From the rolling plains of Oklahoma to the lush forests of North Carolina, John Dole’s career in education is in full bloom. After an 11-year tenure at Oklahoma State University, Dole relocated to North Carolina State University’s Department of Horticultural Science in 2000. He’s held various roles at NC State, including the director of graduate programs in 2004, department head in 2011 and associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) in 2016. He previously served as president of the American Society for Horticultural Science. 

After one and a half years as the CALS interim dean, Dole recently returned to his passion and expertise in horticulture. 

In this interview, he shares plans for his next chapter, defined by a dedication to teaching, research, extension and advising. 

Describe your experience as the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences interim dean.

I enjoyed it. I got into administration because I wanted to get things done and make a difference. I’m very proud of our college and its impact. It was an honor to lead it. 

What motivates you to continue as a faculty member?

I’ve always enjoyed being a faculty member, and there are still things I want to accomplish. I want to continue working on projects and with people. As an associate dean and interim dean, I kept some of my original projects going and can now dedicate more time to them.

• One of those projects is with my research associate Jennifer Kalinowski on the long-term storage of cut flowers. Through two grants, we study the post-harvest handling of cut flowers, which involves freezing flowers to increase storage length and maintain higher quality. We want to increase the flowers’ longevity after customers receive them. 
• I continue to work with the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers, a 2,900-member national organization devoted to producing and using cut flowers. I’ve worked with the group for over 30 years and serve as its executive advisor. 
• Seed Your Future is an organization I helped to found ten years ago that promotes horticultural careers. I’m proud of it and look forward to working with it more. 
• As associate dean, I helped launch the Future Leaders of Food and Agriculture (FFAR) Fellows program, which Rebecca Dunning directs. It’s turned into a strong program with a significant impact. I believe it’s one of the country’s best professional development programs for doctoral students. With Rebecca’s leadership, we continue to refine the programming. I want to continue to see it prosper and benefit doctoral students.

What is your vision for continuing as a professor?

In addition to teaching Physiology of Flowers in the spring semester of 2024 and working with Extension, I’ll work with current graduate student and advisee Joseph Gakpo. With my co-advisor, Katie McKee, we’re analyzing the barriers to success for undergraduates. 

Seed Your Future, faculty member Melinda Knuth and I are gathering data on students’ potential obstacles to getting internships and how we can reduce those barriers.

I’m also involved in a newly launched project with the JC Raulston Arboretum to understand why plants do well in some places and not others. We currently have only cold hardiness and heat zone maps to determine where plants might do well. So, we’ll use citizen science to provide more detailed data. We want to show people where they can successfully grow plants and help companies refine their recommendations.

How do you balance your professional life with other interests?

I love what I do. It’s always been a matter of finding the time. I’ve learned how to work efficiently after 34 years as a professor. Experience has helped me manage my schedule and still have plenty of time for non-work things.

What advice can you give aspiring leaders?

Start as soon as you can. It begins with the projects. For example, take the lead on a grant or project or support colleagues putting one together. 

Begin developing leadership skills as a faculty member. Actively participate in committees and engage in discussions at the department level. 

Pay attention. Listen to fellow faculty, staff and students, and try to understand things from their point of view. Use your time to develop an awareness of what motivates people and the issues they face. 

Volunteer for formal and informal leadership roles, even arranging a happy hour with your colleagues. It all sounds simple, but leadership can get complicated. So, the more practice you have, the better.