboratories and greenhouses and design of new departmental teaching and research facilities. Coordinated statewide, regional, and national programs. Taught graduate courses in agricultural research planning, plant hardiness, and advised graduate students. Published 96 research papers and reports. Total publications 180.

Provided liaison with Oregon commodity commissions and other producer and processor organizations (12), which support research and marketing of processed vegetables, ornamental and nursery crops, tree fruits, grapes, small fruits, hazelnuts, and onions. Established a 70-member United Oregon Horticulture Board representing horticultural producers, processors, suppliers, and consumers in Oregon to advise the department on its statewide horticulture programs.

Coordinated tri-state effort that led to establishment of the Northwest Center for Small Fruit Research -- a federally funded partnership of 14 industry organizations with USDA and University researchers in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho.

Advisor to the National Science Foundation, International Programs Division, and external reviewer of research and educational programs at universities in 11 U.S. states and Canadian provinces, and at the International Potato Research Center in Peru. Chaired Agricultural Science Team which led to establishment in 1983 of a restructured Board on Agriculture of the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences. President (1981) and Chairman of the Board (1982) of the American Society of Horticultural Sciences. Served on the National Research Council, Board on Agriculture (1986-1992), Arboretum Advisory Council (1988-1992), and on the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (1992-1994).

Established and coordinated the Laboratory of Plant Hardiness in the Department of Horticulture at the University of Minnesota (1960-1973). Principal investigator of 15 research grants from state, federal, and international foundation sources for environmental stress, adaptation, and hardiness research on crops.

Taught graduate and undergraduate courses in plant propagation, plant growth regulators, plant hardiness, and methods of plant analysis. Guided 26 graduate students and eight postdoctoral fellows.

Published 82 scientific papers, chapters, and reports of research results on horticultural, environmental, physiological, biophysical, and biochemical responses of plants to environmental stress. Consulted and traveled internationally in Western and Eastern Europe and USSR, Latin and South America, India, and the Far East.


HONORS, AWARDS, AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Member of six honorary and seven professional societies. Recipient of ten professional awards for research, graduate and undergraduate education, and professional service. Graduated with honors (B.S. and Ph.D.). Fellow of American Society for Horticultural Science and of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Oregon State University Alumni Distinguished Professor. North Dakota State University Distinguished Alumni. International travel to 21 countries in Europe, Asia, South America, and Africa.

AREAS OS SPECIAL EXPERTISE

Management of agricultural research and education. Priority setting, planning, and organization. Crop production and environmental stress research. Science and education program evaluation. Scholarship and faculty evaluation and rewards.

PERSONAL DATA

Born June 20, 1935, Middlebury, Vermont
Married, with three children
Office Address: Office of the Dean, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97330-2212
Office Phone: (541) 737-5824
Office Fax: (541 737-3178